Live pay ranking · Model evaluation · October 2026

The highest-paying model evaluation platforms, ranked by live rates

Ranked by the median top hourly rate in model evaluation listings, counted as distinct listed rates at the top of each pay band. A platform re-posting one pay band across hundreds of country variants counts once (methodology).

Ranked by typical top rate (live feeds)

1.Handshake AImedian $60/hr · $30–$75 typicaltop $200/hr · 6 distinct rates (7 listings)
PhD and graduate-focused AI training fellowship. Its own board showed 203 open roles on 2026-08-26, each on its own public page with a rate, no account needed.
see live roles →Join Handshake AI ↗
2.Meridial (Invisible)median $50/hr · $28–$65 typicaltop $150/hr · 12 distinct rates (141 listings)
Invisible Technologies' expert-contractor network. 800+ open freelance AI-trainer projects.
see live roles →Join Meridial (Invisible) ↗
3.micro1median $45/hr · $30–$60 typicaltop $115/hr · 8 distinct rates (11 listings)
Fast-growing Scale AI challenger ($500M valuation). Apply once, AI interview, then matched to projects.
see live roles →Join micro1 ↗
4.Rise Data Labsmedian $45/hr · $45–$45 typicaltop $50/hr · 5 distinct rates (16 listings)
Checked 2026-09-12: public roles cover annotation, coding, languages and domain expertise. The board remains the source of availability, including older listings that are still posted
see live roles →Join Rise Data Labs ↗

Frequently asked

Which platforms pay the most for model evaluation work?

Handshake AI currently shows the highest median top rate in this field ($60/hr, n=6 distinct rates) among platforms with enough published rates to rank, as of 2026-10-25. The table on this page recomputes from live feeds.

Are these rates real or marketing numbers?

Every figure is the top of an posted band read from the platform's own public job feed, counted once per distinct rate. Per-task pay is never converted into an hourly equivalent. Full rules are on the methodology page.

Where are the live model evaluation roles?

The model evaluation job page lists every open role in this field with its listed rate. This ranking only covers platforms that publish enough distinct rates to support a median.

Browse live model evaluation roles on the model evaluation page. Site-wide ranking: highest-paying platforms. Some outbound links are referral links, and they are never a ranking factor (disclosure).