The hourly pay that AI training platforms list for their open roles, by platform and by field. This page covers the 2,544 roles open on 26 October 2026, using each posting's own listed rate.
SME Careers has 262 open roles today
By platform
| Platform | Middle half and median on a $0 to $200 scale | Typical rate | Rates |
|---|---|---|---|
 micro1 |
Middle half $50 to $110 | $68/hr$50 to $110/hr | 261 |
 xAI |
Middle half $40 to $55 | $40/hr$40 to $55/hr | 18 |
 Terac |
Middle half $60 to $100 | $90/hr$60 to $100/hr | 21 |
 Mindrift |
Middle half $69 to $100 | $70/hr$69 to $100/hr | 19 |
 Welocalize |
Middle half $8.50 to $25 | $16/hr$8.50 to $25/hr | 90 |
 Appen |
Middle half $34 to $48 | $36/hr$34 to $48/hr | 11 |
 Meridial |
Middle half $20 to $60 | $23/hr$20 to $60/hr | 54 |
 Innodata |
Middle half $15 to $20 | $15/hr$15 to $20/hr | 25 |
 RWS TrainAI |
Middle half $8 to $21 | $16/hr$8 to $21/hr | 132 |
| SME Careers | Middle half $25 to $70 | $50/hr$25 to $70/hr | 262 |
 HumanSignal |
Middle half $8 to $14 | $11/hr$8 to $14/hr | 23 |
 G2i |
Middle half $150 | $150/hr | 7 |
 Handshake AI |
Middle half $99 to $107 | $103/hr$99 to $107/hr | 2 |
 Remotasks |
Middle half $14 to $16 | $15/hr$14 to $16/hr | 2 |
 Scale AI |
Middle half $300 | $300/hr | 1 |
| TSMG | n/a | none | |
| Weekday | Middle half $70 to $120 | $100/hr$70 to $120/hr | 135 |
| Anyone AI | Middle half $40 to $63 | $45/hr$40 to $63/hr | 44 |
| 10x Team | n/a | none | |
| Volga | Middle half $7 to $25 | $16/hr$7 to $25/hr | 37 |
| Mercor | Middle half $55 to $105 | $80/hr$55 to $105/hr | 259 |
 Alignerr picked by hand |
Middle half $85 to $95 | $90/hr$85 to $95/hr | 3 |
| Turing picked by hand | Middle half $106 to $119 | $113/hr$106 to $119/hr | 2 |
Typical rate: the median, so half the listed rates are higher and half lower. The band is the usual range, the middle half of the rates, on one $0 to $200 scale; the dot is the typical rate. Rates: roles that list an hourly rate in USD. Rows with the mark rest on fewer than 8 rates.
By field
| Field | Middle half and median on a $0 to $200 scale | Typical rate | Rates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Languages | Middle half $13 to $36 | $23/hr$13 to $36/hr | 427 |
| STEM | Middle half $50 to $90 | $69/hr$50 to $90/hr | 220 |
| Generalist | Middle half $19 to $70 | $35/hr$19 to $70/hr | 211 |
| Coding | Middle half $60 to $96 | $70/hr$60 to $96/hr | 172 |
| Medicine | Middle half $70 to $150 | $100/hr$70 to $150/hr | 106 |
| Finance | Middle half $60 to $110 | $91/hr$60 to $110/hr | 86 |
| Law | Middle half $65 to $135 | $110/hr$65 to $135/hr | 108 |
| Writing | Middle half $55 to $83 | $68/hr$55 to $83/hr | 59 |
| Robotics | Middle half $9 to $20 | $11/hr$9 to $20/hr | 12 |
| Trades | Middle half $40 to $68 | $60/hr$40 to $68/hr | 7 |
Platform and field
| Platform | Field | Median listed | Usual range | Rates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anyone AI | Coding | $63 | $63 to $63 | 16 |
| Anyone AI | STEM | $40 | $40 to $45 | 21 |
| Appen | Languages | $36 | $34 to $48 | 11 |
| G2i | Coding | $150 | $150 | 7 |
| HumanSignal | Generalist | $11 | $8 to $14 | 23 |
| Innodata | Generalist | $15 | $15 | 16 |
| Innodata | Languages | $20 | $16 to $23 | 7 |
