15 platforms, researched and source-cited — pay bands, who they recruit, how the application process actually works, and what public reporting says once you're in. Compiled from official pages and independent reporting, not marketing copy.
Launch price · regular price $24
A full comparison table across all 15 platforms — pay band, domains recruited, and current hiring status. This is a preview; the directory has the complete table plus a full profile page per platform.
| Platform | Pay band* | Domains | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercor mercor.com | $12–200+/hr | SWE, medicine, law, finance, math | Hiring |
| Outlier outlier.ai | $15–100+/hr | SWE, STEM, multilingual | Hiring |
| DataAnnotation dataannotation.tech | $20–65+/hr | Writing, coding, STEM, licensed pro | Hiring |
| Alignerr alignerr.com | $15–150/hr | Audio, coding, finance, CV/ML, legal | Hiring |
| Surge AI surgehq.ai | $18–400/hr | Law, journalism, VC, consulting, SWE | Hiring (gated) |
| Pareto pareto.ai | $35–60/hr* | Medicine, law, STEM, finance, SWE | Hiring |
| Turing turing.com | $30–150/hr* | SWE, ML, medicine, finance, law | Hiring |
Traditional tech employment has been contracting through 2026 while independent, platform-based work has grown. Neither trend is guaranteed to continue — both are documented in the sources below.
The platforms in this directory are part of the second trend — paying for domain expertise directly, independent of any single employer.
What this work is, who's hiring, who qualifies, and how to read the rest of the directory.
All 15 platforms on one table, plus quick-filter lists by domain and experience level.
One page per platform: pay band, application process, payment rails, and flags worth knowing before you apply.
Applying in parallel, positioning a profile, how assessments work, red flags, and a 90-day ramp.
One row per platform — application date, assessment status, result, effective pay.
A plain-language primer on contractor income, quarterly estimates, and deductions.
Platforms do screen applicants — the strategy chapter exists to raise your odds and keep several applications moving in parallel.
Pay bands, application processes, and even platform names shift — three platforms in this edition rebranded within the research window alone. Owners of this directory get free updated editions as the market moves.
$19 · regular price $24
Pay bands, acceptance status, and openings change month to month — the newest edition is always the most current one. Not affiliated with any platform listed.
No. This is an independent research publication, written and maintained by TYB (see the Receipts page for background). It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any platform it covers. Every fact is sourced from public pages, docs, and reporting — see the sources list included with the directory.
No guarantee is made or implied. Pay figures in the directory are what platforms publicly list or what has been credibly reported — most platforms don’t publish an official rate card at all. Rates, acceptance, and task availability change without notice and vary by individual, region, and timing.
A 33-page PDF: an intro chapter, a full comparison table across 15 platforms, one detailed profile page per platform with sources and dates, a strategy chapter (parallel applications, positioning, assessments, red flags, a 90-day ramp), a printable application tracker, and a plain-language 1099 tax basics page.
This edition reflects public information as of August 2026. Platforms rebrand, change pay bands, and open or close applications regularly — three platforms in this edition rebranded during the research window alone. Owners receive free updated editions as the market moves.
Full refund within 30 days of purchase, no questions asked. Contact support through the email on your receipt.
No. The directory covers platforms recruiting across software engineering, medicine, law, finance, academia, and general annotation work, from no-experience-required entry tracks to credentialed-expert tiers.