Crowtado
Best alternatives

The 5 best Toloka alternatives for contributors

Honest list. Crowtado is at #1 because we wrote this page, but the other four are real platforms with real contributors. Pick the one that matches your modality, geo, and pay expectations.

  1. 01

    Crowtado

    Phone-first, modality-tiered, $10 payout requests

    Crowtado pays contributors to record short voice clips, videos, and photos on their phones. The data trains AI models. Up to $40/hr, payout requests start at $10, 15 supported languages. The most direct fix for contributors leaving Toloka because of slow payouts, opaque bans, or limited modality coverage.

    Median pay
    $18–$40/hr
    Payout
    Within a few days
    Best for
    Phone-first contributors, multilingual speakers, contributors leaving platforms with opaque ban policies
    Enlist with Crowtado →
  2. 02

    Appen

    Where the world's best minds train AI.

    Appen is one of the oldest names in AI training data, founded in 1996 in Australia. The contributor experience is fragmented across three domains (appen.com, crowdgen.com, crowd.appen.com) and the company has had multiple rounds of layoffs and revenue decline since 2023. Pay is modest and the UX feels its age.

    Median pay
    $8–$15/hr
    Payout
    1–2 weeks
    Best for
    Search evaluator and ad-rating work specifically
  3. 03

    Outlier

    Earn money training AI models.

    Outlier is Scale AI's contributor-facing platform for paid AI training tasks. Domain experts work on text, code, and reasoning evaluations from a desktop browser. US-leaning, English-fluent contributors are heavily favored.

    Median pay
    $18–$50/hr
    Payout
    7 days
    Best for
    Domain experts (medicine, law, advanced code) in the US
  4. 04

    DataAnnotation

    Get paid to make AI smarter.

    DataAnnotation is Surge AI's contributor-facing brand. It owns the unbranded category term 'data annotation' on Google and pays well per task — but acceptance windows are long, the waitlist is unpredictable, and bans land with no explanation.

    Median pay
    $20–$40/hr
    Payout
    7 days
    Best for
    US-based, English-fluent contributors who can wait out the application queue
  5. 05

    Prolific

    Get paid for academic research studies.

    Prolific is a UK-based platform for paid online research studies. It's the gold standard for academic researchers running surveys and behavioral experiments — but it's not really an AI training platform. Studies are short, predictable, and pay in low double digits per hour.

    Median pay
    $8–$15/hr
    Payout
    1–2 weeks
    Best for
    Research participants, academic-curious contributors

FAQ

Best Toloka alternatives — what to know first.

  • What is the best Toloka alternative?

    For contributors leaving Toloka because of pay rates are too low for the time required., Crowtado is the most direct replacement. It pays up to $40/hr, payout requests start at $10, and account decisions come with a written reason — addressing the most common Toloka pain points.

  • Are there free Toloka alternatives?

    All the platforms on this list are free to join — they pay you, not the other way around. Watch out for any "AI side hustle" platform that asks for money upfront; that's not how legitimate data labeling works.

  • Which Toloka alternative pays the most?

    Per-hour rates depend heavily on modality and your qualification tier. Crowtado's range is $18–$40/hr across audio, video, and photo briefs. Appen can match or exceed for specific expert categories.

Done waiting on Toloka?

Two minutes to enlist. Up to $40/hr. Payout requests from $10.

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