Toptal interview, decoded.
Updated · Sources at the end
Toptal is a network of freelancers that companies hire by the hour, part time or full time. It is a different thing from an employer hiring staff. You are screened once to join the network, and after that you apply for client projects and set your own rate. That makes the screening the interview that matters, and Toptal publishes how hard it is: five steps, with 26.4% of applicants passing the first, 7.4% passing the skill review, 3.6% passing the live screening, 3.2% passing the test project and 3% making it into the network.
For developers, candidates describe the steps the same way year after year: an English and communication interview, a timed algorithm test on Codility, a live coding session with a Toptal engineer while you share your screen, and a test project you build on your own over one to three weeks. The timed test is where most technical applicants drop out, so it is the centre of this guide. In 2026 there is a step before all of these for many people: candidates report being placed on a waitlist before any screening starts, which the process section covers.
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Who Toptal hires
Toptal takes applications from developers, designers, management consultants, project managers, product managers, marketing, sales, support and operations, legal and STEM experts. This guide follows the developer path, the one people mean when they search for the Toptal test or the Toptal Codility test. Toptal says its screening measures subject matter expertise, professionalism and communication skills, and that it looks for people who are passionate about and fully engaged in their work. Members set their own hourly rate and choose full-time, part-time or hourly engagements, and Toptal says it takes no cut from the rate you set.
What is the Toptal interview process?
Toptal publishes its screening as five steps on its top 3% page and says the full process takes 3 to 8 weeks, with the steps subject to change at its discretion. It names the stages but not the tools, so the format details below come from candidates and are marked as reported, with the year of each account. The closest guide we have is the Crossover one: both screen a large stream of remote applicants with a timed online test before a human spends time on them. The difference is what you are joining. Crossover hires you into a full-time job; Toptal admits you into a pool of freelancers, and you still have to win each client after that.
You apply at toptal.com/talent/apply and pick your field. In 2026 several candidates on Reddit report being placed on a talent waitlist before any interview, with a notice saying applications were too many and that Toptal would reach out when clients need someone like them. One candidate posted Toptal's emailed reply in September 2026: the Core Network was waitlisting new applicants, and the way forward was a separate product called Toptal Marketplace, reached through a paid TopAccess subscription that does not guarantee acceptance. Another reported the price as $29.95 a month on a 12-month commitment. Toptal's own TopAccess terms page did not load when checked, so treat these details as reported.
Toptal calls this a comprehensive English language and communication evaluation, and says it also looks at personality: it wants people who are passionate and engaged. Only 26.4% of applicants pass, which makes it the largest single cut. Candidates describe a conversation about your experience and your expectations, and a 2026 community study guide adds your hourly rate to the topics. One long-time member who applied in 2019 says his English interview came last, after the coding steps, so the order can vary.
Toptal says it tests technical knowledge and problem-solving through various assessments and usually advances only candidates with exceptional results. For developers, candidates since at least 2015 describe a timed algorithm test on Codility with about three problems in roughly 90 minutes, scored automatically. 7.4% of all applicants pass, which by our arithmetic is about 28% of the people who passed the English interview. The section below goes through it.
Toptal says screeners who are experts in your field run live exercises looking for problem-solving ability, depth of experience, communication and creativity. Older accounts describe two coding tasks of about 20 minutes each, easier than the Codility problems, with the engineer watching and asking why you made each choice. Answering a 2026 question about the iOS round, a member since 2015 advised preparing for both: practical feature work in your stack and common algorithms. 3.6% of applicants pass, about half of those who reached this step.
Toptal says each candidate gets a test project to show competence, thoroughness, professionalism and integrity, and that projects take 1 to 3 weeks. A 2017 account says the first task was to estimate how long you need and commit to a delivery date. A 2026 account says the project has to meet every requirement and follow good coding standards, with one to two weeks depending on the stack, and that a candidate who failed it was offered a place on Toptal Marketplace instead. 3.2% of applicants pass. The test project section below covers it.
