platforms
AI Training & Data Annotation Platforms Compared
We track 15 AI training and data annotation platforms, and 11 are hiring now. Mercor has the highest median advertised pay among the platforms we review, at $80/hr.
15 platforms tracked11 hiring now2,174 open rolesmost pay $23–135/hr
Updated today ·
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Compare every platform
Platforms hiring now come first; the ones with no open roles are marked and listed last. Sort by a column, or tap a platform for our review.
- 10x TeamLegit · not rated yet
Jobs only
- Pay (USD/hr)
- $27–405/hrmedian $135/hr
- Open roles
- 106
- First payout
- Not known yet
- Countries
- Most countries
- We earn a referral fee
- No
- AlignerrLegit · not rated yet
Run by Labelbox
- Pay (USD/hr)
- $10–100/hrmedian $26/hr
- Open roles
- 15
- First payout
- About 5 days
- Countries
- Worldwide
- We earn a referral fee
- No
- Anyone AILegit · not rated yet
Jobs only
- Pay (USD/hr)
- $7–150/hrmedian $45/hr
- Open roles
- 43
- First payout
- Not known yet
- Countries
- Brazil, Mexico, US only
- We earn a referral fee
- No
- LiltLegit · not rated yet
Jobs only
- Pay (USD/hr)
- Pay not disclosed
- Open roles
- 398
- First payout
- Not known yet
- Countries
- Most countries
- We earn a referral fee
- No
- MercorLegit · not rated yet
Full review
- Pay (USD/hr)
- $15–500/hrmedian $80/hr
- Open roles
- 297
- First payout
- About 6 days
- Countries
- Most countries
- We earn a referral fee
- No
- MeridialLegit · not rated yet
Run by Invisible Technologies
- Pay (USD/hr)
- $5–200/hrmedian $65/hr
- Open roles
- 547
- First payout
- Not known yet
- Countries
- Most countries
- We earn a referral fee
- No
- micro1Legit · not rated yet
Full review
- MindriftLegit · not rated yet
Run by Toloka
- Pay (USD/hr)
- $9–100/hrmedian $69/hr
- Open roles
- 24
- First payout
- Not known yet
- Countries
- Most countries
- We earn a referral fee
- No
- Rise Data LabsLegit · not rated yet
Jobs only
- Pay (USD/hr)
- $5–60/hrmedian $30/hr
- Open roles
- 70
- First payout
- Not known yet
- Countries
- Canada, UK, US only
- We earn a referral fee
- No
- RWS TrainAILegit · not rated yet
Run by RWS
- Pay (USD/hr)
- $22/hrmedian $22/hr
- Open roles
- 115
- First payout
- Not known yet
- Countries
- Most countries
- We earn a referral fee
- No
- Welo GlobalLegit · not rated yet
Run by Welocalize
- Pay (USD/hr)
- $2–105/hrmedian $19/hr
- Open roles
- 265
- First payout
- Not known yet
- Countries
- Most countries
- We earn a referral fee
- No
- DataAnnotationLegit · not rated yet
No open roles right now
- Pay (USD/hr)
- No open roles
- Open roles
- None right now
- First payout
- About 7 days
- Countries
- Australia, Canada, New Zealand +2 more
- We earn a referral fee
- No
- Handshake AILegit · not rated yet
No open roles right now
- Pay (USD/hr)
- No open roles
- Open roles
- None right now
- First payout
- About 7 days
- Countries
- US only
- We earn a referral fee
- No
- OutlierLegit · not rated yet
No open roles right now
- Pay (USD/hr)
- No open roles
- Open roles
- None right now
- First payout
- About 7 days
- Countries
- Most countries
- We earn a referral fee
- No
- ProlificLegit · not rated yet
No open roles right now
- Pay (USD/hr)
- No open roles
- Open roles
- None right now
- First payout
- About 1 day
- Countries
- Australia, Brazil, Canada +12 more
- We earn a referral fee
- No
Platforms hiring now first, then sorted by highest Legit Score first. Pay and open roles come from live listings we track, in USD per hour.
