How the Money Reaches You

Pick the Cheapest Way to Get Paid

Many platforms pay through a contractor payout service that lets you choose how the money reaches you. The choice matters: the same payment can arrive free in minutes or lose a percentage on the way.

Options shown to a DigiNo trainer on one platform's payout screen, October 2026, for UK pounds and US dollars. What you see depends on your country and currency.

Watch the exchange rate as well as the fee. If you are paid in dollars and choose to receive pounds or euros, the payout service converts the money at its own rate before it reaches you. Where you can, receive the original currency into Wise and convert it yourself at the mid-market rate, with the fee shown before you convert, any day of the week. That is our pick. If you already use Revolut, it works too, but it adds a fee at weekends and above its monthly plan allowance, so convert on a weekday.

Sources: Revolut fees (US), Revolut exchange fees and limits, Wise pricing.

When micro1, Ethos and Mercor Pay

Sources: Mercor payments, Mercor contracts, Ethos expert terms, Ethos privacy policy, micro1 library: payroll policy, micro1 library: Deel.

How Much AI Trainers Are Paid

There is no single AI trainer salary. Platforms pay contractors by the hour or per deliverable, at a rate set for each role, and the rate depends on your field. Mercor is the clearest public example: every open role on its job board states its pay.

Here is what Mercor's open listings stated, grouped by field, on the date in the table.

These are the hourly ranges the listings state, not what anyone will earn. Actual pay depends on the project, and a listing is no guarantee of work. Middle half means the lowest and highest quarter of listings in that field are left out, so one unusual listing does not stretch the range. Open listings counts every listing in the field; the range uses the hourly ones only.

Sources: Mercor public job listings, 2026-10-23.

micro1 also shows an hourly range on every AI training role on its public board. Grouped by field:

Sources: micro1 Opportunities board.

Check the rate on the listing or offer itself before you start. Rates change as roles open and close, and the fees in the next sections come off the top.

Time Tracking and What Is Not Paid

Several platforms track your time with monitoring software. Mercor uses Insightful, which may take a few screenshots an hour. Similar tools can also record the sites and apps you use. Mercor reviews time logs every week and removes idle time, time outside the project and time spent on banned AI use, with an email giving the reason that you can dispute. Logging time you did not work can end a contract. micro1 tracks hourly work in the Hubstaff desktop app, and counts tracked time only while you are actively working on project tasks.

Some time is unpaid by design. Ethos does not pay for preparation time unless it was approved in advance, or for a project that is cancelled or ends early. On Mercor hourly contracts, required trainings and meetings count as logged work, but hours not captured in Insightful are not paid. Assessments are often unpaid too.

Sources: Mercor time tracking and pay policy, Mercor contracts, Ethos expert terms, micro1 library: Hubstaff, Alignerr FAQ, CrowdGen qualifications.

Taxes in the US

• You are self-employed for this income, so you owe income tax and self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare). The IRS self-employed tax center explains both.
• Platforms or payment services may send you a Form 1099 if your payments pass the IRS reporting threshold. Mercor, for example, collects a W-9 from US citizens and residents and sends a Form 1099-NEC through Stripe above the threshold. You must report the income either way.
• Report the income and your expenses on Schedule C, and work out self-employment tax on Schedule SE.
• If you expect to owe tax, pay estimated tax across the year's four payment periods using Form 1040-ES.
• Check your visa as well as your tax. Mercor offers no W-2 jobs and does not sponsor visas. Its guides say F-1 students can take its contract work on approved OPT or CPT but not STEM OPT, and most H-1B holders may not work outside their sponsoring employer.

Sources: Mercor taxes and work authorization, IRS self-employment tax, IRS Form 1099-NEC, IRS Form 1099-K, IRS estimated taxes, Mercor 1099 vs W-2, Mercor F-1 guide, Mercor H-1B guide.

Taxes in the UK

• If you work for yourself through these platforms, you may need to report the income to HMRC. GOV.UK explains when.
• If your self-employed income is above HMRC's trading allowance, register for Self Assessment by 5 October after the tax year and file a return.
• The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. Online returns are due by 31 January after the tax year ends.
• You pay Income Tax on your profits, and most self-employed people pay National Insurance through Self Assessment too. Read the Self Assessment guide for deadlines and payments on account.
• Mercor's UK guide adds three points. It pays individuals only, so if you run a limited company you are paid personally. You sign a W-8BEN on Mercor, usually giving your National Insurance number as the foreign tax number, and get no US tax form. And it cannot take anyone on a Student visa.

Sources: GOV.UK trading allowance, GOV.UK register for Self Assessment, GOV.UK deadlines, GOV.UK self-employed National Insurance, Mercor UK guide.

How I Get Paid From the UK

I'm Jason, and I run DigiNo from the UK as a self-employed person. I already had a lot of freelance experience before AI training work, and this is what I would sort out early.

Set yourself up as self-employed. Go through HMRC on GOV.UK and register as a sole trader.

From then on, the income that comes in is taxable and you do your own Self Assessment. In a normal job your employer handles this. When you are self-employed, you handle it.

What gets taxed is your profit, and there are certain write-offs for business costs. For anything like this, speak to an accountant rather than taking financial advice from me. I'm not an accountant, so check with an expert how it suits your situation.

Platforms give you several ways to get paid: bank transfer, Wise, Revolut, PayPal and Payoneer. Pay attention to the specifics, because PayPal and Payoneer carry fees.

Be wary of conversions too. In my experience, most companies pay out in US dollars. If you request the money into your Wise GBP balance, the dollars get converted to pounds before they reach you, at a worse exchange rate, so you end up with less.

What I do instead is have US dollars sent to my Wise account, which has US bank details inside the app. I receive dollars there, and when I want pounds, I convert them inside Wise at a much more favorable rate.

If you want to keep it in dollars, you can hold it in your Wise account and only convert when you need to. I do the same for my other freelance work, not just AI training.

You can open a Wise account here (DigiNo affiliate link).

Records to Keep

Platforms help with some of this. Mercor lets you download a PDF payment report from its Earnings page. It does not issue invoices or employment verification letters, but you can make your own invoices and download an engagement letter as proof of the work.

Sources: Mercor earnings, Mercor UK guide, Mercor legal support.

Living Somewhere Else?

Rules and deadlines differ by country. Ethos makes you responsible for your own tax and self-employment status wherever you live. Mercor has people outside the US fill in a W-8BEN, sends them no US tax form, and tells them to report the income under local rules with help from a local accountant. Check your local tax authority's guidance before your first payment arrives.

Mercor pays through Stripe in most countries and through Wise in a few, such as Brazil and Turkey, and publishes a list of places it cannot pay or onboard. Its EU and India guides say which local tax number goes on the W-8BEN, for example the PAN in India.

Sources: Ethos expert terms, Mercor taxes and work authorization, Mercor supported countries, Mercor EU guide, Mercor India guide.