Toptal counts its fifth step as keeping a track record of excellence with clients, which brings the final figure to 3%. Once accepted, members describe applying to client projects posted in the platform, setting a rate for each, and an interview with the client before the work starts. Recruiters inside Toptal also send members projects directly.
Toptal Codility test: what's on it and how to pass
What candidates report and how to take itThis is the test people mean by "the Toptal test". Toptal says only that it tests technical knowledge and problem-solving through various assessments and advances only candidates with exceptional results; 7.4% of all applicants get past it. Developers describe the same format across a decade of reports: a timed test on Codility with about three algorithm problems in about 90 minutes. That figure first shows up in 2015 accounts on Hacker News, again in a 2017 blog post, and again in a September 2026 Reddit thread where a candidate mentions a mistake in "my 3rd coding question" and puts the problems at about LeetCode medium level. Treat the count and the time as reported; Toptal does not publish them, and a data science candidate in 2022 had three problems in 100 minutes with library questions instead. Codility scores each problem on hidden test cases: correctness cases for every task and, for algorithm tasks, performance cases that feed it large inputs. The example test shown with the problem does not count toward your score.
- The edge cases you can't see: Codility says its example test is only there to explain the task and that you can pass it and still score 0%. Before you submit, write your own cases: empty input, one element, all equal values, negative numbers, the largest values the task allows. A 2017 candidate wrote that the platform tests your code on all possible edge cases.
- Performance on large inputs: On algorithm tasks Codility runs performance cases with growing inputs, so a correct solution that is too slow loses those points to timeouts. Read the input limits in the task, and if n can be around 100,000, aim for O(n) or O(n log n). Say the complexity to yourself before you code.
- The clock: With about 30 minutes a problem, read all three first and start with the one you can solve fastest. Under Codility's test-case scoring, two fully working answers usually outscore three half-working ones. Leave five minutes to rerun your own tests on each answer.
- No IDE to catch your typos: One 2026 commenter failed because of a typo in the last problem that an IDE would have flagged at once. Practise in a plain browser editor, in the language you will use on the day, and run the code often instead of writing it all and running it once at the end.
- Practising the right problems: Candidates who passed recommend working through Codility's own free lessons first, then timed LeetCode or HackerRank medium problems until you can finish them inside the clock. A community problem bank on GitHub from 2026 repeats the three-problem, 90-minute format and groups its practice by topic: arrays and prefix sums, sliding windows and two pointers, sorting and binary search, hash maps, stacks, graphs, greedy problems and dynamic programming.
- If you fail: Toptal says applicants are encouraged to try again and that it typically requires a waiting period between attempts. It does not publish the length. Candidates have reported three months (2016), six months (2026) and "a couple of months" (2026). Use the gap to drill timed problems; members on Hacker News describe failing the first time and passing after a few months of practice.
Reported pass marks for this test circulate online, but none of them comes from Toptal, so this guide leaves them out. Toptal's own wording is that it advances candidates with exceptional results.
Toptal test project: what to expect and how to deliver
What Toptal says it checks and what candidates reportThe test project is the last screen before you join, and Toptal says it is there to see whether candidates "can walk the walk". Each candidate is given a project that takes 1 to 3 weeks, judged on competence, thoroughness, professionalism and integrity. By Toptal's own numbers it is the gentlest cut, with 3.2% of applicants passing out of the 3.6% who reach it, about nine in ten. Candidates do still fail it, and a 2026 account says those who do can be offered a place on Toptal Marketplace instead of the main network. Projects match the stack you applied with: a 2017 Hacker News account describes a mobile developer getting a small app with a hosted backend.
- Your estimate and your date: A 2017 candidate says the first task was to estimate how long the project would take and commit to a delivery date. Give yourself room: an estimate you beat looks better than one you miss, and missing a date you set yourself is exactly what a professionalism check notices.
- Every requirement in the brief: A 2026 candidate who reached the project says it has to meet all the requirements and follow good coding standards. Turn the brief into a checklist on day one and tick each item off against the finished build, including the ones that look minor.
