What's the real difference?
Both platforms solve the same core problem: helping businesses find high-quality external talent faster than traditional hiring.
The difference is approach.
Toptal is built as a premium global marketplace. Its strength is rigorous screening, a large international pool, and access to skilled talent across a wide range of functions.
For businesses that want global reach and a recognised premium brand, that model works well.
We've built something different. Rather than operating purely as a freelance marketplace, we've evolved into a broader talent and delivery partner for ANZ organisations.
You can use Expert360 to hire an individual expert, engage a fractional leader, assemble a specialist team, or deploy a pre-scoped project solution designed around a specific business outcome.
That distinction matters. If your need is "find me a freelancer," both platforms are relevant.
If your need is "help me close a capability gap, deliver a transformation, or scale talent in a way that fits our operating environment," we offer a more locally grounded and flexible model.
Where we stand out
Built for Australia and New Zealand
This is our clearest advantage.
For businesses operating in ANZ, local context is not optional. It affects communication, working hours, stakeholder expectations, regulatory realities, and speed of execution. Our network spans more than 40,000 experts across Australia and New Zealand, and we understand the business environment these experts operate in.
That gives you a different level of confidence than searching a broad international pool and hoping for fit.
More than freelancer matching
Toptal is primarily known as a premium freelance network. We go further. You can engage:
- Individual experts
- Fractional executives and interim leaders
- Specialist delivery teams
- Offshore support pods
- Pre-scoped project outcomes
In practice, that might mean bringing in a fractional CFO, standing up a transformation team, or buying a defined project scope instead of building from scratch. For busy executives, that flexibility means less internal scoping and faster time to impact.
Stronger enterprise support in ANZ
We partner with large enterprises with our TalentOS contingent workforce solution:
Case studies:
- Cutting Time-To-Hire From 2 Months to 11 Days for National Supermarket Chain
- Saving $60 Million for NBN with a Scalable Talent Solution
- Managing a Growing Contingent Workforce for Global Professional Services Firm
This matters for businesses that need a partner who can operate within governance, risk, procurement, and workforce management constraints, particularly in financial services, regulated environments, and large transformation programs where finding talent is only half the problem. Integrating that talent compliantly and efficiently is the other half.
Strong fit for strategic and leadership capability
We have a strong track record in business-critical work, not just execution capacity. Our platform and positioning speak directly to:
- Fractional and interim leadership
- Strategy and modelling
- Governance and maturity uplift
- Digitisation and transformation
- Growth, expansion, and turnaround
- M&A and ownership change
If a company needs a contractor to write code, Toptal is a strong option. If a company needs strategic and operational capability to navigate growth, change, cost pressure, or post-deal execution, our offering is in many cases more naturally aligned.
Where Toptal stands out
While we’re obviously a little biased, we want to be fair: Toptal is a serious platform with real strengths.
Stronger global footprint. Toptal serves clients across 140+ countries with 30,000+ clients. For businesses hiring across multiple geographies or searching for very specific skills from a global pool, that scale is genuinely appealing.
Strong screening brand. The "Top 3%" message is one of Toptal's biggest assets. Whether buyers take the number literally or as shorthand for quality, it signals a premium standard. For many companies, that brand recognition is a key reason they choose Toptal.
Broad role coverage in digital and technical talent. Toptal has especially deep coverage across software development, design, product, marketing, finance, and project management.
If you want a very specific specialist and are comfortable hiring from an international pool, Toptal may offer more visible breadth in those categories.
Enterprise and regulated hiring
This is one of the most important practical differences, and one that most comparisons overlook.
Larger organisations don't just care about speed and talent quality. If you're part of an organisation like this, we know you'll care about compliance, contractor governance, vendor rationalisation, payroll administration, time-to-supply, risk management, and operational consistency.
We have a strong, publicly visible story here. Our case studies show our experience in large-scale hiring programs, MSP and payroll support, demand and resource planning, and compliance-led delivery in regulated and enterprise contexts.
For buyers who need that level of support, this is often a more relevant advantage than raw global marketplace size.
Talent quality and vetting
Both Toptal and ourselves are premium talent platform options, but the framing is different.
Toptal leads with a globally recognisable screening metric. The "Top 3%" claim is central to its brand and appeal.
We take a different approach: rather than building around a single screening statistic, we focus on vetted experts, curated shortlists, local experience, and outcome alignment. The emphasis is less "here is our funnel acceptance rate" and more "here is the right vetted expert for your specific context."
