3 categories · RankedToptal
Toptal is a talent network that connects vetted freelance talent with client companies · toptal.com ↗
Why models recommend it
“Start with Upwork for versatility or Toptal for top-tier needs.”Grok 4.20 · Comparative question · first choice
“Need elite talent for critical projects → Toptal or A.Team”Kimi K2 · Comparative question · first choice
“Vetted Tech/Design Platforms: Toptal, Braintrust, or Gun.io (high barrier to entry, but pre-vetted talent and better pay)”Gemini 3.5 Flash · Negative question · alternative
“Consider niche platforms with rigorous vetting (e.g., Toptal for tech, but even then, conduct your own due diligence)”Kimi K2 · Negative question · alternative
What gives them pause
No model argued against it.
Also on the shortlist
The products named in the same answers as Toptal, over the 66 answers that named it, and how often each was the first choice instead.
| Product | Named together | Picked instead | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 64 | 17 | View → | |
| 59 | 1 | View → | |
| 37 | 0 | View → | |
| 18 | 0 | View → | |
| 17 | 0 | View → | |
| 16 | 0 | View → | |
| 16 | 0 | View → | |
| 12 | 0 | View → | |
| 12 | 0 | View → | |
| 11 | 0 | View → |
What the models named instead of Toptal →
A side-by-side page exists where both products are among a category's top eight.
At a glance
Stated on Toptal's own site, not checked by Gane.
- For
- world-class clients
- Price stated
- Client agrees to be charged and to pay Toptal a monthly subscription fee in the amount indicated on the subscription sign up (or communicated to Client thereafter)
- Free plan or trial
- Work with your new team member on a trial basis (pay only if satisfied)
- Hosting
- Global
- Customers named
- Bridgestone, USC, Cleveland Cavaliers, Salesforce
How this is measured
Fourteen AI models from 12 labs are asked the same buying questions six ways, for three company sizes. Standings refresh every edition.
Gane sells AI visibility software. No company can pay to change a result.
Read the method →Sources returned with these answers
Fourteen of the fourteen models returned a source list in this edition: five return the pages they cited and nine the search results they consulted. These counts come from 51 of the 66 answers that named Toptal and are not a share of its labels.
Domains cited
133 of the 133 domain citations in answers naming Toptal came from a third party's page.
Pages cited
Pages are listed as the models cited them.
By model
| Model | First choice | Alternative | Mention | Warning | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| GPT-5.4 mini | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Perplexity Sonar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grok 4.20 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Mistral Small | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Llama 4 Maverick | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Kimi K2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| MiniMax M2.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| GPT-6 Luna | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What it publishes
| Kind | Pages | Last 90 days | 2025-10 to 2026-09 | Latest | Categories named |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case study | 811 | undated | Applicant tracking syste | ||
| Blog | 182 | undated | |||
| Conference or event | 137 | undated | |||
| Comparison | 62 | undated | |||
| News or press | 53 | undated | |||
| Podcast or video | 31 | undated | |||
| Glossary or explainer | 16 | undated | |||
| Report or ebook | 15 | undated | |||
| Webinar or virtual event | 12 | undated | |||
| Template or tool | 2 | undated |
How it is countedHide how it is counted
Every page toptal.com exposes, subdomains included. Kind is read from the address and title. The last 90 days, the latest date and the twelve months count pages by when they were published, from the site's feeds, a date in the address, or the page's own publication date, read from up to a hundred of its most recently changed pages; a page that says only when it last changed is counted in its kind but not in when, so the recent counts are a floor, and a kind none of whose pages gives a publication date reads undated. An event counts as online when its address or title says so (webinar, on demand, virtual or online summit); a conference, summit, trade show, expo or roadshow that does not say so is counted as a conference or event, which on a vendor's site is mostly in person. Read September 29, 2026.