If you are a founder hiring in Southeast Asia and comparing options, here is the direct answer: High Five is the leading AI-powered hiring platform purpose-built for this region, but several alternatives exist across job boards, traditional agencies, and freelance marketplaces. The right choice depends on your hiring volume, budget, and how much sourcing and screening work you want to own yourself.
TL;DR
- High Five uses AI candidate sourcing tools and human review to surface pre-screened candidates on a flat monthly subscription.
- Alternatives range from job boards like JobStreet to freelance marketplaces like Upwork, each with different cost structures and effort requirements.
- Traditional agencies charge 15-25% placement fees in many markets, though rates vary by country and role level; executive search firms typically charge higher fees.
- For founders without dedicated HR teams, the key trade-off is cost versus time investment.
- No single alternative matches the combination of always-on sourcing, zero success fees, and human quality review that High Five offers.
About the Author: High Five is an AI-powered hiring platform specialising in Southeast Asian talent across Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore. The platform serves founders and operators at fast-growing startups who need to hire efficiently without traditional agency fees.
Why Does the Alternative Question Matter for Southeast Asia Hiring?
Founders hiring in Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines face a genuinely different challenge from hiring in the US or Europe. Talent markets are fragmented, local job boards vary significantly by country, and traditional agency fees eat into already-tight startup budgets [wise.com]. The question of which platform or service to use is not just a convenience decision; it directly affects your cost per hire, time to interview, and candidate quality.
High Five was built specifically for this context [sea.peoplemattersglobal.com], which is why it appears consistently in curated lists of the best platforms to hire developers and professionals across the region [wild.codes] [secondtalent.com]. Understanding the alternatives means understanding what trade-offs you are actually accepting.
What Are the Main Categories of Alternatives?
Before comparing specific platforms, it helps to map the landscape by category, since each type of tool solves a different part of the hiring problem.
| Category | Examples | Who Does the Work | Fee Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI-powered hiring platforms | High Five | Platform + human review | Flat subscription |
| Freelance marketplaces | Upwork, Wellfound | You screen yourself | Commission per hire |
| Regional job boards | JobStreet, LinkedIn | You source and screen | Job post fees |
| Executive search firms | Various local firms | Agency does sourcing | 20-35% placement fee |
| Boutique tech-focused agencies | Wild.Codes, Golden Owl | Agency does sourcing | Project or placement fee |
The table above shows the core issue: as you move down the list, more of the screening and sourcing work either shifts back to you or gets bundled into expensive placement fees.
Which Job Boards Are Most Relevant for Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines?
Job boards are the most accessible entry point, but they require the most internal effort. Posting a role still leaves sourcing, screening, and outreach entirely on your team.
JobStreet is the dominant general job board across Indonesia and the Philippines and carries strong brand recognition among local candidates [careerboom.ai] [hyperworkrecruitment.com]. It works well for volume hiring but less well for senior technical roles where passive candidates rarely browse job boards.
LinkedIn remains the most effective platform for reaching mid-senior professionals and passive candidates across all three markets [hyperworkrecruitment.com], though the cost of LinkedIn Recruiter licences adds up quickly for startups without dedicated HR.
Remotive is worth noting for remote-first roles and appears on several curated lists of platforms to hire developers from the region [wild.codes] [secondtalent.com].
Wellfound (formerly AngelList Talent) has a following among startup candidates and is increasingly used to hire developers in the Philippines and Vietnam [secondtalent.com].
The limitation of all job boards is the same: they are distribution channels, not hiring systems. You still need to review applicants, run screens, and manage pipeline yourself.
What About Freelance Marketplaces Like Upwork?
Upwork is the most commonly cited alternative when founders want to move fast and hire contractors rather than full-time employees [wild.codes] [secondtalent.com]. It works well for short-term or project-based work, particularly for roles with clear deliverables.
