Index.dev vs Quantiphi: full comparison for 2026
Quick verdict
Index.dev (4.5/5) edges ahead of Quantiphi (4.2/5) overall. Index.dev is the better choice for startups that want their money back if the first month doesn't work. Quantiphi is the stronger option for procurement teams that want a defined staffing product from a large AI-only firm. The right choice depends on your project size, budget, and required tech stack.
Index.dev vs Quantiphi: head-to-head summary
| Criterion | Index.dev | Quantiphi |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2019 | 2013 |
| HQ | London, United Kingdom | Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA |
| Team size | 30,000+ network | 3,000–4,000+ |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Primary differentiator | A refundable 30-day trial on every placement, plus direct hire | Elastic Staffing, a packaged staffing program built with AWS |
| Pricing model | Monthly rate per engineer; direct-hire fee; 30-day refundable trial; rates on request | Elastic Staffing billed per specialist; consulting quoted separately; rates on request |
| Min. engagement | Not published | Not published |
| Primary tech stack | Python, PyTorch, LangChain | Python, TensorFlow, PyTorch |
| Industries served | SaaS, Fintech, E-commerce, AI labs, Healthcare | Healthcare, Financial services, Energy, Retail, Media |
Index.dev vs Quantiphi: overview
Index.dev
Index.dev, legally Index Soft Limited, is a London talent platform that its job ads date to 2019. Its buying terms are the clearest of any network here: every placement carries a 30-day trial with a full refund if the match fails. You can contract one engineer, build a dedicated offshore team or hire someone directly. The main pool of more than 30,000 engineers sits in Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe, and a separate AI unit supplies Master's and PhD-level people for fine-tuning and retrieval work. Vetting runs through five stages with human reviewers.
Quantiphi
Quantiphi, founded in 2013 in Marlborough, Massachusetts, employs between 3,000 and 4,000+ people on AI and data work alone. For buyers, its most useful feature is that staffing comes as a named product. Elastic Staffing, built with AWS, places generative AI and ML specialists into client teams, which gives procurement something defined to sign. It is the right call when you need many roles at once. Smaller requests compete with large consulting programs, and rates appear only after scoping.
Services and capabilities: Index.dev vs Quantiphi
| Capability | Index.dev | Quantiphi |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time dedicated engineers | ✓ | ✓ |
| Part-time / fractional experts | ✗ | ✗ |
| Dedicated team | ✓ | ✓ |
| Trial before commitment | ✓ | ✗ |
| Published rates | ✗ | ✗ |
| Direct hire option | ✓ | ✗ |
| Subscription or output-based pricing | ✗ | ✗ |
| Nearshore time-zone overlap | ✓ | ✗ |
| LLM / GenAI engineers | ✓ | ✓ |
| MLOps | ✗ | ✓ |
| Computer vision | ✗ | ✗ |
| Data engineering | ✗ | ✓ |
Tech stack comparison: Index.dev vs Quantiphi
| Framework / platform | Index.dev | Quantiphi |
|---|---|---|
| PyTorch | ✓ | ✓ |
| TensorFlow | N/A | ✓ |
| LangChain | ✓ | N/A |
| Hugging Face | ✓ | N/A |
| OpenAI | ✓ | N/A |
| AWS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Azure | N/A | N/A |
| Google Cloud | ✓ | ✓ |
| Databricks | N/A | ✓ |
| Kubernetes | N/A | N/A |
Pricing comparison: Index.dev vs Quantiphi
| Criterion | Index.dev | Quantiphi |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum engagement | Not published | Not published |
| Engagement models | Full-time dedicated, Dedicated team, Direct hire, Trial period | Full-time dedicated, Dedicated team, Project delivery |
| Rate transparency | Not public | Not public |
| Price tier | Mid-market | Mid-market |
Target audience comparison: Index.dev vs Quantiphi
| Dimension | Index.dev | Quantiphi |
|---|---|---|
| Best company size | Startup to mid-market | Startup to mid-market |
| Best industries | SaaS, Fintech, E-commerce | Healthcare, Financial services, Energy |
| Best use cases | Trialling a Latin American LLM engineer for a month, Hiring a PhD-level specialist to fine-tune a model | Buying ten GenAI specialists under one contract, Staffing a SageMaker migration |
| Typical project type | Full-time dedicated | Full-time dedicated |
Index.dev vs Quantiphi: pros and cons
| Index.dev | |
|---|---|
| + | A full refund in the first 30 days lowers the cost of a bad match |
| + | Contract and direct-hire routes from one provider |
| + | Talent in both U.S.-friendly and European time zones |
| - | Engineers are network members, not employees |
| - | Acceptance-rate figures are the company's own |
| - | No published monthly rates |
| Quantiphi | |
|---|---|
| + | A named staffing product simplifies procurement |
| + | Can fill many AI roles at once |
| + | Senior partner status with Google Cloud and AWS |
| - | Small requests get less attention |
| - | No public rates or trial |
| - | Headcount estimates vary |
Who should choose Index.dev?
