Guide · trust
Is getting paid to train AI legit?
By Alex. First published 2026-09-01. Pay figures as of 2026-10-25, from live platform feeds.
Getting paid to train AI is legit when a named company hires you as a contractor and pays through a normal processor. Scams charge upfront fees or refuse to name who pays. This directory reads public job feeds from 29 platforms. Right now that is 3,292 open roles on the live jobs board. See how we verify listed rates on the methodology page.
Yes. Mercor, micro1, xAI, Alignerr, AfterQuery and Invisible (Meridial) are real companies with public job boards. This site reads those boards. As of 2026-10-25 that is 3,292 open roles, with typical top rates of $34–$110/hr (median $70/hr, from 545 distinct listed rates across 25 platforms). You apply on the platform's own site. Applying costs nothing. The only paid service here is optional coaching, with no upfront payment.
"Legit" is not the same as "pleasant" or "steady". Queues go empty. Assessments are unpaid. A project rate can sit below the headline. Some platforms show a ceiling their own contributors never see, which is why this directory has also delisted feeds. None of that makes the whole category a scam.
What a real platform looks like
- A company you can look up, with a jobs board or an application that does not ask you to pay.
- A rate stated in the posting, or an honest "rate set after evaluation" plus a band.
- Payout through a normal processor (PayPal, Deel, Wise, bank) after identity checks.
- No telegram stranger asking you to "train a bot" after you reply to a Facebook ad.
What is not legit
- Anyone who asks you to pay before you can apply, or to unlock a dashboard or verify a wallet.
- A listing whose only contact method is a personal chat app and a promise of a fortune by tomorrow.
- A site that will not name the company paying you.
- A task that wants your employer's confidential data as "training material".
Outlier and DataAnnotation are real and widely used. Both now have public feeds here: Outlier lists project ceilings, while DataAnnotation lists undated recruitment tracks with role-specific pay. Neither feed guarantees available work or the rate you will be assigned, so the alternatives pages still help you compare other open queues.
Outlier alternatives with published rates →Sites like DataAnnotation →How we read rates →Referral disclosure →
How this directory stays honest
- Every listed rate is copied from a platform's own feed, as the top of the posted band.
- A copied band across many countries counts once.
- Per-task pay stays per-task.
- Feeds that listed rates contributors did not see were taken down, with the reasons left on the profile page.
- Referral links are labelled and never change the sort.
Common questions
- Is DataAnnotation a scam?
- No. It is a real contractor marketplace (Surge AI). People are paid. The common complaints are a hard starter assessment, a long wait, and a gap between the listed rate and effective pay. We now read its public recruitment tracks, but they are undated talent-pool applications and do not establish a typical rate or available work.
- Is Outlier a scam?
- No. It is operated by a Scale AI company. People are paid. The common complaints are empty queues, sudden project pauses, and a project rate that can differ from the public ceiling after onboarding. Its public board is live here, but it cannot show the queue depth or your assigned rate.
- How do I know a rate on this site is real?
- It was read from the platform's own job feed. The index currently uses 545 distinct listed rates. Click through to the source listing from any job page. If we cannot read a rate, we say so.