micro1 vs Mindrift

micro1 and Mindrift both place experts on AI training projects, but they work differently. micro1 lists many roles across many fields, and most show an hourly range before you apply. Mindrift lists a few specialist roles, mainly engineering and medicine, with a maximum hourly rate and pay per accepted task. Today this site lists 269 open micro1 roles and 19 Mindrift roles.

The better fit depends on your profession and on how you want to be paid. The verdict by type of person is further down.

What the open roles look like today

From this site's daily read of each public job list, micro1 has 269 open roles. 261 of them show an hourly range, with a median low end of $50 and a median high end of $90 per hour. By field they split as generalist 52, law 52, coding 36, STEM 33, medicine 33, languages 23, writing 14, finance 14, robotics 9, trades 3, and they name 59 countries.

Mindrift has 19 open roles, and 19 of them show a rate, always a maximum, from $69 to $100 per hour at most. Its fields are medicine 11, STEM 8, and the countries named most often are United States 19. Mindrift's feed repeats each role once per country, and this site groups the repeats.

Read these numbers as what each platform shows on its postings. A listed rate is not guaranteed pay, and an open role is not an acceptance.

Side by side

From this site's list on 26 October 2026. The last two rows count roles opened and closed since 20 October 2026.

The median is the middle value of the midpoints of the listed hourly ranges, the same figure as the bars above. A range a platform posts on many roles at once is left out of it.

How the work and the pay work

micro1 places contractors on projects for its clients. Its working FAQ says pay comes in three forms, and your contract names yours: hourly for approved tracked hours, per approved task at your hourly rate times a payout multiple, or a flat fee per approved task. It expects about 15 to 20 hours a week, part-time, depending on what the client needs. Pay is in US dollars twice a month, around the 5th and the 20th, through Deel (micro1 library, Working FAQs and Payroll policy, checked 18 October 2026).

Mindrift is run on Toloka's platform, and its FAQ describes pay by accepted task. Each task shows a fixed reward before you start, and rejected work earns nothing. The FAQ gives no hourly rates, and no hours are guaranteed. Payouts go through Payoneer or Tipalti and are processed on the 5th and the 20th, moved for weekends and holidays (Mindrift FAQ, checked 22 October 2026). Mindrift's blog lists maximums of up to $90 an hour for coding and STEM, $50 for design and $30 for writing, and says all-access projects typically pay under $20 an hour.

Getting in

At micro1 you apply to a role on its portal and take a recorded interview with an AI interviewer. Passing it certifies you and puts you in a talent pool, and paid work starts when a project selects you. Before that you verify your ID through a third-party provider, and onboarding includes the contract and a background check. micro1 says it cannot hire in 21 countries and regions, and each role states its own location rule. The micro1 interview guide covers the interview step by step.

Mindrift has two ways in. All-access tasks can be started right after you register, with no application and no education or experience requirement. Specialised projects ask for a CV, assessments and an identity check, and they usually call for a relevant degree and professional experience. Each posting names the countries it is open to, and the payout services must work where you live.

What to watch out for

• Listed rates are what each platform shows, not what anyone earned. Mindrift's figures are ceilings, so pay depends on the tasks you accept.
• Selection and hours are not guaranteed on either platform. At micro1 a certificate makes you eligible for projects, and at Mindrift downtime between projects is possible, with weeks of waiting in some worker reports.
• Check the country rules at the application step, and read the contract before you sign, including the terms on interview recordings and on rights to your work.
• Reviews are mixed on both. When we checked, Trustpilot showed micro1 at 4.7 from more than 10,000 reviews and Mindrift at 3.5 from 1,115 reviews (checked October 2026). Reviews are self-selected, so read them as a sign of what can go wrong.

Verdict by type of person

• If you are a mechanical engineer (CAD, CFD, simulation) or a licensed physician, apply to both. Mindrift's feed centres on these roles, and micro1 has STEM and medicine roles too (see the fields row).
• If you want a pay range before you apply, micro1 fits better, because most of its roles show an hourly range. Mindrift shows a maximum, and pay depends on accepted tasks.
• If you work in law, finance, writing or coding, start with micro1, which lists roles in more fields, unless the fields row shows Mindrift with something open in your field.
• If you want language work, neither is the main source. Meridial and Welocalize list far more language roles.
• If your payout method matters, note that micro1 pays through Deel and Mindrift through Payoneer or Tipalti, so check which one works where you live.

More on each platform: micro1 and Mindrift. Pay data is in the AI Training Pay Index. Guides: is micro1 legit, how much micro1 pays, micro1 payments and taxes, is Mindrift legit, AI training work for engineers and for doctors.