Best Data Annotation Jobs (2026)

Run by Surge AI (Surge Labs), a San Francisco AI data company founded in 2020.

Pay

From $25 to $50 an hour for general work, $40 to $150+ for coding, $40 to $125+ for STEM and licensed professional work (its own FAQ).

Best for

Strong English writers and generalists, plus coders, STEM graduates and licensed professionals.

Requirements

Fluent English, a bachelor's degree or equivalent experience, a starter assessment of about an hour, and a Persona ID check. Countries are not listed on its site.

Payout

PayPal. Deposits arrive within a few days of requesting them.

Operated by Scale AI (contracting entity Smart Ecosystem Inc., d/b/a Outlier AI). Also runs Remotasks.

Pay

Shown before each project; varies by skill, project and location. Official pages on 8 Nov 2026 showed examples from up to $15 an hour (English writing) to up to $50 an hour (biology; an agent-builder role in eight countries), and up to $27.50 an hour for coding in India.

Best for

Generalists and experts in coding, maths, STEM and languages.

Requirements

At least an associate degree, valid ID and a phone from your country, a visa that permits work, plus skill screenings.

Payout

Weekly, on Tuesdays, by PayPal, Airtm or ACH bank transfer.

Mercor.io Corporation, San Francisco, founded 2023. Backed by Benchmark, Felicis and General Catalyst.

Pay

Set per project. Mercor's standing expert pools (open networks, not specific vacancies) say past listings have paid about $40 to $75 an hour (maths) up to $60 to $180 an hour (medical). Specific openings show their own rate, such as $90 to $140 an hour for a US maths PhD role. Mercor cites an average of over $95 an hour.

Best for

Professionals and domain experts: software, medicine, law, maths, finance.

Requirements

A short AI interview (about 20 minutes on the listings we checked), experience that fits the role, and a home country on its supported list (108 when we checked). Its listings say it cannot support US H-1B or STEM OPT candidates.

Payout

Weekly through Stripe Connect, or Wise where Stripe is not available (its policy names countries such as Brazil, Kosovo and the UAE). The first Stripe payout has a 7-day hold, and banks can take several more days.

Alignerr LLC, powered by Labelbox, a San Francisco AI data company founded in 2018.

Pay

Ranges on each job card, for example $20 to $50 or $40 to $120 an hour. Its home page shows $80 an hour as average pay.

Best for

PhDs, researchers and experts, with some entry roles that need no experience.

Requirements

A recorded AI interview, a Persona ID check once matched to a project, and a supported country (not all countries can join).

Payout

Weekly. Stripe or PayPal depending on your country, paid the Friday after each Monday to Sunday week.

Prolific Academic Ltd, London, UK.

Pay

Researchers must pay at least £6 / $8 an hour and are told to pay £9 / $12. AI tasks for invited taskers usually pay more.

Best for

Beginners who want short paid studies, and invited AI taskers.

Requirements

Age 18+, a verified account and residence in a supported country (mostly OECD, listed on its help centre). Unsupported countries can join a waitlist.

Payout

PayPal, once a day, from £6 / $6. The first four cash-outs wait 72 hours.

Appen Limited, listed in Australia (ASX: APX), founded 1996. Contributor work runs on CrowdGen.

Pay

Per project. Its home page lists expert ceilings such as up to $150 an hour for software engineers; general data tasks pay per unit.

Best for

Multilingual contributors for data collection and rating, and domain experts.

Requirements

A qualification step for most projects, one account per person, and location rules that differ by project.

Payout

Monthly invoice finalised by the 14th. PayPal, local bank, Airtm, SWIFT, Payoneer or gift card, depending on country.

micro1 Inc., founded 2022. Raised $35M at a $500M valuation in September 2025.

Pay

Hourly or per task, set by project. No rate card on its own site; listings load per role.

Best for

Experts and professionals matched to client projects.

Requirements

An on-demand AI interview with its recruiter Zara, a contract through Deel, and Hubstaff time tracking for hourly work.

Payout

Twice a month through Deel, around the 20th and the 5th.

Turing Enterprises, Inc., Palo Alto, founded 2018. Valued at $2.2B in March 2025.

Pay

Not published. Its job posts list contract length and hours but no rate.

Best for

Software engineers and technical specialists.

Requirements

Varies by project, for example 3+ years of experience and 20 to 40 hours a week with 4 hours overlapping US Pacific time.

Payout

Not confirmed. Turing's public help article on payment dates and bank transfers covers referral rewards, not contractor pay, and its contractor payment articles need a login.

Invisible Technologies Inc. Expert work runs through its Meridial marketplace. Valued at $2B in September 2025.

Pay

Set per project. Meridial says it publishes the rate range on each engagement before you commit; there is no general rate card.

Best for

Domain experts in finance, law, coding, STEM and languages, plus students.

Requirements

A profile, a short confirmation step, and project-by-project location rules.

Payout

Every two weeks to the account in your profile.

TELUS Digital (formerly TELUS International), owned by Canadian telecom TELUS since its October 2025 buyout.

Pay

Each listing shows an estimated hourly rate, paid per task. Its job pages block automated checks, so we have not confirmed current figures.

Best for

Bilingual raters for search, ads and maps in their own country.

Requirements

Apply per role, tied to your country and language, then pass a qualification exam with ID verification.

Payout

Not stated on a page we could open.