Mindrift

How it works

Mindrift is the AI training platform built by Toloka, the Amsterdam-based data company, and the contributor work Toloka used to run under its own name now lives here: Mindrift's welcome page states that tasks and projects from Toloka and Toloka Annotators have moved across, with accounts, balances and history transferred automatically. Toloka's own announcements put Mindrift's launch in 2024. Contributors are independent contractors, not employees.

There are two ways in, and Mindrift's FAQ keeps them separate. All-access tasks need no application: you register and start, and Mindrift states they require no domain expertise, experience or particular education. They cover labelling, tagging, transcribing and similar work, and Mindrift says plainly that they pay less. Specialised projects are where the "AI tutor" work sits. You pick an opportunity that fits your field, submit a CV, complete assessments and verify your identity; Mindrift then matches you to projects where you write prompts, evaluate model outputs and improve responses. The FAQ says specialised projects usually expect a relevant degree and professional experience, and Mindrift claims that 70% of its contributors hold a master's degree or PhD, across more than 90 domains from STEM and coding to law and creative writing.

Pay is per task, not per hour logged: Mindrift states that earnings are based on completed and approved tasks, and each task shows its reward before you start. Your country of residence has to be supported by one of Mindrift's payment providers, and Mindrift publishes a separate list of excluded countries and regions.

Worth knowing

Good:

• The all-access route means someone without a specialist background can start earning without an application, which few platforms in this market allow
• Mindrift states it takes no commission and shows the reward on each task before you accept it
• Payout dates are published in advance rather than left to the project
• Former Toloka contributors did not have to start over

Less good:

• Mindrift's pay figures do not all agree. Its homepage advertises broad hourly bands for entry-level and expert work, while the individual roles on its apply page carry their own ceilings, some well below the homepage's expert band. Read the rate on the role, not the headline
• Reviewers on Trustpilot (3.4 out of 5 from about 1,000 reviews when we checked) describe waits of several weeks for tasks after passing onboarding exams, and platforms that stay "dry" between projects
• One Trustpilot reviewer in September 2026 said a task advertised at $10 an hour took two hours to earn that; per-task pay means your speed decides your rate
• Several recent Trustpilot reviews report withdrawals stuck behind unresponsive support, and one describes a ban with earnings locked and no explanation, though others in the same weeks say Mindrift pays on time

About this page

Facts above come from Mindrift's homepage, about, apply, FAQ, welcome and eligibility pages and its post on how Mindrift pays, last checked 29 September 2026. The typical pay figure in the facts grid is the full span of Mindrift's own homepage bands, not a rate for any one project. Mindrift does not publish withdrawal minimums or fees, so none are shown. Worker reports come from Trustpilot and are attributed where they appear; we could not read Reddit, Glassdoor or Indeed reviews and have not relied on them.

For comparable expert work, see the data, AI and ML roles and writing and education roles on this site.