Maya K.
Senior Full-Stack Developer
$120/hr
★★★★★4.9
Arc.dev Pricing and Arc.dev Cost in 2026, Hourly Rates, Deposit and the 20% Placement Fee
Arc.dev pricing has two models. Freelance developers are listed at $15 to $110+ an hour with no fee added on top, and full-time hires cost 20% of the first-year salary. Most vetted developers are reported at $60 to $80 an hour, with a $300 deposit and a trial of up to two weeks.
The catch is the part Arc does not print: its margin sits inside the hourly rate. Below we work out what that means at real hours, and when a $349 flat plan where you pay the developer directly comes out cheaper.
$15 to $110+ listed hourly band
20% of salary, full-time
$349/mo, 0% our plan, no project fee
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$349/mo, or $174/mo billed yearly. Freelancers apply to your post and you pick who to hire.
The hourly band, the 20% fee and the two-week trial come from Arc's own pricing page. The deposit and the typical $60 to $80 band are reported by current reviewers, because Arc does not print them. Where Arc is the better buy, we say so.
Two ways to pay
Arc.dev freelance rates and Arc.dev full-time fees on one sheet
Arc sells the same talent pool two ways. Hourly contractors are billed by the hour and you can stop after the trial. Full-time hires go on your payroll and Arc charges once, as a share of salary. The two models cost very different amounts for the same developer, so pick the model before you compare prices.
Freelance hires
$15 to $110+ an hour
- Typical vetted developer
- $60 to $80/hr, reported
- Fee on top of the rate
- none, margin is inside
- Deposit before work starts
- $300, reported, credited
- Trial
- up to two weeks
- Included
- screening, sourcing, recruiter
Full-time hires
20% of annual salary
- On a $100,000 salary
- $20,000
- On a $120,000 salary
- $24,000
- On the US median, $135,980
- $27,196
- On a $160,000 salary
- $32,000
- Included
- sourcing, screening, ATS sync
Median is the BLS May 2025 figure for US software developers (SOC 15-1252). One 2025 pricing guide reports a pay-what-you-want offer on the first full-time hire only, with 20% from the second hire on. Arc's pricing page does not mention it, so treat it as a promotion that may end.
The number Arc does not print
Arc.dev cost when the margin is inside the rate
"No fees on top" is true and it is also the whole trick. Arc is paid from the gap between what you are billed and what the developer receives, and that gap is not published. You cannot compare it with a percentage marketplace by reading the invoice.
So we turned the question around. If you could hire the same developer at the same take-home rate through a $349 flat plan, how large would Arc's hidden margin need to be before the flat plan costs the same? The table answers that at four rates and five monthly hour counts.
Read it like this. At 80 hours a month on a $70 developer, a margin of just 6.2% already equals our whole monthly fee. At 160 hours it is 3.1%. Very few talent networks run on margins that thin.
| Hours a month | $60/hr | $70/hr | $80/hr | $110/hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 hrs | 58.2% | 49.9% | 43.6% | 31.7% |
| 20 hrs | 29.1% | 24.9% | 21.8% | 15.9% |
| 40 hrs | 14.5% | 12.5% | 10.9% | 7.9% |
| 80 hrs | 7.3% | 6.2% | 5.5% | 4.0% |
| 160 hrs | 3.6% | 3.1% | 2.7% | 2.0% |
Break-even margin at $70 an hour
10 hrs49.9%
20 hrs24.9%
40 hrs12.5%
80 hrs6.2%
160 hrs3.1%
Formula: $349 divided by (rate times hours). At low hours Arc is very likely the cheaper route, because no flat fee is spread over so little work. That is the honest loss case for us.
Trial plan, freelance developer
14 days- Day 0$300 deposit, credited to invoice 1
- Day 1Real ticket, 1 to 2 days, clear definition of done
- Day 3First pull request reviewed within 24 hours
- Day 7Second ticket with less hand-holding
- Day 10Go or stop decision, inside the window
5.0
hrs at $60 = deposit
3.75
hrs at $80 = deposit
$579
Toptal, reported
Before hour one
What you pay up front and what the two-week trial really tests
The reported $300 deposit is small next to Toptal's reported $500 plus a $79 first month, so the cash you lock up before work starts is $300 against $579. At $60 an hour the deposit equals 5 hours of work, at $80 it is 3.75 hours. It is credited to the first invoice, so on a real engagement it is a timing cost, not an extra cost.
The trial is the more valuable part. Two weeks is enough to see whether a developer ships a reviewed pull request, asks good questions and works in your time zone. Plan a real ticket for week one, not an onboarding call, or the trial ends before you learn anything.
- Write a 1 to 2 day task with a clear definition of done before the trial starts.
- Review the first pull request inside 24 hours so feedback lands in week one.
- Decide by day 10, so ending the trial does not run past the window.
Contractor or employee
Arc.dev hourly cost at full time against a salaried developer
A loaded US software developer at the BLS median of $135,980, times 1.43 for benefits and payroll taxes, costs $194,451 a year, or $93.49 an hour. Here is an Arc contractor billed for a full 173.33-hour month at four rates, set against that figure.
