Picking a language because it’s “popular” is how you end up in the most crowded lane on the platform, competing against ten thousand other developers who read the same “learn Python” advice you did.
What actually matters for Toptal specifically is a different equation: how much client demand exists for a stack, weighed against how many applicants are already fighting over it.
Get that balance right, and you’re not just employable—you’re scarce.
JavaScript / TypeScript: High Demand, High Competition
This is the stack everyone applies with, and for good reason—full-stack JavaScript work (React, Node, and Next.js) makes up a huge share of Toptal’s client requests since it’s the backbone of most modern web products.
The catch is obvious the moment you think about it: it’s also the stack with the largest share of applicants on the list, which means you’re competing against the deepest pool on the platform.
JavaScript still clears well, typically $60–$110/hour for solid generalists, but standing out requires real specialization within the stack—deep Next.js/SSR experience or genuine expertise in a specific framework ecosystem, not just “I know React.” Generic full-stack JS is the single most saturated lane in Toptal’s applicant pool.
Read Also: How Much Do Toptal Freelancers Earn?
Python: Strong Demand, Moderate-to-High Competition
Python’s demand is broad—web backends, data pipelines, automation, and the entire machine learning ecosystem all route through it—which makes it one of the more resilient languages to specialize in, since you’re not tied to a single narrow use case.
Competition is real but slightly less brutal than JavaScript’s, mostly because Python applicants tend to split across several distinct subspecialties (Django/Flask backend, data engineering, and ML) rather than all crowding the same lane.
The real leverage move here: general Python backend work sits closer to JavaScript’s saturation level, but Python paired with machine learning or data engineering experience pushes you into meaningfully less-contested territory, often commanding $90–$150/hour for genuinely applied ML experience rather than tutorial-level familiarity.
Go: Lower Competition, Growing Demand
Here’s where I’ll say the contrarian thing directly: Go is criminally underrepresented in Toptal’s applicant pool relative to how often it shows up in serious backend and infrastructure client requests.
Companies building high-performance APIs, distributed systems, and cloud infrastructure increasingly reach for Go, and the applicant pool hasn’t caught up to that demand yet — which is exactly the gap a strategic developer should be exploiting instead of ignoring.
If you already have solid backend fundamentals in another language, picking up Go seriously (not superficially) is one of the more efficient rate-to-competition trades available on the platform right now, often landing in the $80–$140/hour range with noticeably less applicant crowding than JavaScript or general Python roles.
Read Also: Toptal Technical Screening: Real Questions by Tech Stack
Rust: Niche Demand, Very Low Competition
Rust sits at the opposite extreme from JavaScript—genuinely low applicant volume, because it has a steeper learning curve and a smaller overall developer population, but the client demand that does exist tends to come from companies working on performance-critical systems, blockchain infrastructure, or safety-critical software who are willing to pay a real premium for scarce expertise.
This isn’t a language to pick up casually hoping to cash in—Rust demands genuine depth before you’re client-ready, and the client volume is smaller in absolute terms than JavaScript or Python.
But for a developer who already has the aptitude and interest, it’s one of the clearest “low competition, high rate” plays on the platform, with experienced Rust developers frequently clearing $100–$160/hour specifically because so few applicants can credibly claim the skill.
PHP: Underrated Demand, Surprisingly Low Competition
I’ll be blunt about this one because it gets dismissed constantly: PHP still powers a massive share of the internet’s existing infrastructure — WordPress alone accounts for a huge percentage of live websites — and enterprise clients with legacy PHP systems need experienced maintainers and modernizers far more often than the current hype cycle would suggest.
Meanwhile, most ambitious developers actively avoid listing PHP because it doesn’t feel exciting, which quietly thins out the competition pool.
If you have real PHP depth—especially modern Laravel experience, not just legacy maintenance—you’re looking at a genuinely underserved category, commonly $50–$90/hour with far less applicant saturation than the “trendier” languages pull.
Read Also: Toptal Portfolio Requirements: What Should You Show in Your Application?
The Strategic Takeaway: Stop Optimizing for Popularity
Every stack above proves the same point from a different angle: the language everyone tells you to learn is usually the one with the most people already competing for the same client requests.
The actual strategic move is finding where genuine client demand exists that the applicant pool hasn’t fully caught up to yet—which right now looks a lot more like Go, Rust, and modern PHP than another generic React portfolio piece.
None of this means abandon JavaScript if that’s your strongest skill—it means specialize hard within it or pair it with a lower-competition secondary skill rather than competing purely on breadth in the most crowded lane on the platform.
Building Toward Whichever Stack You Choose
Whatever direction you pick, building real project experience before you apply matters more than the language choice itself — a shallow Rust portfolio loses to a genuinely strong JavaScript one every time.
If you need real client work to build that experience while you’re deciding, a lot of developers use Fiverr to pick up smaller paid projects in a new stack before bringing that experience to a Toptal application.
The Fiverr MasterClass is a solid, structured way to build that up. Disclosure: HustleSpire is an affiliate for this program, and we only recommend things we’d actually use ourselves.
Demand without competition is where the real leverage sits, and right now that’s Go, Rust, and modern PHP more than the languages everyone defaults to.
Pick based on where genuine client requests outpace the applicant pool, build real depth rather than surface familiarity, and you’ll be competing in a noticeably thinner field than the one most Toptal applicants are stuck fighting through.
