Toptal vs Arc vs Upwork vs Direct: Hiring an AI Engineer

Buyers comparing these routes usually look at hourly rates first, and rates are the least comparable thing across them. What actually differs is who does the vetting, how fees are charged, how fast you get a shortlist, and what happens if the hire does not work out.

A disclosure before the comparison: I am a Top Rated Plus freelancer on Upwork and also work with clients directly. I have tried to stick to each platform's published terms and to say where I could not verify something.

How do Toptal, Arc, Upwork and direct hiring compare?

The four routes trade fees and convenience against control. Here is the summary from each platform's own pages as of late 2026; the sections below add detail and caveats.

Sources are linked in each section. Treat the table as a starting point and read the current terms before you sign anything, because platforms change them.

Toptal: a screened network with a no-charge trial

Toptal's pitch is screening plus a safety net. Its FAQ says that "of the more than 200,000 people who apply to join the Toptal network each year, we accept fewer than 3%", that it will introduce candidates "within 24 hours" in almost all cases, and that each engagement starts with "a trial period of up to two weeks" during which you are not billed if you are not completely satisfied. Its pricing page lists a $0 recruiting fee and no termination costs.

What it does not publish is rates. You get a quote per engagement, and the FAQ also mentions "a flat monthly subscription fee of $79". It is a good fit when you need someone quickly, cannot run a technical screen yourself, and value the trial.

The thing to check is whether the screening covered AI work specifically. A general engineering screen does not tell you whether someone can build an evaluation set or control model costs.

Arc: vetted remote talent with published rate ranges

Arc sits between a vetted network and a marketplace, with more of its pricing visible. Its pricing page shows freelance rates of "$15 - $110+" per hour, a fee of "20%" of annual salary for full-time hires, and "a risk-free trial period of up to two weeks". Its AI engineer hiring page claims to offer "the Top 2% of Remote AI Developers", says it matches you with a senior developer in "roughly 72 hours", and puts typical freelance AI developer rates at "$60-100+/hour".

Two caveats. The same AI page also says "top 2.3%" in one place, so the exact figure is marketing rather than a measured standard. And it says "a contract-to-hire fee will apply" without stating the amount, so ask before you start if you might convert the hire to full-time.

Upwork: the widest choice, with vetting left to you

Upwork is an open marketplace: you post a job or invite freelancers, review proposals and profiles, and pay through the platform. Upwork's own help and pricing pages blocked automated access when I checked, so the fee figures here come from a 2026 breakdown by South, which lists a client platform fee of "3–5% on Marketplace or 8–10% on Business Plus" and contract initiation fees "from $0.99 to $14.99 per contract". The same page says a conversion fee applies if you hire a freelancer off-platform within 24 months of the first contract. Confirm all of these on Upwork's pricing page and terms before you rely on them.

Upwork's strength is reach and evidence. You can read real client reviews and job histories, see work samples, and start with a small fixed-price milestone. Its weakness is noise: the open market includes many people who have only built demos, and filtering them is your job. The questions in 15 questions to ask before you hire an AI developer are designed for exactly that filtering.

Direct: no platform fee, all the admin

Hiring directly means finding the engineer through referrals, their portfolio, open-source work or content they publish, and contracting with them yourself. You pay no platform fees and the relationship is entirely between you, which many long engagements end up preferring.

In exchange you carry everything a platform would otherwise handle:

• Vetting. No pre-screen, so your interview and pilot process must be solid.
• Contracts and IP. You need a written agreement with an IP assignment. If the engineer is abroad, check local rules; my guide to hiring an AI engineer in India covers the written-assignment requirements there.
• Payments and tax paperwork. International payments, invoices and forms such as the W-8BEN for foreign contractors.
• Dispute handling. No escrow or platform mediation, so milestones and acceptance criteria matter more.

When does each route make sense?

Choose based on how much vetting and admin you can do yourself, not on the lowest headline rate.

One point applies to every route: platform vetting is general, and AI work needs AI-specific checks. A candidate who passes a coding screen may still have never built an evaluation set, estimated token costs or limited what a model can do with your data. Ask about those directly, and ask to see a shipped AI feature rather than a demo. A short written brief describing your problem, data and success metric also makes quotes from different routes comparable, because every candidate is answering the same question.

Whichever route you take, structure the start the same way: a short, paid pilot with written success criteria, repositories and API keys in your accounts from day one, and a review at the end before committing further, which heads off the usual reasons AI pilots stall. If you are still deciding between one engineer and a firm, freelance AI engineer vs agency covers that choice, and how much it costs to hire an AI developer covers market rates.

Work with me

You can hire me through Upwork or directly, whichever suits your procurement. See AI agent development and AI integration, or browse my work and book a scoping call.