---
title: "Toptal vs Upwork: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?"
description: "Which is more popular in search, Toptal or Upwork? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Freelance marketplaces set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time."
canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/toptal-vs-upwork"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Toptal vs Upwork: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?

Which is more popular in search, Toptal or Upwork? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Freelance marketplaces set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

## Key facts

- **Compared**: Toptal and Upwork
- **Competitive set**: Freelance marketplaces
- **Market**: New Zealand
- **Month measured**: Aug 2026
- **Toptal Share of Search**: 1.5%
- **Upwork Share of Search**: 41.8%

## Which is more popular in search, Toptal or Upwork?

- In August 2026, Upwork had more branded searches than Toptal among freelance marketplaces in New Zealand. Upwork was estimated to have 5.3K branded searches compared to Toptal’s 190, and held a 41.8% Share of Search versus Toptal’s 1.5%.
- Upwork was ahead of Toptal in every measured month of the 11 months ending August 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Toptal’s estimated Share of Search among freelance marketplaces in New Zealand moved from 1.2% to 1.5%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 190.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Upwork’s estimated Share of Search among freelance marketplaces in New Zealand moved from 31.3% to 41.8%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 5.1K to 5.3K.

## How did search popularity change for New Zealand freelance marketplaces in August 2026?

- In August 2026, Toptal rose from 4th to 3rd among freelance marketplaces in New Zealand.

## Month by month

| Month | Toptal estimated searches | Toptal Share of Search | Toptal rank | Upwork estimated searches | Upwork Share of Search | Upwork rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | 190 | 1.2% | 3 | 5.1K | 31.3% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | 200 | 1.4% | 4 | 5.1K | 35.8% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | 180 | 1.3% | 3 | 5.1K | 36.1% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | 230 | 1.5% | 4 | 6.4K | 40.5% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | 200 | 1.4% | 4 | 5.3K | 36.3% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | 240 | 1.5% | 4 | 6.8K | 41.8% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | 190 | 1.2% | 4 | 6.6K | 41.3% | 2 |
| May 2026 | 180 | 1.2% | 4 | 5.6K | 37.7% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | 160 | 1.1% | 4 | 5.4K | 37.4% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | 150 | 1.2% | 4 | 5.3K | 41.9% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | 190 | 1.5% | 3 | 5.3K | 41.8% | 2 |
| Sep 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## How each brand is measured

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Toptal’s and Upwork’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.

- **Toptal**: Measured on the search terms “toptal”, “toptal com”, “toptal freelance”, “toptal hire” and “toptal nz”, summed into one figure.
- **Upwork**: Measured on the search terms “odesk upwork”, “upwork”, “upwork co m”, “upwork com”, “upwork freelance”, “upwork freelance platform”, “upwork freelance writing”, “upwork hire”, “upwork near me”, “upwork nz” and “upwork virtual assistant”, summed into one figure.

- [Toptal profile](/demand/nz/brands/toptal)
- [Upwork profile](/demand/nz/brands/upwork)
- [All freelance marketplaces in New Zealand](/demand/nz/categories/nz-freelance-marketplaces): The set both shares are measured inside, 5 brands.

## Methodology

- [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which is more popular in search, Toptal or Upwork?

In August 2026, Upwork had more branded searches than Toptal among freelance marketplaces in New Zealand. Upwork was estimated to have 5.3K branded searches compared to Toptal’s 190, and held a 41.8% Share of Search versus Toptal’s 1.5%.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Toptal vs Upwork: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/toptal-vs-upwork

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/toptal-vs-upwork. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.