Startup founders and CTOs often face a familiar tension: you need good engineering talent now, but hiring in-house can take weeks or months. Talent marketplaces like Ellow aim to shorten that gap by pre-vetting developers, handling administrative friction, and matching you rapidly. In this article, we’ll examine how Ellow works, their pricing model, vetting process, what clients say, and when alternatives might be better.

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What is Ellow?

Ellow (or Ellow Talent) is a global talent marketplace founded around 2020. They provide a platform that helps companies hire pre-vetted remote developers. Their services include matching clients with developers, handling contract/compliance/onboarding, and managing remote talent. The goal is to allow organisations to scale engineering quickly without going through full traditional hiring. Ellow is one of the platforms that leverages AI in matching, screening, and managing tech talent.

Ellow’s Pricing

Ellow does not publish detailed rate cards for different seniorities or tech stacks on its site, but third-party directories like Clutch note a minimum project size of $50,000. The company’s FAQ page says it makes revenue model from subscriptions as well as 10-20% transaction fee from a developer’s charges. If you decide to hire an Ellow developer permanently after the one year contract period you’ll pay 20% of the annual contract amount.

How to Hire Developers from Ellow

Here is a sketch of what the process is like if you engage Ellow as a client to hire a developer:

1. Sign Up: Create an account or register on Ellow’s platform as a “hirer”.
2. Post Job Details: Provide role description, required technical stack, seniority, skills, communication expectations, etc.
3. Matching & Profile Shortlisting: Ellow matches from its pre-vetted pool. You are shown candidate profiles that passed the vetting and match your needs. Usually it takes 2 to 3 days.
4. Client Review & Interviews: You review the presented candidates and conduct interviews (technical/cultural) with those you like.
5. Selecting & Contracting: Once you decide, contractually engage the developer. Ellow handles the onboarding, compliance, payroll etc. The developer joins usually a week after selection.

How is Ellow’s Developer Vetting Process?

Here is Ellow’s step-by-step process for vetting developers:

1. Candidates submit resumes. Ellow uses AI to score them on different parameters including communication, attitude, etc. This is a “smoke test” to weed out obvious mismatches.

2. After initial screening, Ellow checks conducts a technical skill review using HackerEarth’s platform to assess whether the technical experience matches the required skills for the roles applied.

3. Candidates undertake programming challenges or algorithm tasks to test logic, coding ability, problem-solving.

4. A live interview follows with a senior developer to check overall logic and programming depth. The whole vetting process is spread over several days.
   

N.B: Ellow only considers full-time remote developers/full-time contractor commitments, not part-time/fractional commitments. 

Ellow Customer Reviews

Clients say Ellow is quick and easy to work with. Reviews on sites like G2 and Trustpilot highlight that they provide good developers, and that communication is smooth. On Clutch, clients mentioned projects were delivered on time with few issues. The main downsides people note are that pricing isn’t very clear and the minimum project size can be quite high.

Ellow Pros

• Strong dev quality thanks to detailed vetting.
• Speed: You can get profiles quickly with developer onboard in a week.
• Well-reviewed by clients for candidate quality and communication.
• Trusted platform with decent reviews and reputation for reliability.

Ellow Cons

• Pricing is not fully transparent, especially for more senior or specialized roles.
• The stipulated minimum project cost of $50,000+ in many cases may be too high for early-stage startups or small projects.
• Less clarity in public documentation about replacement policies, etc.
• Limited flexibility as there’s no consideration for part-time or fractional engagements.

Best Ellow Alternatives

If Ellow doesn’t suit your budget, timeline, or flexibility, here are 5 alternatives to consider:

#1 ReactSquad

Our company provides tech companies with senior, vetted React specialists in a staff augmentation model. We’ve worked with several companies across the globe including US Fortune 1000 companies. We’re a more focused, hands-on alternative for teams who want fewer handoffs and faster shipping of code.

ReactSquad features

• Strong vetting process: Each dev passed through 3 interview rounds plus a 4-week paid test project. We reject developers with less than 5 years of experience. 
• Fast matching: Get matched within 48 hours. 
• 14-day risk-free trial to test our developers. 
• Flexible hiring: Hire for short term or long-term projects. 
• Flexible payment options. No minimum commitment required.

‍Pricing: Our rates start from $75 per hour. No hidden fees. No need to give up equity either.

ReactSquad vs Ellow Compared

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#2 Gun.io

Gun.io connects businesses with top software engineers, especially based in Europe. The platform combines AI and manual selection to match developers with suitable companies. However it operates on an invite-only basis in order to keep the quality high. Gun.io offers to handle payroll administration responsibilities after you hire a dev. 

Gun.io features

• Candidates are strongly vetted by AI and the company's senior development team. 
• More focused on long-term contract roles.
• The hiring process can take up to 2 weeks.
• Gun.io handles contracts, payroll billing, and tax compliance for clients.

‍Pricing: Gun.io developer rates vary between $100 and $150 per hour. If you want to hire a full-time developer you have to pay a fee equal to 20% of the developer's first-year salary at your company.

Gun.io vs Ellow Compared

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#3 Grupa

Grupa is a subscription-based marketplace for hiring tech experts from Silicon Valley companies part-time. Grupa’s service is only available to VC-backed US startups registered as Delaware C-corporations. Grupa devs work 15-30 hours per week in exchange for cash and equity. While you’re guaranteed expert devs, their part-time availability could affect their commitment to your project. 

Grupa features

• Developers work part-time for up to 30 hours a week, including weekends.
• Service is only available to US-incorporated VC-backed firms registered as Delaware C-corporations
• Access to elite developers who work at top tech companies in the USA.
• You can choose to work with developers remotely or on site. 

‍Pricing: Grupa’s devs accept compensation in cash (minimum of $10,000 a month), equity (minimum of 0.375%), or both (minimum of $7,500 + 0.125%). Payment is done monthly. If you decide to hire the expert full-time, Grupa charges a 20% recruitment fee on the agreed 1 year salary of the developer. 

Grupa vs Ellow Compared

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#4 CrewScale

CrewScale is a tech talent-hiring platform that connects companies to its pool of developers. With a network of over 30,000 engineers, CrewScale provides remote tech talent from around the world. They allow full-time hiring, as well as short-term or long-term projects. 

CrewScale features

• Flexible hiring: Hire, full-time, or for long-term and short-term projects
• There’s a 2-week free trial available 
• CrewScale provides clients with 24/7 customer support
• Hiring may take up to 2 weeks to complete
• Clients get a dedicated account manager
• Matching is AI-based

Pricing: CrewScale freelancers charge between $65 to $100 per hour, depending on their seniority and tech stack.

CrewScale vs Ellow Compared

Quick Comparison of Ellow & Alternatives

Which Developer Hiring Platform Should You Choose?

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Final Thoughts

Ellow is a good fit if you need developers quickly and value a structured vetting process. Their platform gets solid marks for speed and quality, though the lack of transparent pricing and higher minimum project sizes can make it less practical for early-stage startups.

The alternatives in this review cover different angles; some with clearer pricing, others with more flexible contracts. But if your product is built on React.js, you’ll get the most leverage from developers who live and breathe that stack. ReactSquad gives you direct access to senior React specialists, vetted through tough interviews and real test projects. And because there are no equity strings attached, founders can scale with quality React talent while keeping full ownership of their company.

‍Schedule a call and get matched with a dev in 48 hours.