Alternatives · Screened freelance networks
A Toptal alternative for large projects: order the result, not the hours.
Toptal connects companies with freelance talent it screens, engaged by the hour, part-time or full-time. That is a good way to add a person. It is a different thing from buying a finished scope. Ship in Hours delivers a defined scope at a fixed price, as tested code packages, with the architecture designed in-house by AIPOS OÜ and agreed with you in writing.
Two ways to buy
A talent network sells people. We sell a delivered scope.
Both options exist because hiring is slow. They answer different questions: who will do the work, or what will be delivered and when.
Screened freelance talent, engaged by time
According to its own pricing page, Toptal connects companies with the top 3% of freelance talent it screens, and clients work with those freelancers hourly, part-time or full-time at a weekly fixed price, with a trial period for each new freelancer during which the client is not charged if the match is not right. It also lists managed delivery as an option.
- Individuals or teams of freelancers, selected after screening
- Billed hourly, part-time or full-time; weekly fixed price per freelancer
- Trial period per freelancer; no charge if the client is not satisfied
- The client directs the work and owns the architecture decisions unless managed delivery is purchased
Sources, checked 9 November 2026:
A defined scope at a fixed price, delivered as tested code packages
AIPOS OÜ sells a result, not people or hours. The architecture and specification are designed in-house by AIPOS OÜ and agreed with you in writing; a multi-agent system then builds, tests and documents production code around the clock. Twenty-four hours of its work equals four to eight weeks of a small software company, measured on AIPOS OÜ's own production systems.
- A written scope description before any money changes hands
- A trial build: a real piece of your plan, delivered within 72 hours of written confirmation, for a fixed 9,900 euros
- The full scope at one fixed price, quoted in writing after the trial; the trial price deducted in full
- Architecture and specification by AIPOS OÜ, agreed with you before any code is written; the multi-agent system builds, tests and documents 24/7
- Every change tested and reviewed by an independent review agent before you see it; delivered as a tested package at every milestone
- Full intellectual property to you; remote only; all communication in writing
24/7 from sign-off
Your project starts. It never stops.
Whichever route you compare it with, the delivery model is the same: from the moment your scope is signed off, an autonomous development system works on it 24/7 — no nights off, no weekends, no handovers. Months of team output, delivered in days.
Starts within hours
Work begins within hours of your written scope sign-off. No recruiting, no onboarding, no waiting for a sprint to open.
Runs around the clock
Autonomous and continuous until delivery: no nights off, no weekends, no handovers, no pauses.
Progress you can see daily
Every change is tested and committed in AIPOS OÜ's own secure development environment. You receive a written progress report every day, and tested code of your product is delivered at agreed milestones — in full after final payment.
Architecture agreed first
The architecture and specification are designed in-house by AIPOS OÜ and agreed with you in writing before any code is written.
Choose this if you need serious development capacity fast, without hiring a team.
Side by side
Hourly talent versus a fixed-price scope.
The comparison is structural on purpose: it describes how each model works, not how good any individual provider is. Prices and durations on the other side vary by provider and market, so they are stated only where published.
| Dimension | Toptal | Ordering from Ship in Hours |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | Time of screened freelancers, hourly, part-time or full-time. | A defined scope, delivered as tested, documented code at one fixed price. |
| Price certainty | Rate is known; total cost depends on how long the work takes. | Fixed for the confirmed scope; known before work starts. Changes agreed in writing first. |
| Who writes the architecture | The client, or the freelancer under the client's direction. | AIPOS OÜ, in-house, agreed with you in writing before any code is built. |
| Management | The client manages the freelancer's work day to day. | All communication in writing; you confirm the scope, read the daily report and accept against the criteria. Nobody to manage. |
| Quality control | Whatever process the client runs with the freelancer. | Test suite plus an independent review agent before every merge; every outgoing change scanned. |
| Working hours | The freelancer's contracted hours and time zone. | Continuous 24/7 cycles with automatic continuation and a self-healing watchdog. |
| Trial | A trial period per freelancer; not charged if unsatisfied (per Toptal's page). | A paid trial build at a fixed 9,900 euros: real scope, tested code, full IP; deducted in full from the main project. |
| When it ends | The engagement stops; knowledge leaves with the person. | Code, tests, documentation and IP have been delivered to you; nothing to unwind. |
| Intellectual property | Per Toptal's client agreement (not reproduced here; read it at the source). | Full IP in the deliverables transferred to you; platform and methodology stay with AIPOS OÜ. |
Where each route fits
When each option is the better choice.
Most large organisations end up using both. The question is which parts of the plan go where.
You need a person inside your team
- A specific skill for an open-ended period, directed by your own lead
- Work that cannot yet be written down as a scope
- A role with meetings, on-call duty or customer contact
- You want to interview and choose the individual
You need a scope delivered by a date
- A subsystem, platform, migration or MVP that can be specified and tested
- A budget that must be fixed before work starts
- No management capacity to direct freelancers day to day
- A team that works well in writing and reviews commits
The process
What switching to a fixed-price build looks like.
There is nothing to onboard and nobody to interview. The sequence is identical for every project and every country.
Describe the project
Send the project description, technology, approximate scope and deadline through the form. You receive a written scope description for a trial build.
