Hiring a Dice Developer vs. a Terminal Developer: Which Is Best?

With quality software engineers increasingly in demand, many organizations are wondering how they can hire top tech talent easily and affordably. Tech talent platforms are making recruitment and onboarding cost-friendly, efficient, and effective. There are many players in the tech talent landscape, connecting employers with candidates to fill a variety of software engineering roles around the world. Today, we will look at two popular options: hiring a Dice developer and hiring a Terminal developer. 

Platforms: The Basics

Dice 

Dice began in 1990 as a career site specializing in tech hiring. The searchable database and job-posting site continues to connect employers with tech professionals in several niches, including AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and more.

Years later, Dice Talent Solutions emerged as part of the Dice platform. This service focuses on sourcing, screening, and delivering tech talent to organizations. Recruiters find, vet, and present a shortlist of candidates. Talent Solutions performs contract tech staffing and custom sourcing, as well as facilitates permanent hires. Contract hiring is new to the platform; the service was announced in March 2025.

While Dice typically focuses on hiring individuals, it can also put together teams of contract talent for short-term consulting projects. 

Terminal

Terminal launched in 2016 as a dedicated remote hiring platform, connecting top tech talent in Latin America, Canada, and Europe with startups and long-established organizations in the US. Since then, the platform has partnered with businesses like GoPro, Grindr, Nextdoor, Calendly, and Hims & Hers. 

Terminal performs individual staffing, recruiting both contractors and full-time developers with general and niche skills, including AI/machine learning, DevOps, data science, and much more. The platform also builds remote or co-located teams. 

Process and Quality of Dice Developers vs. Terminal Developers

Dice states that just 71% of applications on the platform are high-quality matches. Meanwhile, only the top 7% of candidates pass Terminal’s rigorous vetting process.

Dice and Terminal have similar recruitment and hiring processes. Recruitment professionals source and screen candidates before presenting employers with a curated list of software engineers for their business. In both cases, employers may interview candidates directly. The two platforms also use AI in the recruitment process to help ensure a good cultural fit.

Both Terminal and Dice manage onboarding, benefits, and payroll for contract hires. However, Terminal allows employers to continue to use them as the Employer of Record for full-time hires as well. This eases the burden of US businesses having to navigate complex employment laws in different areas. 

Location

Dice

Dice developers may work remotely or in-person. While Dice Talent Solutions can source international candidates, many candidates are US-based. (The exact statistics are not stated.) The company also forms partnerships with offshore recruiting companies to facilitate international hiring. 

Terminal

Terminal’s roles are 100% outside the US. The company exclusively works with engineers in global markets, using its strong understanding of markets in Canada, Europe, and Latin America, specifically: Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile, Poland, Spain, Romania, and Hungary. Thanks to local recruitment specialists in these markets, the company has a deep understanding of employment regulations, skills, and overall hiring trends in the specific areas.

This approach also means more diverse talent and lower costs. In fact, hiring via Terminal costs up to 50% less than US talent. 

Stated Roles

Dice

Dice Talent Solutions states that it works with roles such as:

• Software Development Engineers
• Application Architects
• Application Programmers
• Python Developers
• Data Architects
• Full Stack Java Developers

The company also notes that Dice developers may have specialties in AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and more.

Terminal

Terminal offers all of these roles and more: Engineering Managers, SDETs, QA Engineers, DevOps Engineers, Data Scientists, and Mobile Developers, to name just a few. The company works with software engineers with essential skills in areas like AI, e-commerce platforms like Magento and Shopify, and programming languages such as Python, JavaScript, Java, and C++.

Pricing

Dice

Dice doesn’t provide pricing for the Talent Solutions service (it does offer several plans for job posting services). The company says the cost of hiring a Dice developer is customized based on the company’s needs. There are no upfront fees for contract and full-time roles. However, for ongoing sourcing, businesses pay an undisclosed flat fee to receive a pipeline of tech talent. 

Terminal

Terminal is transparent about hiring: Typical hires cost between $4,000 and $12,000, plus a small onboarding fee.  They also offer a 14-day risk-free and cost-free trial period for new contractors. Ultimately, companies can save significantly. Remember that Terminal can also help you hire full-time engineers, and you’ll only pay a recruiting success fee, plus employment fees if Terminal acts as your EOR. 

Hiring a Dice Developer vs. a Terminal Developer: Which Should You Choose?

As a premier platform for remote hiring, Terminal emerges as a leader in terms of flexibility, diversity in hiring, specializations, and transparency. 

Unlike Dice Talent Solutions, Terminal focuses exclusively on a global hiring approach that costs companies less. The platform is also upfront about costs and how much US-based businesses can expect to save. 

Also in contrast to Dice, Terminal doesn’t rely on affiliates to perform global recruitment. Terminal’s deep knowledge of international hiring and markets in key locations means that the company identifies the best fits for your unique organization. It can also serve as the Employer of Record for all hires, including both contract and full-time developers. This is particularly helpful for working with talent around the globe because employment laws and regulations can be difficult for US-based companies to understand.

A final important factor to consider is that Dice Talent Solutions is merely an arm of the Dice platform. Terminal, on the other hand, is dedicated to sourcing talent, finding the best candidates who have the right skills and are an excellent match for your unique needs.

So, if you’re wondering whether to hire a Dice developer vs. a Terminal developer, consider these factors and assess which option best matches your particular demands, requirements, and approach. More than likely, you will appreciate Terminal’s customized process, competitive cost-effectiveness, and extensive support.

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