Market map · as of 2026-09-09

AI training market map

Viral lists mix training, annotation, and crowdwork into one ranking. This map separates those lanes using advertised rates, not earnings. A name is on-board only when this directory already reads a public feed.

2,581
open AI training gigs: $85
median advertised top: $55–$120
p25–p75 advertised top: 2026-09-09
as of

Same definitions as the pay index and /pay.json: open count is every open row, median and band are distinct advertised top rates.

The map

8 platforms with a public rate feed, placed by what a typical role advertises against the highest rate anyone advertises. Circle size is open roles. Colour is what stands between you and the first paid hour. Advertised, not earned.

Rate on the posting, no screen firstScreened before pay is setDegree-gated, hollow when every figure is an up-to ceilingOpen roles250500750

Right is a better typical rate. The across axis is the median of the tops of every distinct band a platform advertises. Half its advertised roles sit above it, half below.

Up is a higher ceiling. The up axis is the single highest rate on the board that day. One posting can put a platform there, so read it with the typical range in the hover.

Bigger is more choice. Area is open roles in the latest feed read. Meridial (Invisible) has the most roles with 767 and the lowest typical rate. AfterQuery has the highest typical rate at $110/hr on 206 roles.

A hollow circle prints ceilings only. Handshake AI advertises up-to figures, so its median is a median of ceilings and reads high.

Feeds not placed today

Babel Audio. 43 open roles, fewer than 5 distinct hourly rates, so there is no median to place.

Platform	Median top	Typical range	Highest	Open roles	Distinct rates	Before pay is set
AfterQuery	$110	$80–$140	$200	206	74	Listed rate is on the posting, no account needed to read it
Mercor	$90	$60–$140	$250	395	125	AI interview before you are matched
Handshake AI	$85^*	$60–$120	$300	213	28	Degree-gated; advertised figures are 'up to' ceilings
micro1	$80	$45–$120	$400	345	115	AI interview before you are matched
Alignerr	$75	$50–$120	$400	528	66	Listed band is on the posting; no extra screen before you can read it
xAI Specialist AI Tutors	$75	$75–$100	$100	28	5	Hourly range is in the posting
Terac	$55	$20–$90	$105	56	9	A pay figure is on each opportunity; landing-page bands are wider
Meridial (Invisible)	$45	$28–$75	$200	767	28	Posted band is a band; exact rate is set after evaluation

Every figure is the top of a band a platform published on its own job feed, one vote per distinct band, the same basis as the pay index and pay.json. * up-to ceilings only. The circles move with every feed read.

High-end training / eval

AfterQuery
Expert data platform. Public board with a rate on each listing.
On-board
206 open roles, median advertised top $110/hr
Platform page
Alignerr
Labelbox expert network. Structured hourly bands on a public jobs API.
On-board
528 open roles, median advertised top $75/hr
Platform page
Babel Audio
Voice data collection. Public role pages with a published rate.
On-board
43 open roles, too few distinct advertised rates for a median
Platform page
Handshake AI
Graduate AI training fellowship. Public opportunity pages with an advertised ceiling.
On-board
213 open roles, median advertised top $85/hr
Platform page
Mercor
Expert network. Public hourly rates on contractor roles.
On-board
395 open roles, median advertised top $90/hr
Platform page
Meridial (Invisible)
Expert-contractor network. Public Greenhouse board of trainer projects.
On-board
767 open roles, median advertised top $45/hr
Platform page
micro1
Expert network. Public hourly rates on contractor roles.
On-board
345 open roles, median advertised top $80/hr
Platform page
Terac
Expert panel and AI evaluation work. Public opportunity pages.
On-board
56 open roles, median advertised top $55/hr
Platform page
xAI Specialist AI Tutors
Direct contractor tutor roles on the xAI careers board.
On-board
28 open roles, median advertised top $75/hr
Platform page

Entry / annotation

No annotation-lane feed is on this directory yet. A future feed needs a public dated rate, a listing that meets the floor, and an ingest we own. Profile-only brands such as DataAnnotation stay off this column.

Out of scope / crowd

Appen
Crowd data collection.
Out of scope
no public dated rate feed
Clickworker
Crowd microtasks.
Out of scope
no public dated rate feed
DataAnnotation
Task marketplace. Rate on a project shows after you join.
Out of scope
no public dated rate feed
Microworkers
Crowd microtasks.
Out of scope
no public dated rate feed
OneForma
Crowd annotation and linguistics projects.
Out of scope
no public dated rate feed
Outlier
AI training marketplace. Project rate assigned inside.
Out of scope
no public dated rate feed
Prolific
Paid research studies.
Out of scope
insufficient public rate data
Remotasks
Crowd annotation.
Out of scope
no public dated rate feed
RWS
Language and AI-data services.
Out of scope
insufficient public rate data
Toloka
Crowd tasks.
Out of scope
no public dated rate feed
Welocalize
Localization and rating work.
Out of scope
careers-only

On aipaylist today

Platform	What they sell	Open roles	Median advertised top
AfterQuery	Expert data platform. Public board with a rate on each listing.	206	$110/hr
Alignerr	Labelbox expert network. Structured hourly bands on a public jobs API.	528	$75/hr
Babel Audio	Voice data collection. Public role pages with a published rate.	43	n/a
Handshake AI	Graduate AI training fellowship. Public opportunity pages with an advertised ceiling.	213	$85/hr
Mercor	Expert network. Public hourly rates on contractor roles.	395	$90/hr
Meridial (Invisible)	Expert-contractor network. Public Greenhouse board of trainer projects.	767	$45/hr
micro1	Expert network. Public hourly rates on contractor roles.	345	$80/hr
Terac	Expert panel and AI evaluation work. Public opportunity pages.	56	$55/hr
xAI Specialist AI Tutors	Direct contractor tutor roles on the xAI careers board.	28	$75/hr

Often listed, usually out of scope

Name	What they sell	Why they sit off-board
Appen	Crowd data collection.	no public dated rate feed
Clickworker	Crowd microtasks.	no public dated rate feed
DataAnnotation	Task marketplace. Rate on a project shows after you join.	no public dated rate feed
Microworkers	Crowd microtasks.	no public dated rate feed
OneForma	Crowd annotation and linguistics projects.	no public dated rate feed
Outlier	AI training marketplace. Project rate assigned inside.	no public dated rate feed
Prolific	Paid research studies.	insufficient public rate data
Remotasks	Crowd annotation.	no public dated rate feed
RWS	Language and AI-data services.	insufficient public rate data
Toloka	Crowd tasks.	no public dated rate feed
Welocalize	Localization and rating work.	careers-only

Generic remote-task brands that advertise cheap crowd work belong in this lane too. This page does not invent an hourly rate for them.

How we decide to add a feed

The posting publishes a rate we can copy, not a pay-discussed-later line.
The post is dated, or the feed is re-readable, so we can tell when a role closes.
The advertised top meets the $10/hr listing floor.
We own the ingest adapter and can keep the copy honest when the feed changes.

How to read these numbers

Advertised is not earnings. A posting can print a top rate that a worker never sees, after unpaid screens, empty queues, or a quality check that pays nothing. The figures above are copied from public feeds, counted once per distinct advertised top rate, and they describe roles this directory lists. A role must advertise at least $10/hr to appear here. Full methodology.

Browse open AI training gigs or the advertised-rate index.