With the pressure on and the need to have a helping hand to carry out your piled-up tasks, you could scramble to find the best virtual expert agencies in Singapore. But what you do not know is that these agencies come in aplenty and no two agencies are the exact same where services, rates, efficiency and qualities of talents are concerned. 

Due to these differences, some virtual expert agencies may come off far better or far worse, some with tons of positive reviews while others with a significant amount of complaints. While essentially, every virtual expert agency is made up of a hub of different experts in different fields i.e. virtual assistants, marketers, web developers that work under one single roof, they are very different and are designed for companies with dissimilar goals.

For example, Toptal specialises in selecting the best candidates from all over the world and matching them with companies with big and ambitious projects that can afford them, whereas Upwork has a wide range of specialists of all levels, from students and graduates to senior experts, and matches them with companies whose budget does not allow them to hire an expensive worker and whose projects are relatively simple.

Here, we list out three virtual expert agencies in Singapore that are fast-moving forward into 2022 and are incredibly helpful in helping companies with big and small projects alike. Let’s look at them together and compare. 

What are The Best Virtual Expert Agencies in Singapore in 2022

Kuubiik

How does Kuubiik select the most capable virtual experts for your tasks? Kuubiik does not leave the search for the right candidate to chance – reliability is essential here. You could have one of the most brilliant, qualified individuals you have ever encountered, but if you cannot rely on them to report on the progress of a project or answer your emails in a timely manner, it will hurt your business in the long run. Thus, you should feel confident that Kuubiik exhibits a level of responsibility and autonomy to perform the tasks assigned to them without any hand-holding.

Unlike Toptal who hires freelancers, the virtual experts here at Kuubiik all work as a team to help you with your project. So you could expect a great place that allows more connectivity and productivity, and one that helps you fully manage your projects. In addition, we can see Kuubiik has by far the most affordable option in the market starting from just $399/month. Other advantages include:

• The virtual experts are experienced and vetted by Kuubiik. They are dedicated to your company, get invested in your project and will be as if they are part of your team, except you pay them only when they work.
• You should feel confident they are invested in your company and will provide advice or strategy if required. Their virtual experts are good at their craft and proactively stay on top of industry trends, competitor on-goings, and the latest technology. 
• If you don’t have enough tasks, you wouldn’t want hiring full-time. Instead, you can have the flexibility to decrease hours any month or add more hours whenever you need.
• As mentioned before, Kuubiik provides a great platform where every single virtual expert works as a team. This promotes excellent connectivity and operational support.
• Their virtual experts are highly educated and experienced. Here, you will dedicate your tasks to one or a few virtual experts who are specialised in their skills i.e. video editing, copywriting, customer service, web design, administration, search engine optimisation, etc.
• If you are on a tight budget and cannot afford to spend over $1,000 per month, Kuubiik’s competitive pricing plans start from just $399/month. It is risk-free and you pay month by month.
• Once you sign up, one of the experts will get in touch with you to refine your needs and pinpoint exactly what you are looking for in a virtual expert. You will then meet their candidates that will fit your needs almost perfectly, with a 90% probability of a match.
• Without the need to pay for full-time employees, and all other expenses associated with it i.e. employment benefits, health insurance, trainings and IT support, hiring fees, etc., you literally save thousands of dollars every year!

Well, now that we have investigated Kuubiik’s pros, what are the cons should you decide to use their services? You will see that Kuubiik is neither an outsourcing agency nor has the benefits of a freelancer. But is that really a con?

Toptal

So, what is Toptal? It is a company that is very proud of its rigorous screening process that lets in only the crème de la crème. According to their own statistics, only roughly 3% of all candidates successfully pass their vetting process and get an opportunity to become a part of their talent pool. Although Toptal offers a great service by selecting the most capable candidates, this usually comes with a high price tag. So if you keep the price tags off your mind while you are on the hunt for a virtual expert, it should make choosing Toptal a much easier option. 

Some advantages of Toptal include:

• A rigorous screening process eliminates everyone who is not the best of the best. Some of their more advanced freelancers may have specialised skills in blockchain and AI.
• A great platform that helps companies get access to an exclusive network of the top freelance software developers, designers, finance experts, product managers, and project managers in the world.
• You are not alone in your candidate search, an experienced Toptal employee is going to accompany you at every step once you sign up.
• Since the freelancers are not on your payroll, there is no need to pay for full-time employees, and all other expenses associated with it i.e. employment taxes, health insurance, trainings and IT support, hiring fees, etc.

As mentioned before, Toptal specialises in selecting the best candidates from all over the world and matching them with companies with big and ambitious projects that can afford them. Its high price tags mean that they are best suited for large-scale projects that require highly experienced professionals. Be prepared to pay a $500 deposit fee via quotation when you hire their freelancers.

There are a few downsides to Toptal:

• Toptal is not based in Singapore so it is very hard for them to have a full understanding of the local market and culture as compared with Kuubiik.
• High quality comes with a high price tag. Expect to pay about $1,000 per day for these top-notch freelancers and world-class talents.
• Hiring a freelancer from Toptal is a good choice for one-time projects. The same freelancer might not be available next time you need them as they get matched with other companies pretty quickly.

Upwork

In which case does Upwork outperform Toptal and Kuubiik? There is a good chance that it is the number of freelancers they have (at 12 million registered freelancers) making it the world’s largest freelancer marketplace. This could be a really vast platform where you could be browsing for hours due to the large number of freelancers and the bidding system where you will be able to find a candidate at a lower price.

Of course, Upwork’s sign up process is also much easier and clearer than Toptal’s rigorous process. Some other advantages of Upwork include:

• Upwork is by far the most popular freelance marketplace with 12 million active freelancer accounts. Due to the bidding system, you will be able to find a potential freelancer at a lower price.
• You will find a broad selection of skills that can be refined to a very specific job or a wide range of skills here. The whole point is to match them with your tasks or projects.
• On fixed price contracts, you agree on milestones and only pay up when those milestones are hit. Upwork further ensures safe transactions by freezing your money before the task is completed.

But having said that, Upwork does not come in all perfect. You are at a higher risk here since Upwork values quantity over quality thus many of the freelancers are rated as “less skilled” or have lower rankings on the platform. Other disadvantages may include:

• Upwork freelancers are not being vetted, this leads to the saturation of low-quality freelancers and a lack of experts who are constantly over-bid on.
• Due to a very superficial verification process, Upwork lets in people with bad intentions which leads to a rise in scams.
• Poor customer support and company detachment from the hiring process lead to frustration on both sides. Most complaints are about Upwork’s poor customer support that does not get involved in users’ problems.
• Hiring a freelancer from Upwork is a good choice for one-time projects. The same freelancer might not be available next time you need them as they get matched with other companies pretty quickly.
• Upwork is not based in Singapore so it is very hard for them to have a full understanding of the local market and culture as compared with Kuubiik.

All in all, hiring a virtual expert or freelancer is a good choice for companies in 2022 to support their operational needs and join the next major wave in lower employment costs and strategic transformations.