OpenTrain AI vs Prolific
Side by side from today's live listings and each platform's own documentation.
| OpenTrain AI | Prolific | |
|---|---|---|
| Live roles | 672 | Behind login |
| Median hourly | $55 | n/a |
| Top rate | $400 | n/a |
| How it pays | 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. | Researchers must pay at least $8 (£6) an hour, and Prolific recommends $12 (£9). Approved earnings can be cashed out to PayPal once your balance reaches $6 or £6; payments arrive within 24 hours. New accounts wait 72 hours between cash outs until they've done four. |
| Hiring | 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. | Sign up as a participant and verify your identity. There is a waitlist, and Prolific says it isn't first come, first served: invites depend on demand for your demographics and expertise. Once in, open studies are first come, first served. |
| Run by | OpenTrain AI, a freelance marketplace that connects AI trainers with companies and data platforms that need them. | Prolific, an online research platform that connects researchers, AI developers and product teams with people who take part in studies. |
Median hourly by field
| Field | OpenTrain AI | Prolific |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine & health | $90 (42) | n/a |
| Mental health | $150 (8) | n/a |
| Law | $125 (61) | n/a |
| Finance & accounting | $90 (38) | n/a |
| Chemistry | $69 (12) | n/a |
| Biology & life sciences | $70 (9) | n/a |
| Physics | $75 (11) | n/a |
| Math & statistics | $25 (18) | n/a |
| Energy & earth sciences | $60 (4) | n/a |
| Business & operations | $60 (38) | n/a |
| Engineering | $60 (44) | n/a |
| Software & coding | $65 (69) | n/a |
| Machine learning | $90 (24) | n/a |
| Data & analytics | $20 (39) | n/a |
| Cybersecurity | $70 (7) | n/a |
| Design & media | $53 (12) | n/a |
| Writing & editing | $60 (8) | n/a |
| Languages & translation | $25 (108) | n/a |
| Voice & audio | $20 (42) | n/a |
| Teaching | $20 (3) | n/a |
| Humanities & policy | $65 (10) | n/a |
| Generalist | $40 (46) | n/a |
Number of hourly listings in brackets.