- Code another engineer can review: Expect someone to read the code. Keep a clean structure, a short README that says how to run it, tests for the main paths and a sensible commit history, so the reviewer sees how you work and what you built.
- Presenting what you built: A 2015 account describes a 10-minute call presenting the project to a Toptal engineer. Prepare to say what you built, the main decisions and their trade-offs, and what you would do next with more time.
- Questions along the way: If something in the brief is unclear, ask in writing and note the answer in your README. Clients expect the same from freelancers, and Toptal lists communication as one of the things its screening measures.
One 2026 candidate says an NDA stops them sharing project details, so the reports stay general.
What Toptal screens for
Toptal's screening page names what each step looks for, and those words are the best guide to what the screeners score.
- Clear spoken English and communication, checked in the first interview, where nearly three in four applicants stop
- Passion and full engagement in your work, which Toptal says the personality part of the first call looks for
- Problem-solving under time pressure, with code that handles every edge case and runs fast on large inputs
- Depth of experience, communication and creativity, the four things Toptal names for the live screening
- Competence, thoroughness, professionalism and integrity, the qualities Toptal says the test project measures
Toptal interview questions
Candidate-reported themesCandidates rarely post the exact problems, and one who reached the test project says an NDA stops them. What follows is built from what Toptal says each step looks for and from what candidates describe, written as our own practice questions, so you can prepare for the format without needing the real ones.
Behavioural & motivation
- Why do you want to freelance through Toptal?Listening for: Specificity · Connection · Research
- Tell me about a project you delivered for a client, and what you did when the requirements changed halfway.Listening for: A real project · Handling the change · How it ended
- What hourly rate are you asking for, and how did you arrive at it?Listening for: A clear number · Why that number · Open to the market
- Describe a time you found a serious problem in your own work after you had delivered it.Listening for: Owning it · Telling the client · Fix and prevention
Technical
- Practice: given an array of up to 100,000 integers, return the length of the longest stretch of consecutive positions where each value is larger than the one before. Say the complexity before you code.Timed algorithm problems: The Codility test: about three problems in about 90 minutes, reported since 2015, with a 2026 account calling them LeetCode medium levelListening for: A linear approach · Edge cases named · Clear reasoning
- Practice: write a function that returns the smallest positive integer missing from an array. Before submitting, list the test cases you would write yourself.Hidden test cases: Codility grades on test cases you never see; the example test does not count toward the scoreListening for: Your own tests · An efficient fix · Checks before submit
- Practice: group a list of words into sets of anagrams, talking through each step as you write it.Coding while someone watches: The live screening: two shorter tasks with a Toptal engineer asking why you made each choiceListening for: Clarifies first · Thinks out loud · Tests it live
- Practice: in your own stack, build a screen that loads a list of items from an API, shows a loading state and an error state, and lets the user retry.Practical work in your stack: 2026 advice for the iOS live round from a member since 2015: get a simple feature working end to endListening for: It works end to end · Loading and errors · Explains choices
- Practice: without pandas or NumPy, read a CSV of orders and print total revenue per customer, sorted from highest to lowest.Data science track: A 2022 data science account: three problems in 100 minutes on Codility, covering NumPy, pandas and a task without either libraryListening for: Parses safely · Aggregates cleanly · Edge cases
These are the reported themes, and your loop is role-specific. Paste the actual posting and Calibrd predicts the questions for that exact role and level.
Predict my Toptal questions →How to prepare for a Toptal interview
- Apply first and see whether you are waitlisted before you spend weeks preparing. In 2026 several candidates report a waitlist notice straight after applying.
- Prepare for the English interview like a client call: a two-minute summary of your experience, one client story told well, and an hourly rate you can explain.
- Work through Codility's free lessons, then do timed medium problems in the language you will use, in a plain browser editor with no autocomplete.
- For every practice problem, write your own edge-case tests before submitting and check the complexity against the input limits.
