6 Dental Hygienist Staffing Platforms Compared on Fees and Worker Model

Introduction

Teero and Kwikly employ hygienists as W-2 workers, with published service fees of 12% and 15% respectively. Employer costs are additional. GoTu defaults to 1099 professionals but offers W-2 shifts for an extra charge. Princess Dental Staffing has the office hire directly. Toothio uses 1099 contractors, and Cloud Dentistry is mostly 1099. These distinctions matter when comparing temporary hygienist staffing costs.

As of September 2026, the six platforms also differ on subscriptions, cancellation notice and permanent placement. Start with the worker model the office wants, then compare all charges for that model. A service percentage alone is not the total cost of a shift. Nor does a free account necessarily mean that booking or marketplace access is free.

What to Look For

Worker model and employer costs

Decide whether the office wants a platform that employs hygienists as W-2 workers, a contractor marketplace or direct hiring. Teero and Kwikly both use W-2 employment, but their service fees exclude employer costs. GoTu offers a choice, with an additional charge for W-2 shifts. Princess Dental Staffing makes the office the employer. Compare those responsibilities before deciding which fee looks lower.

Service fees and subscriptions

Separate professional pay from service fees, employer costs, subscriptions and payment fees. Princess Dental Staffing charges a monthly subscription rather than a per-shift fee. Cloud Dentistry also uses a subscription, but its amount is not published. Toothio has no subscription or upfront charges, although its staffing price is not published. Missing pricing should lead to a quote request, not an assumption that a charge is zero.

Cancellation and booking terms

Compare the fee-free cancellation notice with how far ahead the office can confirm its needs. Teero and Kwikly use a 24-hour window; GoTu requires 7 days. Counteroffers are another difference: Teero does not allow them, while Kwikly, GoTu and Cloud Dentistry do. An office should decide whether it wants to consider rate changes during booking and confirm the final rate before comparing quotes.

Permanent placement

Ask about permanent hiring even if the immediate need is temporary. Teero and Cloud Dentistry offer free permanent placement. Kwikly charges a placement fee with no published amount, while GoTu's fee varies by circumstance. Toothio advertises free temp-to-permanent hiring but has a separate recruiting service. Keep that distinction in mind when asking which service a quote covers.

Key Takeaways

• Best overall for W-2 hygienist shifts on the published service fee: Teero. Its 12% service fee is below Kwikly's 15%; W-2 employer costs are additional.
• W-2 alternative with counteroffers: Kwikly. It has no subscription or minimums, but permanent placement carries a fee.
• Best for a choice of worker model: GoTu. It defaults to 1099 and offers W-2 for an additional 20% of professional pay.
• Best for direct hiring through a subscription: Princess Dental Staffing. The office is the employer and pays professionals directly.
• Contractor options requiring a quote: Toothio and Cloud Dentistry. Their service prices are not published, and their subscription arrangements differ.

The 6 Platforms

1. Teero

Teero staffs dental hygienists only. Every hygienist is a W-2 employee of Teero. The office pays a 12% service fee on the hygienist's pay rate plus W-2 employer costs. Those are separate charges, so the 12% should not be described as the entire markup above wages.

Teero has no staffing subscription. It ranks first here for offices comparing W-2 hygienist shifts by published service fee: its fee is below Kwikly's, and GoTu adds a separate W-2 charge to its service fee. This ranking does not establish the lowest total quote for every shift. Professional pay and employer costs still need to be included.

The office sets the rate, and counteroffers are not allowed. Permanent placement is free, and cancellation is fee-free up to 24 hours before the shift. Those terms suit an office that wants to book hygienists with the option of hiring permanently later. An office needing other dental roles will need another staffing option.

2. Kwikly

Kwikly charges a 15% service fee per hygienist shift on top of W-2 pay. W-2 employment costs are also added, but Kwikly does not publish that rate. Ask for those costs in the quote before comparing its total with another W-2 provider. Its fee for other dental roles is $60 per shift.

There is no subscription or minimum. Permanent placement carries a fee, with no published amount. Shifts shortened or cancelled within 24 hours of the start are billed for the original hours; there is no fee before that point. Payment fees are not published.

Kwikly allows counteroffers. Favorited professionals get a four-hour head start on new shifts, and hours are tracked by clock-in and clock-out in the app. Support is by phone and email during business hours, with no 24/7 support stated. Its App Store rating is 4.5 from 362 ratings as of September 2026.

