Alignerr vs Handshake AI
Side by side from today's live listings and each platform's own documentation. Plenty of people work on both.
| Alignerr | Handshake AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Live roles | 528 | 242 |
| Median hourly | $60 | $80 |
| Top rate | $400 | $300 |
| How it pays | Alignerr does not publish its pay schedule publicly. Third-party guides disagree (weekly through PayPal versus bi-weekly through Deel), so check the payment method on your own dashboard. | Weekly payouts through Stripe, according to the fellowship page as quoted by third-party guides. Handshake does not publish a rate per project. |
| Hiring | Apply to a listing, then complete an assessment. Most work is reviewed before it counts as payable. | Apply through the Handshake AI site with a Handshake account. Expert tracks ask for a degree in the field. |
| Run by | Labelbox, the data-labeling software company, which runs Alignerr as its expert workforce. | Handshake, the college careers network, which started an AI training business (the Handshake AI Fellowship) in 2025. |
Median hourly by field
| Field | Alignerr | Handshake AI |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine & health | $55 (28) | $125 (17) |
| Mental health | n/a | $75 (5) |
| Law | $30 (4) | $130 (2) |
| Finance & accounting | $80 (47) | $85 (31) |
| Chemistry | $83 (13) | $58 (6) |
| Biology & life sciences | $70 (9) | $68 (6) |
| Physics | $45 (11) | $63 (6) |
| Math & statistics | $185 (23) | $75 (6) |
| General STEM | n/a | $39 (2) |
| Energy & earth sciences | $45 (10) | $85 (21) |
| Business & operations | $49 (26) | $80 (29) |
| Engineering | $63 (17) | $85 (45) |
| Software & coding | $63 (84) | $105 (7) |
| Machine learning | $65 (15) | $75 (6) |
| Data & analytics | $80 (10) | $105 (2) |
| Cybersecurity | $50 (29) | $140 (2) |
| Design & media | $40 (5) | $125 (6) |
| Writing & editing | $80 (8) | $100 (1) |
| Languages & translation | $80 (37) | $30 (12) |
| Voice & audio | $24 (134) | $94 (6) |
| Teaching | n/a | $75 (4) |
| Humanities & policy | $80 (1) | $98 (4) |
| Generalist | $80 (17) | $55 (16) |
Number of hourly listings in brackets.