Platforms Like Outlier to Earn Money Training AI

You have heard about Outlier, you want paid work training AI models, and you would rather compare the options before you sit through anyone's screening. We list open AI training roles across 14 platforms, and we joined and applied to each platform ourselves. Here is how the five main alternatives stack up, and who each one actually fits.

TL;DR

• micro1 carries the most work: 239 open listings as of October 24, 2026, a median top rate of $100/hr, and the widest pay spread of the five.
• Mercor has 214 listings at a $84/hr median top rate, weighted toward science, engineering and medicine.
• Braintrust is the easiest door: 63 of its 96 listings need no degree or specialist experience, and its median top rate is $29/hr.
• Handshake AI fits current students and recent grads, with 173 listings at an $80/hr median top rate.
• Mindrift is small and expert-only right now: 19 listings, all hourly, none beginner-friendly.

The platforms most like Outlier that we list are micro1, Mercor, Handshake AI, Mindrift and Braintrust, and the right first application depends on your background, not the headline rate.

Platforms like Outlier: the comparison table

Outlier is the contributor platform run by Scale AI. We don't list Scale AI, and right now Outlier itself shows 2 open listings on our site. These five carry the bulk of the work: 741 roles, 696 of which state an hourly rate, at a combined median top rate of $80/hr as of October 24, 2026. We went through each platform's own sign-up and screening, and you can read how we vet platforms before you pick.

Two things to read into that table. Rates are median top rates for listings that state an hourly rate, and the spread runs from $30/hr at the 10th percentile to $175/hr at the 90th across these 741 roles. A listing marked "Remote" also does not mean worldwide: 28 of the 741 say worldwide, 231 name specific countries, and 482 only say Remote, so the location is not stated.

micro1

micro1 recruits contractors through an AI recruiter interview and posts a wide range, from generalist evaluation roles that welcome recent grads to specialist work in medicine, finance, law and research.

The numbers: 239 listings, 234 of them hourly, median top rate $100/hr, 10th percentile $30/hr, 90th percentile $300/hr. Its best-paid listings are attorney roles, such as Investment Funds & Asset Management Attorney at $140 to $400/hr. Fields lean generalist first, then law and compliance, then medicine and health. 51 listings are beginner-friendly. 51 name specific countries, 28 say worldwide, and 160 only say Remote.

Screening: apply on the listing page, complete the AI recruiter interview, which asks about your experience and tests the skill for technical roles, then wait to be matched to a project. Generalist Evaluation Specialist listings are the most open entry point, and there are more on our generalist AI training jobs page. Do the interview somewhere quiet with a working camera and mic. More detail sits on our micro1 jobs and screening page.

Mercor

Mercor matches professionals with AI labs that need expert feedback. Most roles are hourly contracts for people with real domain depth: physicians, lawyers, PhDs, engineers, finance people.

The numbers: 214 listings, 205 hourly, median top rate $84/hr, 10th percentile $50/hr, 90th percentile $150/hr. The Agent Engineer listing runs $100 to $500/hr. The Oncologist listing runs $350 to $450/hr. Science and engineering leads the field split, with medicine and health and finance close behind. 36 listings are beginner-friendly. 45 name specific countries and none says worldwide, so check the location line before you spend time on a video interview. Mercor's listings tend to be narrow and specific, which makes it easy to tell whether you fit.

Screening: upload your resume, apply to one listing, and expect a short AI-led video interview about your background. Some projects add a domain assessment. Apply to the listing that matches your background most closely rather than to everything. Our guide to the Mercor AI interview covers what it asks and how to prepare, and our Mercor review after applying goes deeper on pay and screening.

Mindrift

Mindrift is run by Toloka and hires freelance AI tutors to write and review training data. It posts fewer, broader roles, often for writers, editors and subject experts.