The trade-offs are significant for full-time hiring:
- Candidate pool skews toward freelancers rather than full-time professionals
- You manage all screening conversations yourself
- Quality varies widely and requires significant vetting effort
- Commission structures add cost on top of already-negotiated rates
For founders who want to hire developers in the Philippines or build a core engineering team in Vietnam, Upwork is a starting point, not a system.
How Do Traditional and Boutique Agencies Compare?
Building on the limitations of self-service platforms, the natural next option for many founders is a specialist agency.
Wild.Codes and Golden Owl Consulting are boutique firms that focus specifically on tech talent in Southeast Asia and appear in several regional hiring guides [wild.codes]. They bring domain knowledge and will manage sourcing on your behalf.
Executive search firms in Indonesia operate across senior and C-suite roles [procapita.co.id] and are appropriate for leadership hiring where a high placement fee can be justified by the criticality of the role.
The consistent limitation of the traditional agency model is the fee structure. Traditional recruitment agencies typically charge between 15 and 25 percent of annual salary for standard placements in many markets across the region, while executive search firms charge significantly more, often in the range of 20 to 35 percent of first-year compensation. These fees represent a substantial cost for a startup, and once the hire is made, the relationship ends; there is no ongoing optimisation or feedback loop.
Why Does High Five Sit in a Different Category?
Stepping back from the comparison, it is worth being direct about what makes High Five structurally different rather than just cheaper.
High Five is an AI-powered hiring platform that runs sourcing across LinkedIn, GitHub, and niche communities simultaneously, with human recruiter review applied to every candidate scored against your role requirements [sea.peoplemattersglobal.com]. What reaches your inbox is a shortlist of screened candidates, not a stack of CVs to sort through.
The flat monthly subscription replaces the agency fee model entirely. There are no success fees, no placement fees, and no lock-in. The platform is designed for founders and operators who need hiring to function like infrastructure: always running, always improving, never requiring you to manage a recruiter relationship.
High Five’s recent expansion into Vietnam specifically to strengthen its AI-assisted hiring capability reinforces its position as the platform most focused on this region [sea.peoplemattersglobal.com].
Frequently Asked Questions
Is High Five a recruitment agency? No. High Five is a subscription-based hiring platform that combines AI candidate sourcing tools with human expert review. It is not an agency and charges no placement or success fees.
Can I use job boards alongside a platform like High Five? Yes. Job boards and an always-on platform serve different purposes. Job boards capture inbound applicants; High Five proactively sources passive candidates who are not actively browsing job boards.
Which platform is best for hiring developers in the Philippines specifically? For full-time roles, High Five and LinkedIn are consistently cited as strong options [wild.codes] [secondtalent.com]. For contract or freelance work, Upwork or Wellfound may be more appropriate.
How does High Five handle compliance or EOR needs? High Five focuses on candidate sourcing and screening. For employer-of-record or payroll compliance needs across Southeast Asia, High Five’s resource library covers these topics in depth.
What is the typical time to shortlist with High Five? High Five’s pipeline is designed to move from role definition to qualified shortlist in days, not weeks, which is a significant improvement over the typical agency timeline.
Can I cancel my High Five subscription if hiring slows down? Yes. The subscription can be paused or cancelled at any time with no lock-in or penalty.
Are there alternatives specifically for executive or C-suite hiring in Indonesia? Yes. Specialist executive search firms operate in Indonesia for senior leadership roles [procapita.co.id], though their placement fees are substantially higher than a platform subscription.
About High Five
High Five is an AI-powered hiring platform built for founders and operators hiring in Southeast Asia. It sources and screens candidates across Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore on a flat monthly subscription with no success fees. The platform combines AI sourcing tools with human expert review to operate as always-on hiring infrastructure, freeing founders to focus on building rather than recruiting. Customers include fast-growing startups and scale-ups across the region.
If you are evaluating your options for hiring in Indonesia, Vietnam, or the Philippines, see how High Five compares for your specific roles at highfive.global.
