Head-to-head
Mindrift vs Braintrust
Which pays more, which is easier to start, and which fits the work you want. Compared on real pay, work model, payout, and the roles open right now.
Mindrift
BraintrustMindrift vs Braintrust: the short answer
, AITraining.jobs lists 54 open Mindrift roles and 82 open Braintrust roles (typical pay $18 to $100 an hour, median $25).
Mindrift pays more on typical work ($15–$100+/hr vs Braintrust's $18-$100/hr typical (live median $25)), a 72% chance on the rates the two boards state.
Mindrift is easier to get into: of the people we know applied, about 6.6% are accepted there against 6.3% at Braintrust (a 53% chance it really accepts more). Both are expert networks: gated by a screen for a degree, professional expertise, or a skills test.
Both hire for Coding, Domain Experts, AI Evaluation, Writing, and Red-Teaming; Mindrift also covers Math & STEM; Braintrust also covers Data Annotation.
Right now Braintrust has more live roles (82 vs 54).
Bottom line: Mindrift both pays more and is easier to start on here, so it is the default pick; choose Braintrust if its specific work (AI Evaluation, Data Annotation, Domain Experts, Writing, Red-Teaming, and Coding) fits you better.
| Mindrift | Braintrust | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical pay | $15–$100+/hr | $18-$100/hr typical (live median $25) |
| Work model | Expert network · Freelance specialist projects | Expert network · Talent network, 0% talent fee |
| Kinds of work | Coding, Math & STEM, Domain Experts, AI Evaluation, Writing, and Red-Teaming | AI Evaluation, Data Annotation, Domain Experts, Writing, Red-Teaming, and Coding |
| How you get paid | Twice a month, on the 5th and 20th, for tasks completed and accepted in the half-month before, through Payoneer or Tipalti (PayPal) depending on your country; the platform deducts no fee, though the payment providers may (its FAQ and its 'How Mindrift pays' article of 3 Sep 2026, read 3 Nov 2026). | Weekly, and talent keeps 100%, says its AI training page (read 1 Nov 2026); its help center says talent is paid by invoice when the client pays, on standard net-30 terms, through Wise and Stripe (read 1 Nov 2026). Braintrust itself pays only to bank accounts in the 35 countries on its payments list (8 in the Americas, 14 in Europe, 8 in Asia-Pacific, 5 in the Middle East and Africa; help center article updated 26 Jul 2026, read 1 Nov 2026); with an account elsewhere you see only the roles whose client pays you directly. |
| Where you can work | Global, except the sanctioned jurisdictions on its eligibility page (Russia, China including Hong Kong and Macau, Belarus, Iran and others) and the places it cannot yet support, among them Kenya, Switzerland, Taiwan and DR Congo (page updated 27 May 2026, read 3 Nov 2026). Its live board (3 Nov 2026) is mostly US: 1,483 of its 2,002 location rows, many of them in-person studies in New York, Los Angeles and the Bay Area. | Global: its own pages count 2M+ vetted professionals (its About page) across 100+ countries and 50+ languages (its AI training data page), read 1 Nov 2026. Braintrust pays directly only to bank accounts in the 35 countries on its payments list; elsewhere you see only the roles whose client pays you directly. |
| Open roles now | 54 live | 82 live |
| Worker ratings | Trustpilot 3.5/5 (1,129 reviews) · Google Play (Mindrift app) 4.0/5 (1.99K reviews) (read November 2026) | Trustpilot 1.7/5 (20 reviews) (read November 2026) |
Pay shows each platform's live measured band where its feed has enough hourly-stated roles, otherwise our compiled benchmark. How we compile pay.
Best for professionals and specialists chasing the highest rates.
54 open roles now →Best for people with a degree or professional skills who want vetted, higher-skill work.
82 open roles now →Some links on AITraining.jobs are referral links. If you sign up through one, AITraining.jobs may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes what a platform pays you.
How their pay compares with the market
Mindrift. On 11 Nov 2026, 3.7% of its open roles stated an hourly rate, advertising 1 distinct rate beside 1 advertised maximum ("up to $X/hr", left out): too few for a median (it needs 3). Mindrift Hiring Data
Braintrust. On 11 Nov 2026, 70.4% of its open roles stated an hourly rate. Their 57 distinct advertised rates have a median of $25/hr and typical pay of $18 to $100/hr, against a median of $40/hr across other platforms' rates.Compared within the same kinds of work (5 with enough rates on both sides), the advertised median at Braintrust runs 31.7% below other platforms' and is lower in all 5; the widest gap is in Multilingual & Localization ($19/hr against $35/hr). Braintrust Hiring Data
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Mindrift vs Braintrust: common questions
Which pays more, Mindrift or Braintrust?
Mindrift pays more on typical work ($15–$100+/hr vs Braintrust's $18-$100/hr typical (live median $25)), a 72% chance on the rates the two boards state.
Is Mindrift or Braintrust easier to get started with?
Mindrift is easier to get into: of the people we know applied, about 6.6% are accepted there against 6.3% at Braintrust (a 53% chance it really accepts more). Both are expert networks: gated by a screen for a degree, professional expertise, or a skills test.
Can you work on both Mindrift and Braintrust?
Yes. They are independent platforms, and many contributors join several at once to keep a steady flow of work, especially since both hire for Coding, Domain Experts, AI Evaluation, Writing, and Red-Teaming. Signing up for one does not affect the other.
More comparisons
Ordered by what applying to their platforms is worth, lifted by a referral boost for a platform that pays us a referral fee; it never changes what a platform pays you.