A typical fit: trialling a Latin American LLM engineer for a month.
A refundable 30-day trial on every placement, plus direct hire. Minimum engagement is not publicly disclosed. Works best with clients in SaaS, Fintech, E-commerce, AI labs, Healthcare.
Who should choose Quantiphi?
A typical fit: buying ten GenAI specialists under one contract.
Elastic Staffing, a packaged staffing program built with AWS. Minimum engagement is not publicly disclosed. Works best with clients in Healthcare, Financial services, Energy, Retail, Media.
Decision matrix: Index.dev vs Quantiphi
| Your situation | Recommended choice |
|---|---|
| You want one engineer full-time on a monthly contract | Both; Index.dev rates higher overall |
| You only need a specialist a few days a week | Neither advertises part-time experts; ask about reduced hours |
| You want to test an engineer before committing | Index.dev |
| You need a rate before the first call | Neither publishes rates; ask both for a written rate card |
| Your budget is at the lower end | Compare: Index.dev (Not published) vs Quantiphi (Not published) |
| You may want to hire the engineer permanently later | Index.dev |
| You want several engineers working as one team | Quantiphi |
Use case fit: Index.dev vs Quantiphi
| Use case | Index.dev fit | Quantiphi fit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trialling a Latin American LLM engineer for a month | Strong | Limited | Index.dev |
| Hiring a PhD-level specialist to fine-tune a model | Strong | Limited | Index.dev |
| Buying ten GenAI specialists under one contract | Limited | Strong | Quantiphi |
| Staffing a SageMaker migration | Limited | Strong | Quantiphi |
Verdict: Index.dev vs Quantiphi
Index.dev (4.5/5) is the stronger overall choice for most AI Staff Augmentation projects. A refundable 30-day trial on every placement, plus direct hire.
Quantiphi (4.2/5) is worth a look if you need staffing a SageMaker migration. If your situation matches that, Quantiphi is a competitive option.
Related comparisons
Index.dev vs Quantiphi FAQ
Is Index.dev better than Quantiphi?
Index.dev (4.5/5) scores higher overall, but "better" depends on your use case. Index.dev's strongest advantage: a full refund in the first 30 days lowers the cost of a bad match. Quantiphi's strongest advantage: a named staffing product simplifies procurement.
How do Index.dev and Quantiphi differ in pricing?
Index.dev uses monthly rate per engineer; direct-hire fee; 30-day refundable trial; rates on request pricing. Quantiphi uses elastic staffing billed per specialist; consulting quoted separately; rates on request pricing. Neither firm publishes a full rate card; a discovery call is required for project-specific quotes.
Which is better for enterprise: Index.dev or Quantiphi?
Quantiphi is the larger team and typically the better enterprise-scale choice. For very large programmes, verify team size and compliance coverage directly with each provider before shortlisting.
What are the main differences between Index.dev and Quantiphi?
Index.dev's primary differentiator is: a refundable 30-day trial on every placement, plus direct hire. Quantiphi's primary differentiator is: elastic Staffing, a packaged staffing program built with AWS. They also differ in team size (30,000+ network vs 3,000–4,000+), minimum engagement (Not published vs Not published), and primary industries served (SaaS, Fintech vs Healthcare, Financial services).
Verify all details directly with each provider before making a decision.