Scale AI's main competitors are the other human-data companies that sell expert training data, evaluations and RL environments to AI labs: Surge AI, Mercor, micro1, Turing, Labelbox, Handshake AI, Invisible Technologies, Toloka, Snorkel AI, AfterQuery and Appen. TechCrunch reported that Mercor and Surge grew faster after OpenAI and Google DeepMind reportedly cut ties with Scale following Meta's investment in 2025. For workers, the alternatives to Scale's Outlier platform include Mercor, Handshake AI, micro1, DataAnnotation, Alignerr and Mindrift, which publish pay from about $15 an hour to $200 or more.
- Scale says 90% of leading generative AI model builders use it. In June 2025 Meta invested at a valuation of over $29 billion and Scale's founder joined Meta.
- TechCrunch reported that OpenAI and Google DeepMind reportedly cut ties with Scale after that deal, and that rivals such as Mercor and Surge grew faster as a result.
- Surge AI says it has been profitable from day one without venture funding; TechCrunch reported its 2024 revenue at $1.2 billion.
- Workers choosing between Scale's Outlier and its rivals should compare who each accepts, published pay and pay schedule: Outlier pays weekly on Tuesdays, Mercor on Wednesdays, micro1 twice a month and Turing monthly.
Who are Scale AI's competitors?
Scale AI sells training data, evaluations and AI systems. It says "90% of the world's leading generative AI model builders are powered by Scale" and that "We source contributors with precision (25% have advanced degrees)" (Scale AI). Its competitors are the companies that sell the same expert human data to the same labs. The table lists them with each one's own description, read on 12 November 2026.
Two kinds of reader search for this: AI teams choosing a data vendor, and people who work on Scale's Outlier platform and want other options. The vendor comparison comes first; the worker comparison is further down.
| Company | What it says it does | Worker platform | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surge AI | "Human Intelligence for AGI"; works with OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and Google | Its own expert workforce | Surge AI |
| Mercor | "organizing human intelligence to power the AI economy" | Mercor jobs | Mercor |
| micro1 | "Data lab to train frontier models & evaluate agents" | micro1 jobs | micro1 |
| Turing | Helps "frontier labs improve models and enterprises deploy agentic systems" | Turing expert network ("Join expert network") | Turing |
| Labelbox | "builds the environments frontier labs train AI on" | Alignerr | Labelbox |
| Handshake AI | "expert human model validation and technology systems for frontier AI development" | Handshake AI Fellowship | Handshake |
| Invisible Technologies | "An elite network of experts training the frontier" | Invisible expert network | Invisible |
| Toloka | "Training data for AI agents and LLMs" | Mindrift | Toloka |
| Snorkel AI | "Expert-curated datasets for frontier AI" | Not covered on this page | Snorkel AI |
| AfterQuery | "an applied research lab curating data solutions for frontier foundation model development" | Not covered on this page | AfterQuery |
| Appen | "30 years of AI data expertise" | Not covered on this page | Appen |
Sources for this table: Surge AI: expert workforce, read 12 Nov 2026; Mercor: homepage, read 12 Nov 2026; micro1: homepage, read 12 Nov 2026; Invisible Technologies: human experts for AI training, read 12 Nov 2026.
Why companies like Scale AI grew in 2025 and 2026
In June 2025 Scale "announced a significant new investment from Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq: META) that values Scale at over $29 billion", and "Scale's founder, Alexandr Wang, is joining Meta to work on Meta's AI efforts" (Scale AI).
TechCrunch later wrote that micro1's rise, "and that of larger competitors such as Mercor and Surge", accelerated "after OpenAI and Google DeepMind reportedly cut ties with Scale AI following Meta's $14 billion investment" (TechCrunch). Scale's homepage still features its work with Meta: "Partnering to accelerate Meta's LLM and Generative AI." Our Scale AI review covers what happened and how Scale responded.
Scale AI vs Surge AI
Surge AI is the competitor searched most next to Scale. The two differ most in funding and in how they talk about the people who do the work.
| Scale AI | Surge AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Positioning | Works "across the AI stack", from training data to the systems that use it | "Human Intelligence for AGI" |
| Customers named | "90% of the world's leading generative AI model builders"; Meta named on its homepage | OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and Google |
| Funding | Meta investment at a valuation of over $29 billion (June 2025) | "profitable business from day one without raising venture funding" |
| Scale of business | Not published on the pages read | $1.2 billion revenue in 2024, as reported by TechCrunch |
| Worker platform | Outlier: weekly pay, 50 countries | Expert workforce; one listing posts $200 to $400 an hour |
Sources: Scale AI, Scale AI blog, Surge AI, TechCrunch. Surge says "We've run a profitable business from day one without raising venture funding" and works "in partnership with companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Google". TechCrunch cites "Surge's reported $1.2 billion in 2024". More on Surge is in our Surge AI review.
For AI teams: how to choose among Scale AI competitors
Vendor pages describe ambitions, not delivery. Ask each vendor the same questions and compare written answers.
- Expert depth in your domain: how many vetted people in your exact field, and how they were checked.
- Quality control: who reviews each task, how disagreement is resolved, and whether you see reviewer agreement rates.
- Environments as well as labels: Labelbox and micro1 describe RL environments, and Toloka sells training data for AI agents; see our RL environment companies tracker.
- Conflicts: whether the vendor works for a direct competitor of yours, and how your data and prompts are kept apart.
- Worker terms: ask how the vendor pays and screens the experts on your project. The worker table below shows each one's published terms.
