Index.dev vs Revelo: full comparison for 2026
Quick verdict
Index.dev (4.5/5) edges ahead of Revelo (4.0/5) overall. Index.dev is the better choice for startups that want their money back if the first month doesn't work. Revelo is the stronger option for U.S. companies that want a Latin American AI engineer without upfront fees or a long contract. The right choice depends on your project size, budget, and required tech stack.
Index.dev vs Revelo: head-to-head summary
| Criterion | Index.dev | Revelo |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2019 | 2014 |
| HQ | London, United Kingdom | Miami, Florida, USA |
| Team size | 30,000+ network | 400,000+ network (company figure) |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.0 / 5 |
| Primary differentiator | A refundable 30-day trial on every placement, plus direct hire | No upfront fees, no long-term contract and published salary benchmarks |
| Pricing model | Monthly rate per engineer; direct-hire fee; 30-day refundable trial; rates on request | Monthly per engineer; no upfront fees or long-term contracts (per company); senior AI/ML all-in cost about $103,000/yr (company benchmark) |
| Min. engagement | Not published | Not published |
| Primary tech stack | Python, PyTorch, LangChain | Python, PyTorch, TensorFlow |
| Industries served | SaaS, Fintech, E-commerce, AI labs, Healthcare | Technology, Fintech, SaaS, Healthcare, AI labs |
Index.dev vs Revelo: 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.
Revelo
Revelo started in 2014 (one listing says 2015) and has a U.S. base in Miami and operations in São Paulo. It places engineers from a Latin American network it puts at over 400,000, and its platform pages promise no upfront fees and no long-term contracts. Revelo also publishes salary benchmarks. Its figure for a senior AI or ML engineer is about $103,000 a year all-in, roughly 55% below a comparable U.S. hire. LLM training work made up 22% of its 2024 revenue, according to TechCrunch.
Services and capabilities: Index.dev vs Revelo
| Capability | Index.dev | Revelo |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Revelo
| Framework / platform | Index.dev | Revelo |
|---|---|---|
| PyTorch | ✓ | ✓ |
| TensorFlow | N/A | ✓ |
| LangChain | ✓ | N/A |
| Hugging Face | ✓ | N/A |
| OpenAI | ✓ | ✓ |
| AWS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Azure | N/A | N/A |
| Google Cloud | ✓ | ✓ |
| Databricks | N/A | N/A |
| Kubernetes | N/A | N/A |
Pricing comparison: Index.dev vs Revelo
| Criterion | Index.dev | Revelo |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum engagement | Not published | Not published |
| Engagement models | Full-time dedicated, Dedicated team, Direct hire, Trial period | Full-time dedicated, Freelance contract |
| Rate transparency | Not public | Not public |
| Price tier | Mid-market | Mid-market |
Target audience comparison: Index.dev vs Revelo
| Dimension | Index.dev | Revelo |
|---|---|---|
| Best company size | Startup to mid-market | Startup to mid-market |
| Best industries | SaaS, Fintech, E-commerce | Technology, Fintech, SaaS |
| Best use cases | Trialling a Latin American LLM engineer for a month, Hiring a PhD-level specialist to fine-tune a model | Hiring a Brazilian ML engineer without a long contract, Budgeting a nearshore AI team from published salary data |
| Typical project type | Full-time dedicated | Full-time dedicated |
Index.dev vs Revelo: 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 |
| Revelo | |
|---|---|
| + | No upfront fee or long-term contract |
| + | Published salary benchmarks help with budgeting |
| + | Large Latin American network on U.S. hours |
| - | Part of revenue comes from AI-lab training work |
| - | Salary figures come from Revelo itself |
| - | Founding year and headquarters differ by source |
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 Revelo?
A typical fit: hiring a Brazilian ML engineer without a long contract.
No upfront fees, no long-term contract and published salary benchmarks. Minimum engagement is not publicly disclosed. Works best with clients in Technology, Fintech, SaaS, Healthcare, AI labs.
Decision matrix: Index.dev vs Revelo
| 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 Revelo (Not published) |
| You may want to hire the engineer permanently later | Index.dev |
| You want several engineers working as one team | Neither lists dedicated teams; check team size before signing |
Use case fit: Index.dev vs Revelo
| Use case | Index.dev fit | Revelo 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 | Strong | Both equally |
| Hiring a Brazilian ML engineer without a long contract | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| Budgeting a nearshore AI team from published salary data | Limited | Strong | Revelo |
Verdict: Index.dev vs Revelo
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.
Revelo (4.0/5) is worth a look if you need budgeting a nearshore AI team from published salary data. If your situation matches that, Revelo is a competitive option.
Related comparisons
Index.dev vs Revelo FAQ
Is Index.dev better than Revelo?
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. Revelo's strongest advantage: no upfront fee or long-term contract.
How do Index.dev and Revelo differ in pricing?
Index.dev uses monthly rate per engineer; direct-hire fee; 30-day refundable trial; rates on request pricing. Revelo uses monthly per engineer; no upfront fees or long-term contracts (per company); senior ai/ml all-in cost about $103,000/yr (company benchmark) 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 Revelo?
Revelo 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 Revelo?
Index.dev's primary differentiator is: a refundable 30-day trial on every placement, plus direct hire. Revelo's primary differentiator is: no upfront fees, no long-term contract and published salary benchmarks. They also differ in team size (30,000+ network vs 400,000+ network (company figure)), minimum engagement (Not published vs Not published), and primary industries served (SaaS, Fintech vs Technology, Fintech).
Verify all details directly with each provider before making a decision.