| Mercor | Coding | $80 | $65 to $110 | 35 |
| Mercor | Finance | $90 | $78 to $115 | 10 |
| Mercor | Generalist | $70 | $55 to $93 | 43 |
| Mercor | Languages | $50 | $30 to $63 | 49 |
| Mercor | Law | $105 | $85 to $110 | 13 |
| Mercor | Medicine | $150 | $120 to $198 | 26 |
| Mercor | STEM | $85 | $58 to $95 | 72 |
| Mercor | Writing | $70 | $55 to $88 | 11 |
| Meridial | Coding | $60 | $45 to $60 | 14 |
| Meridial | Generalist | $20 | $20 | 13 |
| Meridial | Languages | $21 | $20 to $22 | 12 |
| Meridial | Law | $63 | $63 | 5 |
| micro1 | Coding | $75 | $60 to $90 | 36 |
| micro1 | Finance | $103 | $71 to $238 | 14 |
| micro1 | Generalist | $46 | $35 to $60 | 44 |
| micro1 | Languages | $28 | $25 to $32 | 23 |
| micro1 | Law | $128 | $91 to $270 | 52 |
| micro1 | Medicine | $98 | $65 to $150 | 33 |
| micro1 | Robotics | $14 | $9 to $20 | 9 |
| micro1 | STEM | $68 | $60 to $100 | 33 |
| micro1 | Writing | $69 | $62 to $93 | 14 |
| Mindrift | Medicine | $100 | $100 | 11 |
| Mindrift | STEM | $69 | $69 | 8 |
| RWS TrainAI | Generalist | $22 | $21 to $22 | 13 |
| RWS TrainAI | Languages | $11 | $8 to $18 | 105 |
| RWS TrainAI | Law | $22 | $20 to $24 | 11 |
| SME Careers | Coding | $65 | $50 to $70 | 38 |
| SME Careers | Finance | $88 | $81 to $90 | 6 |
| SME Careers | Generalist | $20 | $20 to $25 | 17 |
| SME Careers | Languages | $30 | $25 to $40 | 96 |
| SME Careers | Law | $118 | $111 to $120 | 6 |
| SME Careers | Medicine | $90 | $78 to $100 | 16 |
| SME Careers | STEM | $70 | $25 to $90 | 60 |
| SME Careers | Writing | $65 | $51 to $70 | 22 |
| Terac | Coding | $60 | $40 to $79 | 8 |
| Terac | Finance | $100 | $100 | 5 |
| Volga | Finance | $17 | $7 to $39 | 15 |
| Volga | Generalist | $7 | $7 to $15 | 5 |
| Volga | Languages | $10 | $9.62 to $16 | 11 |
| Volga | Medicine | $25 | $25 | 6 |
| Weekday | Coding | $70 | $70 to $125 | 13 |
| Weekday | Finance | $105 | $95 to $110 | 30 |
| Weekday | Generalist | $100 | $78 to $113 | 23 |
| Weekday | Languages | $34 | $13 to $105 | 17 |
| Weekday | Law | $110 | $95 to $145 | 17 |
| Weekday | Medicine | $180 | $150 to $200 | 9 |
| Weekday | STEM | $60 | $30 to $75 | 20 |
| Weekday | Writing | $80 | $80 to $103 | 6 |
| Welocalize | Languages | $18 | $8.50 to $25 | 84 |
| xAI | Languages | $40 | $40 | 12 |
Only pairs with at least 5 listed hourly rates are shown; 34 smaller pairs are left out, because a median of fewer rates says little.
Open to contractors in the EU
Each role is marked from the countries its posting names: yes when it names a country of the European Union or says worldwide, no when it names countries and none is in the EU, unknown when it names none. Nothing is guessed from the platform or the text.
| Open to the EU | Median listed | Usual range | Roles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | $58 | $25 to $90 | 543 of 1045 |
| No | $39 | $20 to $80 | 680 of 1276 |
| Unknown | $75 | $55 to $110 | 185 of 223 |
How many roles publish their pay
For each platform: the share of its open roles whose posting gives a pay figure (an hourly rate, a rate per task or a yearly salary), then the share with an hourly rate in USD that the medians above can use. The same rule for every platform. Platforms are in alphabetical order, not ranked.