- For more profiles, see our reviews of Toloka, Invisible Technologies and Labelbox Prism, and the AI data companies directory.
For workers: alternatives to Scale AI's Outlier
"Outlier is a platform operated by Scale AI that connects experts with leading AI companies" (Outlier). It reports "$500M+ Paid to experts", contributors in "50 Countries" and "4.1/5 Rated by 3k+ experts on Trustpilot" (Outlier). It "pays for completed work, either hourly or per task," and "Payments are processed weekly on Tuesdays" (Outlier).
The table compares Outlier with the programs that recruit the same kind of people. Pay and terms were read on each program's own page on 12 November 2026.
| Program | Who it accepts | Published pay | How it pays | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outlier (Scale AI) | Contributors in 50 countries | Hourly or per task; details given before each project | Weekly on Tuesdays via PayPal, AirTM or ACH | Outlier |
| Mercor | Professionals across fields; listings name any region limit | $50 to $160/hr on open roles; $90/hr average contracted rate | Weekly, Wednesdays, USD via Stripe or Wise | Mercor |
| Handshake AI | US-based with supported work authorization; other countries by invite | Up to $17 to $300/hr by role | Weekly, sent by Wednesday | Handshake AI |
| micro1 | Experts worldwide who pass the Zara AI interview | $15 to $200+/hr by type of work | Twice a month, USD via Deel | micro1 |
| DataAnnotation | Applicants who pass a one-time Starter Assessment | Up to $50/hr generalist; up to $150+/hr software | Through PayPal | DataAnnotation |
| Alignerr (Labelbox) | PhDs, researchers and professionals across fields | $80/hr average pay; roles from $30 to $120/hr | Not stated on its homepage | Alignerr |
| Mindrift (Toloka) | Generalists and domain experts in 90+ domains | $15 to $30/hr entry level; $60 to $100+/hr experts | Not stated on its homepage | Mindrift |
| Surge AI | Experts hired as contractors on named listings | $200 to $400/hr on one workforce listing | Not stated | Surge AI |
| Turing | Independent contractors | Not published on its jobs page | Monthly, by the 5th business day | Turing |
Sources for this table: Mercor: open roles (Explore), read 12 Nov 2026; Handshake AI: fellowship program, read 12 Nov 2026; DataAnnotation: homepage, read 12 Nov 2026; Alignerr: homepage (powered by Labelbox), read 12 Nov 2026; Mindrift (built by Toloka): homepage, read 12 Nov 2026; Surge AI: expert workforce, read 12 Nov 2026.
Next step
If you do the work, apply to two or three programs that pay in your field and keep the one that sends steady projects. Our Handshake AI alternatives and micro1 alternatives pages compare the same programs from other starting points; Mercor competitors covers the programs that pay companies for their records.
Tell us what you do. We'll send you the paid AI work that fits your field, wherever you live. It's free.
Origin Data Partners is independent of the programs on this page. A program may pay Origin when Origin introduces someone who joins it, which never changes what you are paid (how Origin is paid).
Common questions
Who are Scale AI's competitors?
Surge AI, Mercor, micro1, Turing, Labelbox, Handshake AI, Invisible Technologies, Toloka, Snorkel AI, AfterQuery and Appen all sell expert training data, evaluations or RL environments to AI labs and companies.
What companies are like Scale AI?
Companies like Scale AI recruit experts to create and grade AI training data and sell it to model builders. The closest are Surge AI, Mercor, micro1 and Turing; Labelbox, Toloka and Invisible also run expert networks for the same work.
Scale AI vs Surge AI: what is the difference?
Scale took a Meta investment in June 2025 at a valuation of over $29 billion and runs the Outlier worker platform. Surge says it has been profitable without venture funding, names OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and Google as partners, and TechCrunch reported its 2024 revenue at $1.2 billion.
Who are Surge AI's competitors?
The same group: Scale AI, Mercor, micro1, Turing, Handshake AI, Labelbox, Invisible and Toloka. TechCrunch described Mercor and Surge as larger competitors of micro1.
What are alternatives to Outlier for AI training work?
Mercor, Handshake AI, micro1, DataAnnotation, Alignerr (Labelbox) and Mindrift (Toloka) all recruit for similar work. Pay schedules differ: Outlier pays weekly on Tuesdays, Mercor weekly on Wednesdays, micro1 twice a month and Turing monthly.
Why did labs leave Scale AI?
TechCrunch reported that OpenAI and Google DeepMind reportedly cut ties with Scale AI after Meta's investment in 2025, when Scale's founder joined Meta. Scale continues to serve other customers; our Scale AI review covers its response.
Sources and further reading
- Scale AI: homepage
- Scale AI: next phase of the company, Meta investment (June 2025)
- TechCrunch: micro1, a Scale AI competitor, touts crossing $100M ARR (Dec 2025)
- Surge AI: homepage
- Surge AI: expert workforce
- Mercor: homepage
- micro1: homepage
- Turing: homepage
- Labelbox: homepage
- Handshake: introducing Handshake AI
- Invisible Technologies: human experts for AI training
- Toloka: homepage
- Snorkel AI: homepage
- AfterQuery: homepage
- Appen: homepage
- Outlier: homepage (operated by Scale AI)
- Outlier: FAQ
- Mercor: open roles (Explore)
- Handshake AI: fellowship program
- micro1: complete guide to AI training jobs
- DataAnnotation: homepage
- Alignerr: homepage (powered by Labelbox)
- Mindrift (built by Toloka): homepage
- Turing Knowledge Base: project onboarding and payouts