We're always looking for developers to help me build software and businesses. To be honest, finding capable candidates hasn't always been easy – especially when it came to hire PHP developers.
That was, however, before we discovered Toptal.
It’s a seasoned online community of software, app, and web developers. This website assisted us in locating experienced PHP developers who delivered on their promises. And keep in mind that this is coming from someone who has tried over ten different platforms in the past.
Toptal will put you in touch with qualified PHP experts from the United States (and the rest of North America) and Europe.
Simply share your PHP development needs, and the platform will connect you with qualified candidates at reasonable rates.
Why Hire PHP Developers from vetted marketplaces?
With the internet teeming with freelancers, it can be difficult to find experts who genuinely care about their clients.
Toptal is the only platform we came across that was able to provide us with individuals of that professional calibre was Space. This is primarily due to the community's strict onboarding rules and the fact that programmers are vetted on an invite-only basis.
DevTeam developers have years of experience in various PHP frameworks, such as Laravel, CodeIgniter, Symfony, and CakePHP, to name a few, as well as popular open-source CMS/e-commerce platforms, such as Joomla, Drupal, Magento, and others.
You should not look any further if you need to hire PHP programmers. However, I've compiled a list of 15 alternatives in case you want to look into your options.
15+ Best Places to Hire a PHP Developer
Here are the 16 best sites for hiring PHP developers (full-time, part-time, or on a temporary/freelance basis):
1. Toptal - Hire PHP Developers (Vetted)
Toptal is a popular freelancing platform where you can find financial advisors, software development professionals, creative designers, project managers, and, of course, PHP developers.
Unlike traditional freelance platforms, however, Toptal allows you to assemble a team of relevant, hand-picked professionals who are best-suited to handle your needs. We've used this site also to hire developers for apps.
The website has a vetting process (similar to DevTeam.Space) and only accepts the "top 3% of freelance talent."
Furthermore, it provides a risk-free trial period during which you can test out a programmer before paying a dime.
Simply sign up, enter your information, and the platform will connect you with a skilled PHP programmer.
2. DevTeam.Space
On DevTeam.Space, you can find some of the most dedicated PHP developers.
The platform's sole purpose is to connect businesses with a group of reliable technical experts.
One feature that distinguishes DevTeam.Space from the competition is its advanced AI-powered agile process, which allows you to plan, track, and coordinate with your team (or an experienced individual) to ensure the success of your PHP project.
An account manager will give you access to a communication channel, dev server, and dashboard after you share your project requirements and hire PHP developers with relevant experience. From there, you can control everything, receive updates, and monitor the development process.
As previously stated, the platform hand-picks the best PHP web developers to join the community, so you can be confident that your project will be handled by experts.
You can find HTML, Javascript, and CSS developers to handle your front-end needs in addition to experts who specialise in server-side/back-end.
Contact the community today, and they'll connect you with some of the best coders on the internet.
3. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the place to go if you want to connect with trustworthy professionals.
The social network, which is primarily a professional networking platform, is a goldmine for recruiters and project managers looking for qualified candidates to join their teams.
While the platform isn't solely for recruiting and finding freelancers, you can easily find, connect with, and build long-term relationships with experienced PHP developers.
You can also post job ads, just like on other job boards and freelance platforms. Mention all of the requirements (location, function, description, and so on) and approach the appropriate profiles.
The jobs you post will be recommended to qualified candidates via email and notification.
4. Upwork
Upwork is a popular freelancing platform that can connect you with PHP development firms and developers.
You can rely on the platform, which is used by over 5 million businesses, to help you find the most qualified professionals in the industry.
Upwork has a strict onboarding process for freelancers that is based on saturation levels for specific skill sets or specialties. For example, if the platform already has a large number of freelancers who specialise in web development or PHP web applications, Upwork will not accept new profiles with those skillsets.
This keeps the level of quality high, allowing job seekers to find experts on whom they can rely.
You can post an ad for your requirements and let PHP experts find you in a few simple steps.
5. People Per Hour
People Per Hour is next on the list, a massive, UK-based freelance marketplace where you can discover and hire PHP developers in a few simple steps.
