Toptal reviews

3.8

70% would recommend to a friend

(756 total reviews)
avatar

Taso DuVal

57% approve of CEO

54% positive business outlook

Toptal has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 756 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Toptal employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Information Technology industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

756 reviews
1.0
Jun 1, 2021

Run away fast. Don't be enticed by remote work. It's not worth it.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Remote work environment Decent compensation Great onboarding and culture initiatives Solid product with a great product-market fit

Cons

The CEO is the worst leader I have ever witnessed and creates a horribly toxic work environment, causing an obscene amount of turnover (and tears). I can handle a tough executive with high expectations from a competent leader who just wants the company to reach its full potential. That's what we all want. That's not this CEO. He thrives on publicly shaming his leaders in order to make himself feel bigger, because he doesn't actually know what he is doing. He has this alternative view of the universe that doesn't align with any best practice of a high performing organization. You can't disagree with him. He hires strong leaders for a reason because he needs them, though has no interest in them actually bringing those excellent outside perspectives to Toptal. It's his way or loud, angry, public humiliation. He has never really worked anywhere else, yet thinks he knows how mature companies operate. He has no idea. His influence (whether you work directly for him or not) will rip your guts in half emotionally. No matter how much he offers you, run far and fast the other direction. The damage to your mental health is not worth a day of working here.

2.0
Jul 19, 2017

Disappointing at best

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Work remotely, decent pay, pleasant colleagues

Cons

Team morale is low. At first glance, it appears to not be a situation of micromanaging, but it turns out, Toptal has just figured out a way to automate the micromanaging process. If you're an independent worker/thinker, you'll quickly see how their system will dictate your day without any one individual needing to say a word to you. You'll be at the mercy of their automated systems. Also, the calls with the CEO are incredibly disappointing. What is meant to be an open door/open forum call, is really an opportunity for upper management to defend any and every thing that you may or may not have a problem with. This same attitude trickles down to middle management. Suggestions and constructive criticism are met with apprehension and suggestions for you to change your attitude rather than actually considered as something constructive for the company to look into. Additionally, don't be fooled by the allure of remote work. There is little to no work/life balance in many departments. You're expected to be attached to your phone, tablet, computer almost at all times.

2.0
Aug 30, 2020

It's a successful company but with a toxic culture

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Joining a company that's succeeding it's always a big perk. Anyone who joins would be attaching themselves to the "story of success at Toptal" - Remote work can be life-changing for many, especially to those outside of the US - There are some areas in the company where you can learn from people who are the best in their field - for example, Growth Marketing and Enterprise Sales

Cons

- Please google "Toptal The Information" to read an article about the drama between the founders. It's a dramatic story that signals how toxic can be to work with the CEO. - If you want even more details, including testimonies of a former employee, please google "jason calacanis toptal" and you will see the famous investor Jason Calacanis going for over an hour about Toptal and its CEO. - The company has high employee churn, especially for a remote company. Some of the people that left were not great, of course. However, plenty of good leaders left too. I believe over 80% of the people who report to the CEO have joined in the last 12 months.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 756 Reviews

Glassdoor has 1,361 Toptal reviews submitted anonymously by Toptal employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Toptal is right for you.