Braintrust vs Gun.io
Side-by-side from the Top 11 rankings of Toptal vs Upwork vs Fiverr Pro: 11 Best Freelance Platforms for Hiring Talent 2026 and Forward Deployed Engineer vs Full Stack Developer: 11 Best Firms to Hire in the United States in 2026. Last verified June 17, 2026.
The short answer
Braintrust ranks higher on Top 11 (#6 vs #10) for Startups and SMBs hiring freelancers for design, dev, and marketing / Founders, chief executives and chief technology officers in New York, San Francisco and the wider United States who have a stalled AI project, a budget for one senior hire, and no clear idea whether they are shopping for a forward deployed engineer or a full stack developer.. A decentralized network with vetted tech talent and lower fees.
At a glance
| Braintrust | Gun.io | |
|---|---|---|
| Top 11 rank | #6 / Toptal vs Upwork vs Fiverr Pro: 11 Best Freelance Platforms for Hiring Talent 2026 | #10 / Forward Deployed Engineer vs Full Stack Developer: 11 Best Firms to Hire in the United States in 2026 |
| Score (out of 9.4) | 8.2 | 5.6 |
| Best for | Web3 talent network | One senior freelance developer in a named stack, managed by you |
| Pricing | $$$ (10% client fee) | $$ (rates not published; engagement based) |
| HQ | San Francisco, USA | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Founded | 2018 | 2013 |
Braintrust
A decentralized network with vetted tech talent and lower fees.
www.braintrust.comSee full entry in Toptal vs Upwork vs Fiverr Pro: 11 Best Freelance Platforms for Hiring Talent 2026
Gun.io
A Nashville engineering guild, roughly 1,000 vetted engineers, and concrete public stack counts.
gun.io/Methodology and scoring weights live at /methodology. No vendor pays for placement — see about.