Data annotation
Save · 0Label images, text, and audio that AI learns from. The lowest-skill entry point in AI work: modest pay, but real and remote.
~12.1K people search this every month ↑ trending up · US, measured
The short playbook
- Sign up with Appen and similar platforms; complete the qualifications.
- Start with general tasks, then qualify into higher-paying specialized queues.
- Track your effective hourly rate honestly and drop what's below your floor.
- Use it as a foot in the door toward better-paid AI training work.
Where to apply
Pay is what workers and job listings report, not a promise. Annotation is the lowest-skill entry point in AI work, and pay reflects that outside the expert tracks.
DataAnnotation ↗$20–45/hr reportedWrite and rate AI responses. Coding and expert tracks pay at the top of the range. US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and NZ only. The starter test is unpaid.
Outlier ↗$20–40/hr reportedScale AI's platform: rating responses, reviewing code, red-teaming. Projects stop without notice, and sudden account bans are a common complaint.
Turing ↗$22/hr on recent listingsImage and video annotation projects alongside its engineering placements. Pay is benchmarked to your local market, so offers vary a lot by country.
Appen ↗$8–18/hr in the USThe oldest crowd platform: labeling, transcription, search rating, many languages. Pay is pinned to your country's wage level, and projects pause a lot.
Toloka ↗$2–7/hr on microtasksCrowd microtasks with a low entry bar, plus the better-paid Mindrift expert track. Microtask pay is spare change. Aim for the expert track if you qualify.
SuperAnnotate ↗$15–130/hr by tierAnnotation through expert review via its SME Careers portal, open globally. First payout takes 30 to 45 days.
Common questions
What is data annotation work?
Labeling the images, text, and video that AI models learn from: rating answers, tagging photos, judging search results. It's the lowest-skill entry point in AI work, which means modest pay, but the work is real, remote, and open to beginners.
How much does data annotation pay?
The platform list on this page shows what workers and job listings report: roughly $20 to $45 an hour at the top platforms, with coding and expert tracks at the high end and older platforms like Appen lower. Those are reported rates, not promises, and hours depend on what's in your queue.
Is data annotation legit?
The platforms we list are real companies paying real people, and we link each one so you can judge it. The honest cautions: DataAnnotation's starter test is unpaid, projects can stop without notice, and some platforms only accept a handful of countries. Anyone asking YOU to pay to start is a scam.
Do you need experience to start?
No. You sign up, pass the qualifications, and start with general tasks, then qualify into higher-paying specialized queues. Track your effective hourly rate honestly and drop anything below your floor. Plenty of people use it as a foot in the door to better-paid AI training work.
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Income and demand tiers reflect what we found in public reports and search data, verified to the level shown. Nothing here is a guarantee of earnings.