# Outlier queue empty? Explore other AI training jobs

Platforms doing the same paid AI work as Outlier, compared from their own public job feeds, with what workers report about Outlier itself. 3,234 open roles are tracked right now.

## What workers report about Outlier

Public worker reports and the platform's own pages, gathered by hand, 2026-09-03, medium confidence.

- The advertised number is a ceiling. The project rate appears after onboarding and can sit far below it.
- Task queues can sit empty for weeks, which is what turns an advertised hour into a much smaller effective one.

This directory can show: Public project listings, advertised hourly ceilings and each role's allowed countries. General interest forms and conflicting pay are excluded. It cannot measure: Queue depth inside Outlier, or the project rate you will be assigned.

Sources: indeed.com (2026-08), techcrunch.com (2025-01-09).

## At a glance: live advertised rates per platform

| Platform | Median top rate | Typical band | Top rate | Distinct rates | Rate before apply | How you get in |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | --- | --- |
| [Mercor](https://aipaylist.com/platforms/mercor) | $105/hr | $70 to $150/hr | $450/hr | 83 (215 listings) | Published rates on listings this directory reads | Open listings you can apply to |
| [Alignerr](https://aipaylist.com/platforms/alignerr) | $75/hr | $50 to $120/hr | $400/hr | 67 (627 listings) | Published rates on listings this directory reads | Public job board with hourly bands |
| [Meridial (Invisible)](https://aipaylist.com/platforms/meridial) | $45/hr | $28 to $65/hr | $200/hr | 29 (762 listings) | Published rates on listings this directory reads | Open freelance project listings |
| [micro1](https://aipaylist.com/platforms/micro1) | $90/hr | $45 to $130/hr | $400/hr | 128 (343 listings) | Published rates on listings this directory reads | Apply once, then matched to projects |
| Outlier (for comparison) | public board advertises "up to" ceilings, project rates are assigned after onboarding | | | | Published rates on listings this directory reads | Apply to a listed project, then complete onboarding |

Distinct advertised rates (one vote per platform and rate combination), percentiles of band tops, recomputed from live feeds. Methodology: https://aipaylist.com/methodology. Full pay index: https://aipaylist.com/pay.

## Where to apply instead, and who each one suits

- [Mercor](https://aipaylist.com/platforms/mercor), Expert network. Public hourly rates on every role, typically $10–$120/hr (plus per-task projects up to $2K). One of the largest AI-work marketplaces; $10B valuation (Oct 2025). Rates and roles verified from their public listings.
- [Alignerr](https://aipaylist.com/platforms/alignerr), Expert network (Labelbox). States "$80/hr average pay" on its own homepage. Every listing carries an hourly band, 67 different ones, running from $10–$15/hr at the bottom to $200–$400/hr at the top. Alignerr advertises each job many times over. Its board showed 5,530 listings on 2026-08-26 but only 469 separate jobs. Some are copied once per city, with the city name dropped into a single sentence of an otherwise identical posting, and every listing still says Remote. Others are simply repeated, word for word or lightly reworded. This directory lists each job once. Listings carry no date, and some workers report slow payment resolution, so apply with that in mind.
- [Meridial (Invisible)](https://aipaylist.com/platforms/meridial), Freelance AI trainer projects. Wide bands (e.g. $6–$65/hr): exact rate set after evaluation. Invisible Technologies' expert-contractor network. 800+ open freelance AI-trainer projects.
- [micro1](https://aipaylist.com/platforms/micro1), Expert network. Public hourly rates on job posts, typically $50–$200/hr for experts. Fast-growing Scale AI challenger ($500M valuation). Apply once, AI interview, then matched to projects.

## Frequently asked

**Which Outlier alternative pays the most?**

Mercor currently advertises the highest rates in our feed: top rates typically $70–$150/hr, the highest $450/hr, measured from 83 distinct advertised rates. Our highest-paying platforms ranking recomputes from live feeds continuously, so treat this answer as of today rather than fixed.

**Is Outlier AI legit, or should I avoid it?**

Outlier is legitimate. It's operated by Smart Ecosystem (a Scale AI company) and has paid out to a large contributor base. The frustration is operational, not fraud: task queues can sit empty for weeks, projects pause without notice, and your actual project rate is often only visible after onboarding. This page exists so you can compare platforms that publish concrete rates before you invest hours in assessments.

**Can I work on several AI training platforms at the same time?**

Usually yes, and experienced AI workers treat it as standard practice: queues on any single platform are volatile, so stacking two or three platforms smooths your income. Check each platform's terms for exclusivity clauses on specific projects (rare but they exist), and never reuse client-confidential material between platforms.

**Do these platforms hire outside the United States?**

Yes. That's one of the strongest reasons to look beyond Outlier. Meridial recruits across dozens of countries and languages, Mercor hires worldwide for many expert roles (though some are US-only), and micro1 runs globally too. Use our country pages to see exactly what's eligible where you live.

**How long does onboarding take on the alternatives?**

Mercor runs an AI interview plus profile review, micro1 screens through its own interview, and Meridial reviews applications per project. In my own experience a first Mercor offer took anywhere from a few days to a month, and Mercor automatically rejects an application that reaches one month without a decision, so a month of silence is a no. That is the practical difference from a silent waitlist: on Mercor you know where you stand within a month.

**Are the rates on this page real or marketing numbers?**

Every rate is read from the platform's own public job feed several times a day and shown as the top of its advertised band, the most the role says it can pay. Per-task pay is shown per-task, never converted into a fake hourly figure. The full rules are on our methodology page.

Why people leave, how to switch without losing income, and the highest advertised roles open right now are on the HTML page: https://aipaylist.com/alternatives/outlier

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Source: AIPayList (https://aipaylist.com/alternatives/outlier)
Observed: 2026-10-13
Licence: CC BY 4.0. Reuse freely with a link to the source URL.
Method: rates are read from each platform's own public job feed. One vote per unique platform+rate band, counted at the top of the band (the most the role says it can pay). Per-task pay is never converted to hourly. No benchmark is published below 5 distinct advertised rates. Population: since 2026-08-26 a role must advertise at least $10/hr (or $10 per task) to be listed, so these figures describe listed roles rather than all AI work; lower-paid rating work exists and is not represented. Full rules: https://aipaylist.com/methodology