For ANZ businesses hiring for commercial, strategic, transformation, or leadership capability, that fit-first framing tends to be more useful than a generic quality signal.
Pricing
Pricing is hard to compare directly. We both operate in premium segments and final costs depend on role, experience, market, and engagement model.
Toptal's public FAQ references a monthly subscription fee for clients who proceed with a talent search. Our engagements are shaped around client needs and solution type rather than a flat subscription model.
What matters more than list pricing is value for fit. For some businesses, a globally recognised freelance platform justifies its premium.
For others, especially in ANZ, better local fit, stronger enterprise support, and more flexible delivery options produce a better overall return than simply accessing the biggest possible talent pool.
Pros and cons
Expert360
Strengths:
- Purpose-built for Australia and New Zealand
- Fast shortlist turnaround (under 48 hours)
- Access to local vetted experts, fractional leaders, and specialist teams
- Broader delivery model than a standard freelance marketplace
- Strong case studies in enterprise and regulated settings
- Good fit for strategy, transformation, and leadership capability
- Strong in MSP, payroll, vendor management, and compliance
Limitations:
- Smaller global footprint than Toptal
- Less international brand recognition
- Fewer visible third-party review signals than larger global platforms
- We may not offer the same global long-tail breadth across every niche technical skillset
Toptal
Strengths:
- Strong global brand recognition
- Very broad international talent pool
- Clear premium screening message ("Top 3%")
- Strong fit for technical, digital, design, and product freelance hiring
- Fast matching claims
- Larger visible review footprint and public scale
Limitations:
- Less locally specialised for Australia and New Zealand
- Public subscription fee may be a friction point for some buyers
- Global breadth does not always equal regional fit
Is Expert360 a good alternative to Toptal?
Yes, especially for businesses in Australia and New Zealand.
If you're based in ANZ and need vetted talent quickly, we're a credible and often stronger alternative to Toptal.
We combine premium talent access with local market understanding and a delivery model that goes beyond freelancer matching, including fractional executives, project teams, and pre-scoped outcomes.
The comparison isn't really about which platform is "better" in the abstract. It's about which platform is better for the job.
If you want the broadest global pool and a well-known premium marketplace brand, Toptal is a strong option.
If you want an ANZ-focused talent partner that can support strategy, transformation, enterprise hiring, and business-critical outcomes with speed and local context, we're likely the better fit.
Final verdict
Toptal is a high-quality global talent platform with real scale, strong screening brand recognition, and broad role coverage. For businesses hiring internationally or looking for highly specific digital specialists, that's genuinely appealing.
But for companies operating in Australia and New Zealand, we offer something more relevant: a premium talent and delivery partner built around the realities of this market.
With vetted experts matched in under 48 hours, strong enterprise case studies, and flexible engagement models spanning individuals, teams, fractional leaders, project outcomes, and enterprise contingent workforce solutions, we're built for the way ANZ businesses actually work.
Get a handpicked shortlist of vetted experts matched to your brief in under 48 hours.
Frequently asked questions
Is Expert360 better than Toptal?
It depends on your needs. Toptal has stronger global reach and broader international brand recognition. We're often the better fit for businesses in Australia and New Zealand that want local market context, flexible engagement models, and stronger support for strategy, transformation, and enterprise delivery.
What is the main difference between Expert360 and Toptal?
Toptal is best known as a premium global talent network. We combine vetted talent access with a broader ANZ-focused model that includes fractional executives, specialist teams, project outcomes, and enterprise support.
Is Expert360 only for enterprise businesses?
No. We support a range of businesses, from startups and scaleups through to mid-market and enterprise organisations. Our model is flexible enough for both targeted expert hires and larger-scale delivery needs.
Can Expert360 help with more than individual hiring?
Yes. You can use Expert360 to engage individual experts, fractional leaders, project teams, offshore support, and pre-scoped project outcomes.
Is Toptal more global than Expert360?
Yes. Toptal has a larger international footprint and serves clients across many countries. We're more regionally focused on Australia and New Zealand, which is a deliberate choice. It's what allows us to offer deeper local fit and stronger ANZ enterprise support.
Who should choose Expert360?
Businesses in Australia and New Zealand that need vetted talent quickly, value local market understanding, and want support beyond a standard freelancer marketplace.