The platform, like Fiverr, allows freelancers to create pages dedicated to specific services/jobs (like gigs).
While the freelancers you meet may not be from the United States or Europe, the platform has many success stories.
Furthermore, you can always review any promising candidate's profile to see where they stand in terms of turnaround time and cooperation.
6. We Work Remotely
We Work Remotely is one of the best platforms for approaching and hiring remote professionals.
This online community isn't a freelance website or a traditional job board. Instead, it's a platform only for job seekers and recruiters looking for remote work.
We Work Remotely, like other popular job boards, is not free. A single ad will set you back $299.
If you want to increase the visibility of your job ads (for example, get two posts on social media, a share on WWR's Slack channel, featured email placement, etc.), you can choose from three different packages that cost $59, $89, and $139.
Again, because the platform is a little pricey, I don't recommend WWR unless you're looking to hire a remote PHP developer on a permanent basis.
Aside from that, the website is strong.
7. Working Nomads
Working Nomads, which was founded in 2014, quickly rose to prominence as one of the most dependable platforms for finding capable talent.
Working Nomads (like We Work Remotely) focuses on remote work, as the name suggests.
Furthermore, the platform is not free.
There are three packages to choose from.
The most basic package costs $149 and allows you to post one job (packages go up to $545 for five jobs).
Overall, the platform is a viable alternative to WWR.
8. Stack Overflow
Stack Overflow is a well-known online community of programmers and developers who come together to ask for help, offer assistance, and spark coding discussions.
There is also a large job board on the website where you can easily find and hire PHP developers.
Sign up and create a job listing before posting an ad. Make certain that no requirements are overlooked (a detailed listing is more likely to attract the most relevant experts). Of course, this will cost you money.
On their website, Stack Overflow does not disclose any fixed pricing.
You'll need to speak with a sales representative to get a quote (and see if it fits within your budget).
9. PHP Classes
PHP Classes, which is primarily a learning company and resource platform for PHP experts, is another promising website where you can easily find talent.
A native job board on the website connects PHP professionals with recruiters looking to hire remotely.
Nearly 18,000 developers have signed up for PHP Classes. While there is no strict vetting process on the platform, you can still find experienced profiles who can get the job done.
If you have some free time, you can post your job listings for free. However, if you need to hire someone quickly, a single ad will cost you $75.
10. Glassdoor
There is no better place to find honest employee reviews/testimonials and estimated salary figures than Glassdoor.
In addition to the foregoing, the website includes a native job board that connects businesses with available labour.
You can find and hire PHP developers from all over the world using Glassdoor. For example, if you live in the United States, you can easily target an Indian developer with your listing.
Furthermore, Glassdoor will assist you in advertising up to 5 jobs for free.
This website is a great option if you want to hire PHP developers on a per-project basis or if you want to continue recruiting in the future.
11. Indeed
Indeed is the best alternative to Glassdoor because it is a massive "search engine for jobs."
The website, like its competitor, invites employees to share their employer reviews and salary reports.
Indeed's best feature is that it is free for both job seekers and recruiters.
This means that you can create and publish a job posting for PHP developers for free.
You will, however, have to pay a small fee to "sponsor" your listing. Sponsored jobs have higher visibility and a higher chance of attracting qualified candidates, giving you a competitive advantage.
12. ZipRecruiter
ZipRecruiter is yet another significant platform for both job seekers and recruiters. It allows you to not only post jobs on their website, but it also posts them on other job boards on your behalf.
The website evolved from an online application tracking system to a full-fledged job board over time.
ZipRecruiter is not a free service. There is a free 4-day trial period during which you can post a PHP job (and have it posted on other job boards, as well).
To continue using their service, you must choose one of their packages, which start at $249.
13. Freelancer
Freelancer is one of the most established crowdsourcing platforms, where you can approach experts for a variety of projects.
You can easily find and hire PHP developers from all over the world with just a few clicks.
The procedure is extremely straightforward. You begin by creating and posting a job ad outlining the specifications of your development projects, and then inviting freelancers to bid.
