Braintrust

Yes. Braintrust (Freelance Labs, Inc., San Francisco, founded 2018) is a real company that pays talent by invoice through Wise or Stripe, after the client pays. Many applicants report long screening and no work, and once hired your pay waits on the client: Braintrust pays after the client pays and does not guarantee that clients pay.

No. Braintrust is a real company. Fake clients have posted jobs and sent malware-laced code through Braintrust, and impostors pose as staff by email or social media. Real offers come only on the platform, staff never ask for your login, and the real sites are usebraintrust.com and app.usebraintrust.com (braintrust.dev is a different company).

Yes. Established talent network with named enterprise and lab clients; its BBB profile holds no complaints in three years. Its Trustpilot page holds 20 reviews at 1.7/5, most about the screening interview and ID checks rather than pay (both read 1 Nov 2026). Payouts: Weekly, and talent keeps 100%, says its AI training page (read 1 Nov 2026); its help center says talent is paid by invoice when the client pays, on standard net-30 terms, through Wise and Stripe (read 1 Nov 2026). Braintrust itself pays only to bank accounts in the 35 countries on its payments list (8 in the Americas, 14 in Europe, 8 in Asia-Pacific, 5 in the Middle East and Africa; help center article updated 26 Jul 2026, read 1 Nov 2026); with an account elsewhere you see only the roles whose client pays you directly. Braintrust's AI training page says pay depends on the task and your specialty, each task shows what it pays before you start (rates are listed per hour, by task type, on that page), what you earn is 100% yours to keep, and payments are processed weekly (read 1 Nov 2026). Payout countries, fees, contractor status and tax forms are covered in the questions below, each from Braintrust's own help center or terms.

$20–$200/hr. From Braintrust's AI training jobs page (usebraintrust.com/ai-training, read 1 Nov 2026), which shows '$20–200/hr' as its pay range and '100% Yours to keep', with bands by task: RLHF rating $25 to $60 an hour, data labeling $20 to $45, expert evaluation $60 to $150, prompt and content creation $35 to $80, red teaming $50 to $120, and code review and generation $75 to $200. Its FAQ adds that you see the rate before you start and that payments are processed weekly, and that some separate data-collection gigs pay contributors to record first-person videos of everyday tasks for AI and robotics training. Its help center describes payment by invoice instead: talent is paid when the client pays ('When do I get paid?', edited 18 Sep 2026), on standard net-30 terms, sooner if the client pays first ('How do I submit an invoice?', edited 13 May 2026).

Braintrust pays $20–$200/hr (platform-stated). It rewards credentialed experts who clear its assessment far more than open generalist work. Worker sentiment: Trustpilot 1.7/5 (20 reviews).

Weekly, and talent keeps 100%, says its AI training page (read 1 Nov 2026); its help center says talent is paid by invoice when the client pays, on standard net-30 terms, through Wise and Stripe (read 1 Nov 2026). Braintrust itself pays only to bank accounts in the 35 countries on its payments list (8 in the Americas, 14 in Europe, 8 in Asia-Pacific, 5 in the Middle East and Africa; help center article updated 26 Jul 2026, read 1 Nov 2026); with an account elsewhere you see only the roles whose client pays you directly.

Global: its own pages count 2M+ vetted professionals (its About page) across 100+ countries and 50+ languages (its AI training data page), read 1 Nov 2026. Braintrust pays directly only to bank accounts in the 35 countries on its payments list; elsewhere you see only the roles whose client pays you directly.

No. Braintrust says its screening is not a technical assessment. It is a short 5-10 minute interview with its AIR Screening Interviewer about you and your previous work, covering problem-solving and adaptability, role alignment and professional intent, communication skills and clarity, experience and impact, and compensation goals and work authorization.

Complete your profile to 100%, apply to your first job, complete Identity Verification and pass the screening interview. Braintrust's approval criteria (read 1 Nov 2026) are a detailed resume, technical skills that match current client needs, completed identity verification, a passed async screening (AIR interview), strong communication skills, 3+ years of professional experience, the ability to start working right away, and authorization to work in your country of residence.

Braintrust screens for a detailed resume, technical skills that match current client needs, strong communication skills, 3+ years of professional experience, the ability to start working right away, and the ability to work on a W-2 or 1099 contract (or C2C if you own your own LLC). After 6 months, if you feel you meet these criteria, you can go through screening again: update your profile with your latest professional information and submit a ticket on Braintrust's Help Center.

Braintrust says applications are typically reviewed within 24 hours, but it can take up to 72 hours if you apply on a Friday, weekend, or holiday. You get the outcome by email.

A government photo ID (which types are accepted depends on your country) and a selfie, processed by Persona. You get 2 attempts in total. Your ID and selfie are not shared with clients, who see only your profile and application; only Braintrust Talent Matchers and admins see the verification result. Braintrust says neither it nor Persona sells your data or uses it to train AI models, and you can ask for your data to be deleted through its Help Center.

Braintrust's guide for candidates says the AIR interview link arrives by email or text, needs no download and no account, and works from a phone or a computer. You typically get one chance per question, like a live interview, but most interviews let you resume if you lose connection. The AI analyzes your words, not your appearance, tone or background, and turns them into a scorecard; human reviewers make all decisions.

Braintrust's For Talent page says the interview is designed to be fair and conversational, not a stress test, and that you can retake certain sections after a waiting period if needed. It does not say how long the waiting period is.

No. Braintrust says it does not charge talent a fee to receive their payments. Payment processors, intermediary banks or your own bank may still charge transaction or processing fees, which vary by country, currency, bank and payment method.

Braintrust pays through Wise and Stripe into bank accounts in 35 countries (read 1 Nov 2026), including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, India, Japan, Australia, South Africa and Kenya. If your country is not supported, your job feed shows only roles where the client pays you directly, and those roles are labeled. Your banking details are never shown to clients.

No. Braintrust's Talent Terms say talent are independent contractors, not employees, are not eligible for employment benefits, and must report all compensation as income and handle their own taxes. They also say Braintrust does not guarantee any minimum or regular payment.

Braintrust's help center says US workers upload a W-9 and workers outside the US a W-8BEN (W-8BEN-E for a company), under Profile Settings, then Payments. At the end of the year its accounting team sends you a 1099 (or equivalent) based on the tax form on file.