| Platform | Publish a pay figure | Hourly USD rate |
|---|---|---|
| 10x Team | 100% (104 of 104) | 0% (0 of 104) |
| Alignerr | 100% (3 of 3) picked by hand | 100% (3 of 3) |
| Anyone AI | 94% (44 of 47) | 94% (44 of 47) |
| Appen | 98% (53 of 54) | 20% (11 of 54) |
| G2i | 100% (7 of 7) | 100% (7 of 7) |
| Handshake AI | 100% (2 of 2) | 100% (2 of 2) |
| HumanSignal | 96% (24 of 25) | 92% (23 of 25) |
| Innodata | 96% (25 of 26) | 96% (25 of 26) |
| Mercor | 100% (294 of 295) | 88% (259 of 295) |
| Meridial | 100% (568 of 570) | 10% (54 of 570) |
| micro1 | 100% (268 of 269) | 97% (261 of 269) |
| Mindrift | 100% (19 of 19) | 100% (19 of 19) |
| Remotasks | 67% (2 of 3) | 67% (2 of 3) |
| RWS TrainAI | 99% (135 of 136) | 97% (132 of 136) |
| Scale AI | 8% (1 of 12) | 8% (1 of 12) |
| SME Careers | 100% (262 of 262) | 100% (262 of 262) |
| Terac | 96% (55 of 57) | 37% (21 of 57) |
| TSMG | 0% (0 of 103) | 0% (0 of 103) |
| Turing | 22% (2 of 9) picked by hand | 22% (2 of 9) |
| Volga | 91% (39 of 43) | 86% (37 of 43) |
| Weekday | 92% (153 of 166) | 81% (135 of 166) |
| Welocalize | 30% (95 of 314) | 29% (90 of 314) |
| xAI | 100% (18 of 18) | 100% (18 of 18) |
The same table as CSV: pay-index-transparency.csv.
Open roles with a listed rate
A few of today's roles, at most two per platform and field. Pay is what each platform lists. Checked .
How we count
- Each role counts once, at the midpoint of its listed hourly range (or the single figure when only one is given).
- Some platforms post one role once per country, each copy with its own countries and rate, and this site lists each copy on its own. Here such a role counts once: at the figure of its middle copy, and as open to the EU when any copy is.
- Only hourly rates in USD are used. Left out: 140 roles paid per task, 4 with a yearly salary, 371 that list no rate, and 108 hourly figures that are not in USD or are above $1,000 (a yearly salary posted in the wrong unit). Also left out: 513 roles that carry one platform-wide range instead of the rate of the role (the same minimum and maximum on at least a quarter of one platform's hourly roles, and the maximum at least three times the minimum): Meridial $6 to $65 on 237 roles; Meridial $8 to $65 on 276 roles.
- 347 roles list only a maximum ("up to"); that maximum is used as their figure, so platforms that post this way read high.
- Some platforms post the same range on many roles, so their median reflects that range more than the spread of the work.
- Percentiles use the inclusive method; with fewer than 4 roles they are not meaningful.
- Listed pay is what a posting offers, not what people earn: hours, task speed and review outcomes change the real figure.
The headline number
The press page gives one number per edition: the median listed hourly rate of specialist roles (the fields law, medicine, coding, STEM and finance) against generalist roles (the Generalist field), with Meridial left out of both because it posts one platform-wide range on most of its roles. This rule was fixed on 15 October 2026; a change would be a new rule, dated here, and never applied to a past edition.
Public hashes
When an edition is published, this section gives the SHA-256 of its frozen file (also published, to download and check) and of the daily record of the month it was made from. The first one, October 2026, is published on 2 November 2026.
The site earns from referral links on some platform pages; the Pay Index never carries one. Which platforms, and how: where our money comes from.
Data and sources
The totals of this edition, one line per row of the tables above (no role is listed), are in pay-index.csv. Sources: the public job listings of micro1, xAI, Terac, Mindrift, Welocalize, Appen, Meridial, Innodata, RWS TrainAI, SME Careers, HumanSignal, G2i, Handshake AI, Remotasks, Scale AI, TSMG, Weekday, Anyone AI, 10x Team, Volga, Mercor, Alignerr and Turing, read by this site on 26 October 2026. Each platform page links to its own listing.
A short read of these figures by field and country: the AI training pay report, October 2026.
Cite and reuse
To cite this edition:
AI Work Central, AI Training Pay Index, October 2026 edition (figures as of 2026-10-26), https://aiworkcentral.com/pay-index. Derived figures licensed CC BY 4.0.
Licence. The figures this site derives (medians, quartiles, counts and percentages, on this page and in the CSV files) are published under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit. The role postings themselves (titles, descriptions, pay text, or rows copied from a platform) belong to the platforms and employers that publish them; they are not in these files and are not licensed by this site.
What each file holds, the licence and the citation, in one plain text file: README.txt.
Turn a rate into a weekly figure with the earnings calculator, or see the roles behind a number on the jobs page. Pay that went up or down this week, role by role: what changed this week. Open roles country by country: the Country Job Index.