The numbers: 19 listings, all hourly, median top rate $70/hr with a range from $63/hr to $70/hr. Medicine and health (11) and science and engineering (8) are the only fields it lists. None is beginner-friendly. 12 name a country and the United States is the one named most. If you are a generalist with no specialist background, this is a bad first stop right now, and we would say so plainly.

Screening: sign up, complete your profile, then pass the qualification tests for the projects you want. Every role goes through one sign-up link, and you pick your project inside. Our Mindrift qualification test guide covers the writer, editor and expert tests.

Handshake AI

Handshake, the careers network used by universities, runs an AI program that pays students, graduates, master's and PhD holders to train and test models in their field. Many roles name a degree level or a country in the title.

The numbers: 173 listings, all hourly, median top rate $80/hr, 10th percentile $47/hr, 90th percentile $125/hr. Science and engineering is the largest field at 58 listings, then generalist at 46. 14 listings are beginner-friendly. 28 name specific countries, none says worldwide, and 145 only say Remote. Canada, India, Mexico and the United States appear most.

Screening: sign up through Handshake, pick an opportunity, answer questions about your degree and field, then take the project assessment. Strong fit if you are a current student or recent grad in a technical field. Our Handshake AI program explainer answers the rest.

Braintrust

Braintrust is a freelance talent marketplace, and we list only its AI-training work, staffed for clients like SuperAnnotate, Outlier, Turing, DATAmundi, Toloka and iMerit. The client is named on each job.

The numbers: 96 listings, 65 hourly, median top rate $29/hr, 10th percentile $15/hr, 90th percentile $100/hr. 31 listings don't state pay, with the rate given during onboarding. Languages is the largest field at 43 listings, including several Indian languages, then generalist and voice. 63 listings are beginner-friendly, the highest share of the five. 95 name specific countries, with the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom appearing most. Examples: a Mobile AI Rater role for Android users at $19/hr, and a Quality Analyst role at $23/hr, both naming the United States.

Screening: create a Braintrust profile and apply to the job. Some clients run their own selection on top, such as an AI interview, a domain task and a recruiter interview. You apply through Braintrust, not the client, even where the client also hires directly. Data collection roles pay a fixed fee per project, not an hourly rate, so do not read them as hourly work. Rates and available work vary with your assessment, location and the project's needs.

Scale AI and Outlier, for context

Scale AI is the company behind Outlier, and Outlier is its contributor platform. We don't list Scale AI. Outlier appears on our site with 2 open listings, neither of which states an hourly rate. If Outlier is your starting point, treat it as one platform among several rather than the default.

Which one should you apply to?

Pick micro1 if you are

A specialist in law, medicine, finance or software, or a recent grad who can start with generalist evaluation work. It has the deepest pool and the highest median top rate of the five. The trade-off is the AI recruiter interview, which you should treat as a real screening step.

Pick Mercor if you are

A working professional with domain depth and a resume that shows it. The listings are narrow, so a close match matters more than volume. Run the application through one listing at a time.

Pick Handshake AI or Braintrust if you are

A student or recent grad with no specialist background yet. Handshake AI pays better at the median and fits technical degree paths. Braintrust is the widest entry point, with 63 beginner-friendly listings, and the language and voice work suits multilingual candidates. Expect lower rates there.

Pick Mindrift if you are

A subject expert in medicine or science who wants fewer, broader writing and review projects. Skip it if you need a beginner role, because there are none listed right now.

Apply to both if

You have a specialist background and can carry two applications in the same week. micro1 and Mercor overlap least in field mix, so a rejection from one says nothing about the other. Add Braintrust for language work if you speak a second language. What you should not do is fire off applications to every listing on every platform in one sitting. Screening quality drops, and the platforms that use interviews notice.

Where to go from here

Start with the side-by-side view on our platforms compared side by side page, then browse all open AI training jobs to see what is live in your field today. If you are still narrowing it down, the science and engineering and medicine and health job pages carry the deepest specialist pools across these five platforms.