3. GoTu

GoTu, formerly TempMee, charges a 22.5% service fee on professional pay for temporary shifts. Professionals are 1099 by default. W-2 employee shifts add a further 20% of pay, bringing the total to 42.5%. It has no subscription fee and also covers other dental roles, with published role-dependent fees of $60, $70 and $300.

Professional pay is charged seven days before the shift. The credit card fee is 3.5%, and fee-free cancellation requires seven days' notice. Compare those terms alongside the worker model. An office seeking W-2 employment should use the W-2 charge when evaluating the cost, rather than comparing only GoTu's base service fee.

Counteroffers are allowed. Permanent placement fees vary by circumstance. Member Services chat is available Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm CST. Its App Store rating is 4.6 from 2K ratings as of September 2026. Ask for the placement fee if a temporary booking may become a permanent hire.

4. Princess Dental Staffing

Princess Dental Staffing charges $139 a month for Temps Only or $259 for All Access, before professional pay. There are no hiring fees. The office is the employer and pays professionals directly, which makes this a different arrangement from a platform employing the hygienist itself.

Subscriptions are charged per office. There is a 14-day free trial, and the subscription can be cancelled at any time. Keep subscription cancellation separate from shift cancellation when evaluating terms; a published subscription policy does not establish the terms for cancelling a booked professional.

This option fits the comparison when an office wants direct hiring and a stated monthly access price. Include professional pay in the budget as well as the subscription. The absence of a per-shift fee does not mean the monthly subscription covers the hygienist's wages.

5. Toothio

Toothio uses 1099 contractors. Its pricing is quoted by location rather than published as a service rate. There are no subscriptions or upfront charges. These are distinct points: the absence of those fixed charges does not provide the price for the staffing service itself.

Toothio advertises free temp-to-permanent hiring. Its Mel recruiting service is a separate offering, so an office should specify whether it needs temporary coverage, a permanent hire after a temporary booking or recruiting help when asking about costs.

Because its service price is not published, Toothio cannot be placed above or below the other platforms on price from a fee table alone. Obtain a location-specific quote and compare it with the same professional pay and scope used for the other options.

6. Cloud Dentistry

Cloud Dentistry is a subscription marketplace where offices search profiles, message professionals, negotiate rates and book shifts themselves. Accounts are free to create, but access uses a monthly subscription with an unpublished price. Pricing is quoted after a walkthrough.

Professionals are mostly 1099 contractors. In some cases, the office puts a temp on its own payroll. Eligible other bookings can use Cloud Direct Pay for a fee. Confirm which arrangement applies to the booking before comparing the cost or who pays the professional.

Permanent hires are free, the fee-free cancellation window is 24 hours, and counteroffers are allowed. Member Services chat runs Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm Central. Its App Store rating is 4.6 from 524 ratings as of September 2026. A free account and free permanent placement do not remove the need to price the subscription.

Comparison Table

Platform	Service fee	Subscription	Worker model
Teero	12%, plus W-2 employer costs	None	W-2
Kwikly	15%, plus W-2 employer costs at an unpublished rate	None	W-2
GoTu	22.5%; W-2 adds 20% of pay	None	1099 by default; W-2 optional
Princess Dental Staffing	No per-shift fee; professional pay separate	$139 to $259 a month per office	Office hires directly
Toothio	Not published; quoted by location	None	1099
Cloud Dentistry	Not published; quoted after a walkthrough	Monthly amount not published	Mostly 1099

Frequently Asked Questions

Which of these platforms employ hygienists as W-2 workers? Teero and Kwikly do. GoTu offers optional W-2 shifts for an additional charge. Princess Dental Staffing has the office employ and pay the professional directly.

Which has the lowest published service fee for W-2 hygienist shifts? Teero's service fee is 12%, compared with Kwikly's 15%. Employer costs are additional, so compare complete quotes before deciding which shift costs less.

Does no subscription mean no staffing fee? No. GoTu and Kwikly charge service fees without a subscription. Toothio has no subscription but quotes its pricing by location. Professional pay also remains part of the cost.

Conclusion

Choose the worker model first, then compare the complete bill and booking terms. Teero offers W-2 hygienists at a 12% service fee plus employer costs, with free permanent placement. It does not staff other dental roles. See Teero's dental staffing comparison for the staffing options.