You can then choose any freelancer you believe is suitable to work on your web application project based on your judgement and budget.
To top it all off, you can pay the experts you've found via a secure channel.
14. Fiverr
Another well-known freelance marketplace is Fiverr.
Fiverr's simple process allows you to find the most successful and competent freelance PHP developers.
You can potentially find hundreds of "gigs" – pages that freelancers create for the services they offer (detailing everything from the process to pricing) – and begin working with a potential expert with a simple search.
In terms of pricing, Fiverr is more flexible than other freelancing services. Depending on your budget, you can find freelancers for a few hundred dollars to seasoned professionals who charge thousands of dollars.
If you don't have specific needs and are just looking for help with a quick task, Fiverr is a good place to start.
15. Guru
Guru is a less well-known competitor to Freelancer, Upwork, and Fiverr.
With over 2 million freelancers on board, this platform makes it simple to build and scale a team of remote workers.
With a simple Google search, you can find PHP web development companies and individual coders who offer their services at very low prices.
The platform, which allows you to post a job ad for free and hire PHP developers and other professionals, is trusted by over 800,000 employers worldwide.
Hiring PHP developer FAQs
How much does it cost to hire a PHP developer?
It can cost upwards of $50 per hour to hire a PHP developer, but you will find cheaper options too. Much depends on the required skills and experience level. More experienced and more skilled PHP developers command much higher rates. You could typically expect to pay $60 upwards on Toptal, DevTeam.Space or Upwork.
Where can I hire a PHP developer?
You can hire PHP developers from any of the websites linked above. We can recommend any of the 15 websites as we have used a few of them ourselves and know people who have used the others. This isn’t some random list of websites. We spent time looking through PHP developers, their rates, feedback and reviews of the website itself!
Are PHP developers in demand?
Yes, good quality PHP developers are very much in demand. As PHP is a very flexible and adaptable language, it is used across the internet, in websites, content management systems, apps and many other places. This means good PHP developers are in demand. Expect a wait to find a good one or to pay a premium to jump the queue!
What does PHP stand for?
PHP stands for Hypertext Preprocessor. It’s an open source scripting language that’s ideal for web development and works well with HTML and JavaScript. Given the popularity of the web, websites, content management and all that good stuff, PHP is very popular. So are PHP developers!
Should I learn PHP?
You should learn PHP if you want to be a developer and want to be in demand for the foreseeable future! It’s also an accessible language and could be learned alongside HTML or JavaScript as the three play well together. While PHP will be replaced eventually, it will likely be an evolution rather than revolution so PHP is safe bet for now.
Should I hire a php developer from India?
India is a great emerging country when it comes to developers in general, so hiring a developer from India can be a good idea, and most likely will cost less than most other countries. The problem though is that you'll need to do very good vetting. The thing is that with some many opportunities and demand for developers, you'll find people of all levels (and reputations) saying that they are good developers. Make sure you have full trust of the developer you hire from India.
What is a typical PHP developer salary?
A typical PHP developer salary will vary depending on the location of the business doing the hiring. Of course, in a more globalised world, PHP developers can work remote and demand higher and higher salaries. We would say that for emerging counties, you can expect to pay from $1000/month for skilled developers, and this keeps on getting higher. It's not unusual for experienced PHP developers in the US to earn $100,000p/a or more.
How to Find and Hire PHP Developers
The PHP programming language, like everything else in technology, is constantly evolving.
When hiring PHP developers, you should ensure that they are up to date.
Furthermore, there are some risks to sharing your ideas, especially if you're hiring remotely. To make matters worse, with time constraints, arranging and signing NDAs isn't always easy.
Given all of the challenges, we strongly recommend Toptal.
They not only offer to mitigate risks by agreeing to sign non-disclosure agreements, but they also allow you to closely monitor the progress of their developers.
To top it all off, once everything is in order, they will sign a master agreement granting you full ownership of your intellectual property.
Contact Toptal if you're looking for experienced PHP developers, basic development services, or even to hire Android developers.
Now is the time to find a capable developer for your upcoming project.
Hire Top PHP Developers in December 2024
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