← ALL COMPARISONS
[ COMPARE ]
Toptal vs Upwork
Side-by-side comparison of Toptal and Upwork referral programs. Which one earns you more? Here are the facts.
[ HIGHER PAYOUT ]
Upwork offers up to 90% revenue share (lifetime).
Toptal
Upwork
CATEGORY
FREELANCE
FREELANCE
COMMISSION
$60-200+/hr (top 3% only)
$10-150+/hr freelance work
MODEL
revenue-share
tiered
MAX REV SHARE
—
90%
PAYOUT
fiat
fiat
MIN PAYOUT
$20
$30
FREQUENCY
WEEKLY
WEEKLY
FIRST PAYOUT
~14d
~14d
COOKIE
LIFETIME
LIFETIME
KYC
YES
YES
GEO BLOCKED
NONE
NONE
RISK
LOW
LOW
RATING
4.5/5 (320)
3.6/5 (1800)
PROGRAM AGE
16y
11y
Toptal
PROS
- +Highest hourly rates ($60-200+)
- +Enterprise clients (Apple, Airbnb, Microsoft)
- +Long-term contracts
CONS
- −97% rejected
- −5-step screening takes weeks
- −Skill bar very high
Upwork
PROS
- +Largest client base
- +Flat 10% fee (down from 20%)
- +Time tracker for hourly
- +Long-term clients
CONS
- −Need to buy Connects to bid
- −Initial competition fierce
- −Long path to first contract