Arc
Depends
Confidence: Low
Public evidence on arc.dev is thin, but it fits companies hiring vetted remote developers, designers, or marketers for freelance or full-time roles.
Comparison
Arc vs Toptal
Arc and Toptal both land on Depends.
Toptal
Depends
Confidence: High
Buy if you're a funded team that needs vetted senior freelancers fast and accepts premium, deposit-first pricing.
| Compare | Arc | Toptal |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Companies hiring vetted remote developers | Funded startups building MVPs fast |
| Who it's not for | One-off gig work . use Upwork instead | Bootstrapped founders on tight budgets |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.⁵ | Compromised: July 2025 supply-chain attack hijacked Toptal's GitHub org and pushed malware-laced npm packages. |
| Support quality | No support reviews found | Clients report reliable delivery across review sites |
| Public sentiment | No substantive written reviews of surfaced in the sources; only a 4.7/5 G2 rating across 24 seller-level reviews.³ | Clients praise vetted talent and delivery; freelancers complain about heavy platform margins and strict screening.⁸ |
| Biggest gotcha | No rates shown in sources; costs stay unclear until you talk to sales.¹ | $500 deposit and ~$79 fee charged before you see any candidate10 |
Pick Arc when
- Companies hiring vetted remote developers
- Hiring design, marketing, PM, or assistants remotely
- Freelance-to-full-time remote pipelines
- Guess: firms hiring global talent without local entities
When Arc is not a fit
- One-off gig work . use Upwork instead
- On-site or hybrid roles . Arc is remote-only
- Teams wanting to browse resumes and hire directly
- Buyers needing published prices before first contact
Pick Toptal when
- Funded startups building MVPs fast
- Fortune 500 flexible project staffing
- Teams needing vetted senior developers
- Part-time finance and consulting hires
When Toptal is not a fit
- Bootstrapped founders on tight budgets
- One-off small gigs . use Upwork
- Buyers needing pay-per-task pricing
- Guess: teams hiring full-time permanent employees
Sources
- Pricing - Arc.devarc.devofficial
official
review
- Toptal official sitetoptal.comofficial
- Toptal Reviews . SmartCustomersmartcustomer.comreview
- Toptal Reviews . Trustpilottrustpilot.comreview
- Toptal Reviews . G2g2.comreview
- How Much Does Toptal Cost . HireInSouthhireinsouth.comnews
- Toptal Pricing: Real Rates, Hidden Fees . TFCthefrontendcompany.comnews
review
- Toptal GitHub Breach . The Hacker Newsthehackernews.comsecurity
- Hackers breach Toptal GitHub . BleepingComputerbleepingcomputer.comsecurity