$60 an hour
$124,798/yr
0.64x a loaded hire
$70 an hour
$145,597/yr
0.75x a loaded hire
$80 an hour
$166,397/yr
0.86x a loaded hire
$110 an hour
$228,796/yr
1.18x a loaded hire
The typical $60 to $80 band is 64% to 86% of a loaded US median developer per hour. That is cheap for vetted remote talent, and it explains why Arc's pool leans global. The crossover is about $93 an hour: above it, a full-time contractor costs more than an employee doing the same hours.
The 20% placement fee on the median salary, $27,196, equals 1.68 months of that loaded employee. It is paid once, so over a three-year tenure it is about $755 a month. If you already know you want a permanent hire, that is a fair recruiting price. US agency recruiters commonly charge in the same 20% to 25% range.
Side by side
Arc.dev pricing next to Toptal, Upwork and a flat plan
| Route | Hourly band | Up front | How the platform is paid | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arc.dev | $15 to $110+ | $300 deposit, reported | Margin inside the rate, not published | Pre-screened remote developers, fast |
| Toptal | $60 to $150+, reported | $500 + $79/mo, reported | Markup inside the rate, reported 30% to 50% | Senior specialists, bigger budgets |
| Upwork Basic | any, set by freelancer | contract fee up to $14.99 | 5% client fee, 3% by US ACH | Short jobs, you do the screening |
| Arc full-time | salary | none | 20% of first-year salary, once | Permanent hires you will keep |
| SuperGig Business | agreed with the developer | $349/mo for the post | Flat fee, no project fee, you pay directly | Steady hours with one developer |
Against Toptal
Arc is cheaper to start and cheaper per hour at the low end. Both hide the cut in the rate. Our Toptal pricing breakdown reconstructs that markup.
Against Upwork
Upwork shows its fee and leaves vetting to you. Arc does the screening and hides the fee. See Upwork pricing for clients for the visible percentages.
Against a flat plan
A fixed $349 loses at 10 hours a month and wins once hours climb. All the percentages are on one page in freelance platform fees compared.
Fair is fair
When Arc.dev is the right buy, and when a flat plan is
Use Arc.dev when
- You need a screened remote developer this month and have no one to run technical interviews.
- The work is under about 20 hours a month, where no flat fee can compete with zero visible fees.
- You want a permanent hire and accept a one-time 20% recruiting fee for a sourced shortlist.
- You are happy with a global pool, where the $15 to $60 end of the band lives.
Use a flat plan when
- You will keep one developer at 40 or more hours a month, where the break-even margin drops to 15% or less.
- You want to agree the rate yourself and know every dollar of it reaches the developer.
- You prefer a contractor relationship that you own, with no platform between you and the invoices.
- You want to see who applies first. Browse freelance web developers or freelance React developers, then post.
For a sense of fair rates by stack, start with our freelance developer rates for 2026.
Questions
Arc.dev pricing questions buyers ask
How much does Arc.dev cost?
Arc.dev lists freelance developers at $15 to $110 or more an hour, and most vetted developers are reported at $60 to $80. Full-time hires cost 20% of the first-year salary as a one-time placement fee. A $300 deposit, credited to your first invoice, is reported before a freelance engagement starts.
Does Arc.dev charge a fee on top of the hourly rate?
No separate fee is added to freelance hours. You pay the quoted hourly rate and Arc keeps its margin inside that rate. Arc does not publish how large that margin is, so the developer receives less than you pay, but you never see a percentage line on the invoice.
What is the Arc.dev placement fee?
Arc.dev charges 20% of the annual salary for a full-time hire, as published on its pricing page. On the BLS May 2025 median software developer salary of $135,980 that is $27,196, paid once. One 2025 guide reports a pay-what-you-want offer on the first full-time hire only.
Does Arc.dev have a free trial?
Arc.dev offers a risk-free trial of up to two weeks on freelance hires. If the developer is not a fit you can end the engagement inside that window. The reported $300 deposit is credited to the first invoice and refunded if you do not continue after the trial.
Is Arc.dev cheaper than Toptal?
Usually yes. Arc.dev rates start at $15 an hour and most sit at $60 to $80, while Toptal is reported at $60 to $150 or more. Arc reports a $300 deposit and no subscription; Toptal is reported at a $500 deposit plus $79 a month. Both build their margin into the rate.
Is Arc.dev worth it for startups?
For a startup that wants a pre-screened remote developer quickly and has no time to run interviews, Arc.dev is worth it, especially at the $60 to $80 band. If you will keep one developer for months and want to agree the rate and pay them directly, a flat-fee board costs less once hours add up.
Keeping a developer for more than a month
Post the project once and see which vetted developers apply. Agree the rate, pay the developer directly and keep every hour at the price you agreed. $349 a month for the post, no project fee.
Business is $349 per month, or $174 per month billed yearly (50% off), for a project post on the SuperGig project board, with no project fee.