- On the test day, read all the problems first, solve the easiest fully, and keep the last minutes to rerun your own tests.
- Practise coding out loud with someone watching, explaining each choice as you go, before the live screening.
- Refresh practical work in your stack too: a small feature that calls an API and handles loading and errors, end to end.
- For the test project, set a delivery date you can beat, turn the brief into a checklist and ship tests and a README with the code.
- If you fail a step, ask when you can reapply and plan your practice around that date.
This guide follows Toptal's screening for developers. Designers, finance experts, project and product managers go through the same five steps, and Toptal says their assessments can include portfolio reviews, business cases, research and backlog grooming in place of coding challenges. For management and leadership roles the loop is similar but the bar shifts to people, delivery and strategy, so pair it with the leadership interview prep hub. The bar for your exact role comes from the role-by-role guides, and the prep that actually transfers is spoken, so run a mock interview before the real one.
Also interviewing at Shopify, PostHog or GitLab? Their guides follow the same format, from the first screen to the offer.
Knowing the questions isn’t the same as answering them out loud. Run a Toptal mock: spoken answers, coached on the spot. Your first mock is free.
Run a Toptal mock →FAQ & sources
What is Toptal's interview process?
Toptal publishes its screening as five steps on its top 3% page and says the full process takes 3 to 8 weeks, with the steps subject to change at its discretion. The stages, in order: Application and waitlist; English and personality interview; In-depth skill review; Live screening; Test project; Continued excellence.
What does Toptal look for in candidates?
Toptal's screening page names what each step looks for, and those words are the best guide to what the screeners score. Clear spoken English and communication, checked in the first interview, where nearly three in four applicants stop; Passion and full engagement in your work, which Toptal says the personality part of the first call looks for; Problem-solving under time pressure, with code that handles every edge case and runs fast on large inputs; Depth of experience, communication and creativity, the four things Toptal names for the live screening.
What questions does Toptal ask in interviews?
Candidates rarely post the exact problems, and one who reached the test project says an NDA stops them. Technical themes: Timed algorithm problems; Hidden test cases; Coding while someone watches; Practical work in your stack; Data science track.
What is on the Toptal Codility test?
This is the test people mean by "the Toptal test". Toptal says only that it tests technical knowledge and problem-solving through various assessments and advances only candidates with exceptional results; 7.4% of all applicants get past it. Covered on this page: The edge cases you can't see; Performance on large inputs; The clock; No IDE to catch your typos; Practising the right problems; If you fail.
What is the Toptal test project?
The test project is the last screen before you join, and Toptal says it is there to see whether candidates "can walk the walk". Each candidate is given a project that takes 1 to 3 weeks, judged on competence, thoroughness, professionalism and integrity. Covered on this page: Your estimate and your date; Every requirement in the brief; Code another engineer can review; Presenting what you built; Questions along the way.
How do I prepare for a Toptal interview?
Apply first and see whether you are waitlisted before you spend weeks preparing. In 2026 several candidates report a waitlist notice straight after applying. Prepare for the English interview like a client call: a two-minute summary of your experience, one client story told well, and an hourly rate you can explain.
