Head to head · 2026-08-23

Compare AI work platforms on real pay

Every comparison below is computed from the platforms' own live listings on 2026-08-23 — medians with their sample sizes, and the count of listings that quote an “up to” ceiling rather than a rate anyone can verify. 4 of the tracked platforms publish enough concrete rates to carry a median; the rest are shown for what they are rather than ranked on numbers they never published.

• Alignerr vs Mercorno published rates · $78/hr median
• Alignerr vs Meridial (Invisible)no published rates · $24/hr median
• Alignerr vs Mindriftno published rates · ceilings only
• Alignerr vs RWS TrainAIno published rates · $11/hr median
• Alignerr vs Welo Data (Welocalize)no published rates · $22/hr median
• DataAnnotation vs Mercorno published rates · $78/hr median
• DataAnnotation vs Meridial (Invisible)no published rates · $24/hr median
• DataAnnotation vs Mindriftno published rates · ceilings only
• DataAnnotation vs RWS TrainAIno published rates · $11/hr median
• DataAnnotation vs Welo Data (Welocalize)no published rates · $22/hr median
• Mercor vs Meridial (Invisible)$78/hr median · $24/hr median
• Mercor vs micro1$78/hr median · no published rates
• Mercor vs Mindrift$78/hr median · ceilings only
• Mercor vs Outlier (Scale AI)$78/hr median · no published rates
• Mercor vs RWS TrainAI$78/hr median · $11/hr median
• Mercor vs Welo Data (Welocalize)$78/hr median · $22/hr median
• Meridial (Invisible) vs micro1$24/hr median · no published rates
• Meridial (Invisible) vs Mindrift$24/hr median · ceilings only
• Meridial (Invisible) vs Outlier (Scale AI)$24/hr median · no published rates
• Meridial (Invisible) vs RWS TrainAI$24/hr median · $11/hr median
• Meridial (Invisible) vs Welo Data (Welocalize)$24/hr median · $22/hr median
• micro1 vs Mindriftno published rates · ceilings only
• micro1 vs RWS TrainAIno published rates · $11/hr median
• micro1 vs Welo Data (Welocalize)no published rates · $22/hr median
• Mindrift vs Outlier (Scale AI)ceilings only · no published rates
• Mindrift vs RWS TrainAIceilings only · $11/hr median
• Mindrift vs Welo Data (Welocalize)ceilings only · $22/hr median
• Outlier (Scale AI) vs RWS TrainAIno published rates · $11/hr median
• Outlier (Scale AI) vs Welo Data (Welocalize)no published rates · $22/hr median
• RWS TrainAI vs Welo Data (Welocalize)$11/hr median · $22/hr median

A pair earns a page only when at least one side has a real distribution and the other is either measurable too or a platform people actually search for. Comparing two platforms that both publish nothing would be a table empty on both sides. Methodology · full pay index