AI training platforms
Every platform this site tracks, with open roles and the median listed hourly pay from the current data (9 October 2026). Reviews are independent and cite their sources.
| Platform | Open roles | Median listed hourly pay | Public job list | Referral link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| micro1 | 261 | $70/hr | Yes | Yes |
| xAI | 28 | $40/hr | Yes | No |
| Terac | 46 | $75/hr | Yes | No |
| Mindrift | 9 | $130/hr | Yes | No |
| Welocalize | 367 | $15/hr | Yes | No |
| Appen | 49 | $35/hr | Yes | No |
| Meridial | 570 | $36.5/hr | Yes | No |
| Innodata | 21 | $15/hr | Yes | No |
| RWS TrainAI | 75 | $18/hr | Yes | No |
| SME Careers | 261 | $50/hr | Yes | No |
| Mercor | 0 | Not listed | No (review only) | No |
| Alignerr | 0 | Not listed | No (review only) | No |
| Outlier | 0 | Not listed | No (review only) | No |
| DataAnnotation | 0 | Not listed | No (review only) | No |
Median of the midpoint of each listed hourly range. Per-task and yearly rates are left out of the median.
Platform pages
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micro1
AI recruiting company that hires experts and generalists as contractors for AI training projects, screened with an AI interview.
261 open roles, median $70/hr as listed
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xAI
AI lab that hires AI Tutors directly to write and review training data for its models, in languages and specialist fields.
28 open roles, median $40/hr as listed
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Terac
Expert network that posts paid research interviews, studies and AI evaluation tasks, each with its own listed rate.
46 open roles, median $75/hr as listed
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Mindrift
Toloka's freelance platform for domain experts who create and check AI training data, paid per approved task.
9 open roles, median $130/hr as listed
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Welocalize
Language services company whose Welo Data unit hires raters, linguists and voice contributors for AI data projects.
367 open roles, median $15/hr as listed
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Appen
Long-running AI data company that recruits independent contractors for project-based recording, rating and annotation work.
49 open roles, median $35/hr as listed
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Meridial
Invisible's platform that recruits independent contractors for freelance AI trainer projects, by field and language.
570 open roles, median $36.5/hr as listed
Built from its public job feed; full review not written yet.
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Innodata
Nasdaq-listed data engineering company that hires remote, flexible-hours associates to create and evaluate generative AI data.
21 open roles, median $15/hr as listed
Built from its public job feed; full review not written yet.
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RWS TrainAI
RWS's TrainAI team hires remote contractors for language-specific AI data annotation, transcription and evaluation work.
75 open roles, median $18/hr as listed
Built from its public job feed; full review not written yet.
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SME Careers
SuperAnnotate subsidiary that recruits subject matter experts as hourly remote contractors to create AI training data.
261 open roles, median $50/hr as listed
Built from its public job feed; full review not written yet.
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Mercor
AI hiring platform that matches experts with AI labs for contract training and evaluation work.
0 open roles
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Alignerr
Labelbox's contributor network for experts who label and evaluate data for AI models.
0 open roles
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Outlier
Scale AI's platform for remote contributors who write and rate AI training data, with project-based tasks.
0 open roles
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DataAnnotation
Remote platform for writing, coding and rating tasks that train chatbots, open only in some countries.
0 open roles
Comparisons
- micro1 vs MercorSide-by-side comparison of micro1 and Mercor as of October 2026: listed pay, referral terms, what is not verified, automated access rules and a verdict by type of person.
- micro1 vs TeracSide-by-side comparison of micro1 and Terac as of October 2026: type of work, listed pay, countries, referral terms and a verdict by type of person.
- Outlier vs DataAnnotationSide-by-side comparison of Outlier and DataAnnotation as of October 2026: countries, listed pay, requirements, referrals and a verdict by type of person.