| Platform | Pay (USD/hr) | Payout speed | Countries | Legit Score | Open roles | We earn a referral fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10x Team Jobs only | $27–405/hr median $135/hr | Not known yet | Most countries | Legit · not rated yet | 106 | No |
Alignerr Run by Labelbox | $10–100/hr median $26/hr | About 5 days Stripe (bank transfer), PayPal | Worldwide | Legit · not rated yet | 15 | No |
Anyone AI Jobs only | $7–150/hr median $45/hr | Not known yet | Brazil, Mexico, US only | Legit · not rated yet | 43 | No |
Lilt Jobs only | Pay not disclosed | Not known yet | Most countries | Legit · not rated yet | 398 | No |
Mercor Full review | $15–500/hr median $80/hr | About 6 days Stripe (bank transfer), Wise | Most countries | Legit · not rated yet | 297 | No |
Meridial Run by Invisible Technologies | $5–200/hr median $65/hr | Not known yet | Most countries | Legit · not rated yet | 547 | No |
micro1 Full review | $2–400/hr median $65/hr | About 5 days Deel (withdraw by bank transfer, PayPal, Wise, Payoneer and more) | Most countries | Legit · not rated yet | 294 | Yes details |
Mindrift Run by Toloka | $9–100/hr median $69/hr | Not known yet Payoneer, PayPal (via Tipalti) | Most countries | Legit · not rated yet | 24 | No |
Rise Data Labs Jobs only | $5–60/hr median $30/hr | Not known yet | Canada, UK, US only | Legit · not rated yet | 70 | No |
RWS TrainAI Run by RWS | $22/hr median $22/hr | Not known yet | Most countries | Legit · not rated yet | 115 | No |
Welo Global Run by Welocalize | $2–105/hr median $19/hr | Not known yet | Most countries | Legit · not rated yet | 265 | No |
DataAnnotation No open roles right now | No open roles | About 7 days PayPal | Australia, Canada, New Zealand +2 more | Legit · not rated yet | None | No |
Handshake AI No open roles right now | No open roles | About 7 days Stripe (bank transfer) | US only | Legit · not rated yet | None | No |
Outlier No open roles right now | No open roles | About 7 days PayPal, Airtm, ACH bank transfer | Most countries | Legit · not rated yet | None | No |
Prolific No open roles right now | No open roles | About 1 day PayPal | Australia, Brazil, Canada +12 more | Legit · not rated yet | None | No |
"We earn a referral fee" means we may be paid if you are hired through our link. It never changes a platform's score or its place in this table. How we make money
how to read it
How to read this table
What each column means and where the numbers come from. Read our full methodology
- Legit Score
- Legit Score (our 0–100 rating of how safe a platform is to work for, based on published inputs). It weighs payout reliability, pay transparency, time in market, third-party ratings and complaints. How we score
- Pay
- The lowest to highest hourly pay advertised in the live listings we track for each platform, in USD. The median is the middle value. "Pay not disclosed" means the platform has open roles but none state pay. Pay Index
- Payout speed
- The usual time from finishing work to your first payment, and the ways each platform pays.
- Countries
- Where each platform accepts workers. Single jobs can be narrower. Check where you can work
faq
Choosing a platform: questions people ask
Which data annotation company is best to work for?
It comes down to who you are. Licensed experts belong on Mercor or micro1; DataAnnotation rewards strong English writers in the countries it accepts; Prolific suits anyone after short, clearly paid studies; and Mindrift works for multilingual workers outside the US. Pay, payout speed and countries sit side by side in the table above.
Which AI training sites pay the most?
The best money is on expert platforms: in October 2026 Mercor listed law and medicine roles at $100–150 an hour; micro1's top legal roles paid up to $400 an hour. General work on DataAnnotation starts at $25+ an hour, and Prolific's floor is £6 or $8 an hour.
Are these AI training platforms legit?
Known companies run every platform we review, including Scale AI, Surge AI, Labelbox, Toloka and Handshake, and pay runs weekly or twice a month. None is risk-free: several face contractor lawsuits, and some workers report losing pay when an account is deactivated.
Which platform pays out fastest?
Prolific pays out fastest: cash-outs hit PayPal within 24 hours. Alignerr sends pay by the Friday after each work week; Mercor, Outlier and Handshake AI pay every week; and Mindrift and micro1 pay twice a month.
Can I do data annotation with no experience?
Yes, on some platforms. Mindrift's all-access tasks and Prolific's studies ask for no experience. Outlier asks for at least an associate degree, and expert platforms expect a degree or licence.
How hard is it to get hired by a data annotation company?
Plan for an assessment or an AI interview before any paid work; some platforms never reply to applicants they reject. Your odds go up when you apply to two or three platforms that accept your country.