Trial build, 72 hours
After your written confirmation, a real piece of your plan is delivered within 72 hours as tested, documented code with full IP. Fixed price 9,900 euros.
Fixed quote for the full scope
You judge the result on the preview link and in the delivered package. If you continue, you receive one fixed price for the whole scope; the trial price is deducted in full.
Continuous delivery
The system builds, tests, reviews and documents in 24/7 cycles until the scope is complete. Scope changes are agreed in writing before they are built.
Trust & delivery standards
Your systems stay untouched. Your product arrives tested.
All development happens in AIPOS OÜ's own secure environment. We never connect to your code hosting, servers, cloud accounts or development environment, so no outside party enters your systems and your supplier and security risk stays small. You receive tested code as a clean package, not half-finished changes in your main branch, and you follow progress every day without watching any technical tools.
How the code is built and handed over
- Tests and independent review. Every change passes the automated test suite and an independent review agent before it is merged.
- Documentation, tests, history. You receive the documentation, the tests and the complete git history of your product's code.
- No dependency on our tools. Code and intellectual property transfer to you without any dependency on AIPOS OÜ's tooling: the product builds, tests and runs from the delivered package with publicly available tools.
- 30 days of free fixes. Defects found within 30 days of hand-over are fixed free of charge, within the written scope description.
How you verify the work without seeing our environment
- Specification first. A written specification with measurable acceptance criteria, prepared by AIPOS OÜ and confirmed by you before development starts.
- A written report every day. By e-mail: what was done, which tests passed, where the work stands against the criteria, the next step, and whether anything needs your answer.
- Preview at every milestone. A password-protected preview link where you try your product working, at every milestone.
- Code you can audit. At every milestone, a test report and the product's code at that point as a file package: run it yourself or have an independent developer audit it. The complete code follows final payment.
- Written acceptance. You accept in writing against the agreed criteria. 50% is paid on scope confirmation and 50% only after acceptance; then 30 days of free defect fixing within the written scope. All communication is by e-mail.
Company details, security, warranty, payment and VAT terms in one place: Trust & delivery standards. The binding wording is in the terms of service.
Prices
Two steps, both at a fixed price.
You see the price before any work starts. There is no hourly billing and no staff rental. The trial build is a real piece of your plan, and its price comes off the main project in full.
A real part of your development plan, delivered within 72 hours of your written scope confirmation as a preview link, a test report and a code package. Full intellectual property to you. 50% on sign-off, 50% after written acceptance; 30 days of free defect fixing. Deducted in full from the main project.
The first three clients receive the trial build for 4,900 euros in exchange for a public reference once the work is delivered.
The whole scope at one fixed price, delivered in days and weeks. Every change is tested and committed. Every project is built on a software architecture and technical specification designed in-house by AIPOS OÜ — reviewed and agreed with you in writing before development begins.
Questions
Questions from buyers comparing talent networks with a fixed-price build.
Is Ship in Hours a freelance network like Toptal?
No. We do not place people in your team and we do not bill by the hour. You confirm a written scope, and AIPOS OÜ delivers it at a fixed price as tested, documented code packages. The architecture and specification are designed in-house by AIPOS OÜ and agreed with you in writing; a multi-agent system builds, tests and documents the code around the clock.
Can I combine a fixed-price build with freelancers I already have?
Yes. Many large projects split naturally: the specifiable scopes are ordered at a fixed price and delivered as commits; your own people or freelancers keep the roles that need a person. The code is built in AIPOS OÜ's own environment and delivered to you as tested packages that your team reviews and integrates through its normal process.
What does a trial look like compared with a freelancer trial period?
A freelancer trial tests a person. Our trial build tests the result: a real, bounded piece of your development plan, delivered within 72 hours of written scope confirmation for a fixed 9,900 euros, with tests, documentation and full IP. If you continue, that amount is deducted in full from the main project.
How do you fix a price when freelancers cannot?
Because the scope is fixed first. You receive a written scope description and confirm it in writing; the trial build shows both sides what the specification means in practice; only then is the full scope quoted as one fixed price. Changes are agreed in writing, with their effect on price and date, before they are built.
Who is accountable if the delivered code has defects?
AIPOS OÜ is, for the confirmed scope. Every change must pass the test suite and an independent review agent before merge, and every outgoing change is scanned. You judge the result on the preview link and in the delivered package before you commit to the main project.
Are the facts about Toptal on this page current?
They are taken from Toptal's own pricing page as published on 9 November 2026 and linked above. Terms change; check them at the source before deciding. We state nothing about Toptal that it does not publish itself.
Read before you decide
Guides for this decision
Alternatives to hiring developers for a large project
Six ways to add capacity compared on speed to start, cost structure, management load, quality, ownership and what is left when the project ends.
Read the guideFixed price vs time and materials for large projects
Who carries the risk under each contract model, when each one is right, and how to make a fixed price work on a large project.
Read the guideHow to evaluate an autonomous AI development vendor
Who owns the architecture, how quality is gated, how your code is isolated, what you own, how claims can be verified, and how to run a bounded trial.
Read the guideSend the scope you would otherwise staff with freelancers.
Describe the project in the form. You receive a written scope description for a trial build at a fixed price, delivered within 72 hours of your confirmation.