Toptal Guides Worth Reading

Toptal's own page gives the stages, not the questions

Toptal's Why 3% page is the clearest company statement of the screening stages. It names five stages with pass rates of 26.4%, 7.4%, 3.6%, 3.2% and 3%, and it gives three to eight weeks for the full process. The page is undated, and Toptal says the process 'may vary or be changed.' ^[1]

The pass rates do not say how many applicants reach each stage, so read them as the shape of the funnel rather than as odds. The page names four things screeners look for: problem-solving, depth of experience, communication and creativity. It links to no prep material. ^[1]

Calibrd has the most recent stage order, but it sells the prep

Calibrd's guide, updated 31 October 2026, is the most recent stage-by-stage account. It lists six stages, counting the waitlist, where Toptal's page lists five. It describes the coding test as about three problems in about 90 minutes, with hidden test cases and an example that is not scored, and it names Codility as the vendor. Toptal does not name the vendor. ^{[2] [1]}

Most of the Toptal-specific detail comes from candidates, not the company. Calibrd sells interview prep and a paid pass, and it cites a 'Toptal Problem Bank' on GitHub that names no author. Use the stage order and skip the practice questions, which are Calibrd's own. ^[2]

HustleSpire has the best two-week plan, but ignore its numbers

HustleSpire's guide, published 2 April 2026, breaks screening down by job category and gives the most current written prep plan. It advises about two weeks of practice, two or three timed tests in your category's format, two detailed case studies, and speaking your reasoning aloud in the live round. ^[3]

Ignore its hourly ranges and its reapplication wait. The ranges conflict with each other, and the guide gives no source for either figure. Its six-month wait is also unsourced, while reports of the wait run from 30 days to six months, so plan for that range. ^[3]

HoningJS is the most specific live-round account, though it is undated

The HoningJS post gives the most detailed round-by-round account on this page. It describes a 10 to 15 minute English call, a 90 to 120 minute Codility test on which the author scored 82%, an hour-long live session, and a two-week project with a demo. ^[4]

The live-round advice is the useful part. Set up your editor in the interviewer's language before the call, build a correct solution before you optimize it, and keep an eye on the clock. The post has no date, so its times describe one applicant's experience. Toptal's own stage times are the baseline. ^[4]

Older accounts are worth reading for technique, not stage order

The 2017 CleverCoder post has the best Codility advice among the older accounts. Take the practice test first to learn the scoring, expect hidden edge cases such as nulls and overflow, and solve the easiest task first. It predates the current five-stage process, so keep its stage detail out of your plan. ^[5]

Programmer Bear's review, posted in 2015 with a page date of 2017, is the most detailed on how the coding test is scored. It describes a live round of 20 minutes per problem over screen share. It advises against pasting code from your own IDE, but a 2016 commenter cites Codility's FAQ saying candidates may use their own IDE. Treat that rule as open, and ask for the rules before you start. ^[6]

The 2019 Coderbook post names the practice that matters: daily HackerRank and LeetCode work, plus a demo project in Angular and Django. It points to free recorded talks from DjangoCon, PyCon and AngularConf. It also recommends a paid book, Cracking the Coding Interview, so skip that step if you want a free plan. ^[7]

Designers should start with Toptal's own portfolio guide

Toptal's designer guide on case study portfolios, last updated 7 July 2026, is the only current official guidance on this page. It asks for case studies of about one to two minutes of reading each, three to five of them, and a clear statement of your role. A Toptal Verified Expert wrote it. ^[8]

The catch is scope. The guide covers the portfolio, not the screen. HustleSpire's walkthrough lists the designer portfolio review as one stage, so read both before you prepare. ^{[8] [3]}

WordPress developers should expect general PHP in round two

A 2020 personal blog post is the only account on this page written for WordPress developers. Its main warning is that round two tests general PHP, not WordPress. The live round uses Toptal's editor rather than your own setup, so be ready to explain any code you present. ^[9]

The post covers WordPress only, and it is six years old. It recommends HackerRank for PHP practice, so check HackerRank's free limits before you rely on it. ^[9]

Two guides give time splits, and both carry a referral link

The DEV Community guide, published 10 December 2021, gives the clearest time splits: 30 minutes per algorithm task, 15 minutes per live problem, and a project of about 40 hours inside two weeks. It advises thinking aloud and rehearsing the demo. The post contains the author's Toptal referral link, and it says a referral pays both sides $500 after the first job, or $2,500 for some skill sets. Treat those pay figures as the author's claim. ^[10]

The 2020 personal blog post recommends 70 to 150 easy problems on LeetCode or HackerRank and sets out two-week project examples for designers, developers and product managers. Its full guide sits behind a waitlist, and the page carries a Toptal referral link. Its claim that 75% of rejected candidates fail at the language call is the author's own. ^[11]

Code samples show the shape of an answer, not Toptal's test

A GitHub gist of three Python solutions covers binary gap, counting multiples and triangle existence. Its author says they passed the Toptal test, but commenters dispute that and call the tasks Codility Lessons level. Use them to see the shape of a short answer, and expect Python 2 syntax. ^[12]

A finished test-project repository shows what one candidate submitted: a to-do app with login, priorities and a REST API. Its brief is not in the repo, and it has no license. Read it to see the scope and structure, and do not copy it. ^[13]

Read Toptal's page, then Calibrd and HustleSpire

Start with Toptal's Why 3% page for the stages and pass rates. Then read Calibrd for the order of steps and HustleSpire for a two-week plan. Add the HoningJS account if you write code, and Toptal's designer guide if you design. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Leave the code samples until you have a practice plan. None of them is a Toptal question, and each one is one candidate's answer to a task the company does not publish. ^{[12] [13]}