Jobbatical vs MoveMyTalent: What’s the Difference?

Looking for a relocation partner in Estonia? Can’t decide between Jobbatical and MoveMyTalent? Can’t blame you—those two are arguably the Uber and Lyft Bolt of helping people move to Estonia with zero hassle.

So what’s the difference between them and which one is a better match for your needs?

Buckle up, grab a snack, and let’s break it down once and for all.

Overview

Jobbatical

Originally founded in 2014 as a global hiring platform, Jobbatical evolved into an immigration platform/service in 2019. The official change in direction may be fairly recent, but Jobbatical has been offering relocation and settle-in services in Estonia since 2017.

Jobbatical’s team of relocation experts is supported by internal software designed to manage a large number of cases simultaneously, without having to rely on spreadsheets.

As part of its mission to make relocation and immigration seamless, Jobbatical collaborates closely with the Estonian Ministry of the Interior to stay abreast of—and influence where possible—changes in immigration law.

In addition to Estonia, where Jobbatical’s on-the-ground team is the biggest, the service is also available in Germany, Spain, and the Czech Republic. The company is planning to expand significantly in the near future, starting with other European countries.

MoveMyTalent

Also founded in 2014, MoveMyTalent provides personal assistance to people moving to or setting up a business in Estonia. They work with both individual customers and companies who recruit foreigners. Corporate relocation has been MoveMyTalent’s core business since day one. Their consulting service today also includes help with applying for Estonian e-Residency and setting up a business in Estonia. MoveMyTalent doesn’t have an internal product team.

MoveMyTalent focuses exclusively on talent relocation to Estonia. Their clients are Estonian employers hiring specialists from abroad and international companies expanding to Estonia. According to their website, MoveMyTalent has relocated 800+ people and their families to Estonia to date.

Features

To start using either Jobbatical or MoveMyTalent, you need to fill out a short form on their respective websites. A representative of the company will get back to you to go over your needs.

Jobbatical and MoveMyTalent both cover the full spectrum of the employee relocation experience and offer a range of settle-in services. Packages are customizable based on the individual needs of the employer and employee.

Key features include:

Jobbatical

• Immigration to Estonia: employment registration, visa, ID-card, residence permit
• Increased operating speed in getting visas and residence permits thanks to internal immigration software
• Short- and long-term accommodation search, including property viewings
• Airport pickup and essential groceries for the employee’s first days in Estonia
• Settle-in services, including opening a local bank account, registering at a family doctor, and getting a SIM card
• Spouse and family support, including childcare support, school search, and applying for social allowances for children
• Emergency support, guaranteed 24-hour response time, and general hand-holding for both talent and employer
• Talent access to an exclusive expat community

MoveMyTalent

• Immigration to Estonia: visa, residence permit, etc.
• Destination services, including opening a bank account and finding a family doctor
• Accommodation search
• School and kindergarten search
• Town orientation, adjustment, cross-cultural training, networking
• Business setup consulting service
• Finding service providers
• Assistance with departure
• Spouse counseling
• Personalized service and support

Pricing

Jobbatical and MoveMyTalent have fairly similar pricing structures. You can customize your relocation package considerably, depending on your needs and preferences—and your hire's, of course.

Jobbatical

• Charges per relocated person
• Choose one of three different packages: basic, welcome, premium
• Add additional services to the package as necessary
• Billing at the end of the month and only if a case was successful
• Separate pricing for EU and non-EU residents, with different prices for residents of visa-free and visa countries

MoveMyTalent

• Charges per relocated person
• Separate pricing for EU and non-EU residents, with no differentiation between visa-free and visa countries outside the EU

So what’s the difference?

At first glance, Jobbatical and MoveMyTalent look pretty similar:

• Less expensive than working with immigration lawyers
• More affordable, convenient, and cost-efficient than handling relocations in-house
• A broad range of customizable services that cover the entire relocation process
• Similar pricing structure
• Hand-holding for talent

The main differences between the two relocation service providers lie in their size, speed of operation, reach, and the extent to which they’re tech-driven:

• MoveMyTalent is a small, people-powered boutique relocation agency. Jobbatical combines agency-level hands-on support with tech-enabled process-handling on the back end.
• Jobbatical also operates in other European countries aside from Estonia, making it available to companies with offices in several locations or plans to expand.
• MoveMyTalent offers consulting for businesses starting their expansion into Estonia, which Jobbatical does not cover.
• Supported by its internal software, Jobbatical is able to handle more cases simultaneously and deliver at twice the average speed.

So which one's better? As with so many things in life, that depends on what you're looking for.

MoveMyTalent works best for...

• Estonian employers hiring smaller volumes of specialists from abroad
• International companies setting up their business in Estonia

Jobbatical works best for...

• Startups and hyper-growth companies hiring medium to large volumes of foreign specialists in Estonia
• Companies hiring internationally for multiple offices around Europe (Estonia, Germany, Spain, and Czechia)
• Companies looking to scale/speed up their employee relocation

Still not sure how to pick the best relocation partner for your needs? Check out our guide on How to Choose an Employee Relocation Service That Doesn't Suck.

*Disclaimer: As you can probably see, this comparison post was written by team Jobbatical. Its aim, however, is to present an unbiased comparison of two similar but ultimately unique service providers, not to promote one over the other. *

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