AI Training Job Pay Index
Real advertised hourly rates from 805 live listings across Mercor, micro1, Turing, Handshake AI and Terac. Every figure below comes from a rate the platform actually published on a job posting. Updated 05 September 2026.
Coverage note: of 1,120 live listings, 805 (71%) publish an hourly rate. The rest advertise no pay, or pay per task rather than per hour, and are excluded. Where a listing gives a range, the midpoint is used.
Median rate by platform
| Platform | Listings with pay | Median | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercor | 471 | $80 | $8 to $300 |
| Handshake | 9 | $75 | $30 to $175 |
| micro1 | 313 | $70 | $4 to $400 |
| Terac | 12 | $60 | $2 to $100 |
Turing publishes no rates. Its listings appear on this board but carry no advertised pay, so Turing cannot be ranked here.
Median rate by field
| Field | Listings | Median | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal | 78 | $120 | $50 to $400 |
| Healthcare | 46 | $100 | $25 to $250 |
| Finance & Accounting | 69 | $95 | $20 to $280 |
| Software & Engineering | 89 | $88 | $4 to $300 |
| Science & Research | 91 | $79 | $19 to $280 |
| Other | 336 | $70 | $2 to $280 |
| Language & Content | 96 | $32 | $10 to $300 |
How rates are distributed
Highest advertised rates on the board
| Rate | Role | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| $400/hr | BigLaw lawyers (Litigation/Corporate/M&A) | micro1 |
| $400/hr | BigLaw lawyers | micro1 |
| $400/hr | Civil Rights Attorney (BigLaw Firms) | micro1 |
| $400/hr | Corporate Attorney (BigLaw Firms) | micro1 |
| $400/hr | Criminal Defense Attorney (BigLaw Firms) | micro1 |
| $400/hr | Criminal Lawyer (BigLaw Firms) | micro1 |
| $400/hr | Family Law Attorney (BigLaw Firms) | micro1 |
| $400/hr | Healthcare Attorney (BigLaw Firms) | micro1 |
| $400/hr | Immigration Attorney (BigLaw Firms) | micro1 |
| $400/hr | Litigation Associate Attorney (BigLaw Firms) | micro1 |
| $400/hr | Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Attorney (BigLaw Firms) | micro1 |
| $300/hr | CUDA Engineering Expert | Mercor |
| $300/hr | Street Performing Musician | micro1 |
| $280/hr | Data Scientist | micro1 |
| $280/hr | Investment & Finance Expert | micro1 |
| $280/hr | Management Consultant | micro1 |
| $280/hr | PhD & Academic Expert | micro1 |
| $280/hr | Senior Journalist / Writer | micro1 |
| $250/hr | Cybersecurity Research Expert, Offensive Security & Vulnerability Research | Mercor |
| $250/hr | Machine Learning Engineer Talent Network | Mercor |
Use this data
The full dataset is free to download and reuse with attribution to NeonLabs Job Hub.
Download the CSV (805 rows) Browse the live board
Method: rates are read from the JobPosting structured data on each live listing. Listings with no published rate, or paid per task, are excluded. Ranges use the midpoint. Retired listings are removed. Regenerated on every site build.