Appen vs OpenTrain AI
Side by side from today's live listings and each platform's own documentation.
| Appen | OpenTrain AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Live roles | Behind login | 672 |
| Median hourly | n/a | $55 |
| Top rate | n/a | $400 |
| How it pays | Monthly, judging by CrowdGen's fee terms (fees are counted per payment per month). Appen says it charges no fees itself; payment providers do. In the US, one ACH or PayPal payment a month is free, then $0.20 (ACH) or $0.25 (PayPal); PayPal outside the US costs 2%, capped at $20. Methods include PayPal, Payoneer, Airtm, local bank transfer, SWIFT and gift cards, depending on country. | OpenTrain says it is free for freelancers, with no fees or subscriptions. Clients fund each milestone before work starts, and OpenTrain pays out to your connected payout method when the client approves the milestone. It doesn't publish a fixed payout schedule. |
| Hiring | Apply to a CrowdGen project opening. If you're shortlisted, you finish signing up from the welcome email, add your details, sign three agreements (including a Master Services Agreement), set up two-factor authentication, then continue to the project's qualification and choose a payment method. | Create a free profile with your domains, languages and hourly rate, then apply to listings. Some listings hire through OpenTrain; others link you straight to the hiring platform. |
| Run by | Appen, an AI training data company founded in 1996. Its contributor platform is CrowdGen, which replaced Appen Connect. | OpenTrain AI, a freelance marketplace that connects AI trainers with companies and data platforms that need them. |
Median hourly by field
| Field | Appen | OpenTrain AI |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine & health | n/a | $90 (42) |
| Mental health | n/a | $150 (8) |
| Law | n/a | $125 (61) |
| Finance & accounting | n/a | $90 (38) |
| Chemistry | n/a | $69 (12) |
| Biology & life sciences | n/a | $70 (9) |
| Physics | n/a | $75 (11) |
| Math & statistics | n/a | $25 (18) |
| Energy & earth sciences | n/a | $60 (4) |
| Business & operations | n/a | $60 (38) |
| Engineering | n/a | $60 (44) |
| Software & coding | n/a | $65 (69) |
| Machine learning | n/a | $90 (24) |
| Data & analytics | n/a | $20 (39) |
| Cybersecurity | n/a | $70 (7) |
| Design & media | n/a | $53 (12) |
| Writing & editing | n/a | $60 (8) |
| Languages & translation | n/a | $25 (108) |
| Voice & audio | n/a | $20 (42) |
| Teaching | n/a | $20 (3) |
| Humanities & policy | n/a | $65 (10) |
| Generalist | n/a | $40 (46) |
Number of hourly listings in brackets.