- 01Toptal, Screening process: the path to top 3%the five steps and pass rates (26.4%, 7.4%, 3.6%, 3.2%, 3%), what each step looks for, test projects of 1 to 3 weeks, the 3 to 8 week process, fewer than 3% of thousands of monthly applications accepted, and the process may change at Toptal's discretion (read 6 October 2026)
- 02Toptal, FAQscreening for communication skills, personality, domain knowledge and professionalism; portfolio reviews, coding challenges, business cases, backlog grooming and live problem-solving depending on the field; the trial period of up to two weeks for clients (read 6 October 2026)
- 03Toptal, Freelance jobs FAQscreening takes a few weeks, a waiting period between attempts, members set their own hourly rate, Toptal takes no cut from it, full-time, part-time or hourly work, payment in US dollars (read 6 October 2026)
- 04Toptal, Hire freelance developersmore than 200,000 applicants a year, fewer than 3% accepted (read 6 October 2026)
- 05Toptal, Apply to jointhe ten fields Toptal accepts applications in (read 6 October 2026)
- 06Codility, Automated scoring principlestasks scored on hidden test cases, the example test does not count, correctness cases for every task and performance cases for algorithm tasks (updated 12 March 2026)
- 07Codility, Why did I score 0% despite passing example test cases?passing the example test is possible without passing the graded cases; consider every edge case (updated 27 June 2024)
- 08Codility, Developer trainingCodility's free coding lessons, which candidates recommend as the first step (read 6 October 2026)
- 09Clever Coder, Toptal: how I passed the interviewcandidate account: the communication round, a Codility test of three problems in an hour and a half that checks every edge case, a live round of two tasks at about 20 minutes each, and a project that starts with your own estimate and delivery date (4 September 2017)
- 10Hacker News, a candidate on the four stepscandidate account: English interview, Codility with three problems in 90 minutes, two live problems of 20 minutes each, a project presented in a 10-minute call (24 August 2015)
- 11Hacker News, a Toptal member on the stepscandidate account: English screen, Codility with three or four tasks in about 90 minutes, an easier live session with questions about your experience, a project matched to your stack such as a small mobile app (1 August 2017)
- 12Hacker News, a candidate who failed the live roundcandidate account: passed the Codility test, failed the screen-shared live round, and was told to wait three months before trying again (9 January 2016)
- 13Hacker News, a member who passed on a second attemptcandidate account: failed the algorithm tests, reapplied a couple of months later after practising Codility tests, and passed the rest of the process (24 March 2017)
- 14Hacker News, a member who failed the first timecandidate account: failed the first attempt, studied coding exercises, then passed and built the live project in React (17 July 2017)
- 15Reddit r/datascience, preparing for the Toptal coding assessmentcandidate account: the data science test on Codility, three questions in 100 minutes on NumPy, pandas and a task without either (24 August 2022)
- 16Reddit r/freelancing, Toptal software developer preparation and interview processcandidate comments: the coding round on Codility, problems at about LeetCode medium level, a third coding question, an invite to the next round right after submitting; a 2019 applicant whose final interview checked English fluency and expectations and came after the coding steps (August to September 2026)
- 17Reddit r/freelancing, Toptal developer interviewcandidate comment: work through Codility's training then timed LeetCode or HackerRank problems; failed on a typo an IDE would have caught; the project lasts about two weeks (17 August 2026)
- 18Reddit r/freelancing, Toptal iOS live coding interviewa member since 2015 advising practical, end-to-end feature work plus common algorithms for the live round (14 September 2026)
- 19Reddit r/freelancing, Toptal: stuck on application?reported: a TopAccess screen at $29.95 a month on a 12-month commitment, Toptal's emailed reply that the Core Network is waitlisting and that TopAccess leads to the Marketplace application without guaranteeing acceptance; a candidate who failed the test project and was moved to Marketplace; the project at one to two weeks by stack and under an NDA (September 2026)
- 20Reddit r/developersPak, passed Toptal's screeninga candidate who cleared all five stages; the waitlist notice another applicant received; members on applying to posted projects through recruiters (June to September 2026)
- 21Reddit r/Upwork, Toptal new marketplace?candidates invited to Toptal Marketplace, separate from the core network, including one rejected and put on hold for six months (June 2026)
- 22Reddit r/cscareerquestions, Toptal for React developerscandidate account: a first Codility test the candidate found easy for someone who knows React, a week-long test project after the technical interview, and an interviewer's reaction to the hourly rate the candidate had set (2 October 2022)
- 23Toptal Problem Bank (community study guide on GitHub)an unofficial 2026 prep guide repeating the three-problem, 90-minute Codility format and grouping practice problems by topic; its author and its sources are not stated (created 25 March 2026)
Interview processes change. This reflects widely-reported and sourced conditions as of 2026 — confirm specifics with your recruiter, and treat it as a map rather than a guarantee.
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