Braintrust
Talent network for AI training and consulting work - RLHF rating, data labelling, expert evaluation, red teaming, code review - alongside traditional freelance engineering and design roles. Zero fees for talent: clients pay Braintrust, you keep 100% of your rate. Payments weekly on AI-training work, net-30 invoicing on client contracts.
Can a South African join?
Bottom line: Yes — South Africans can join Braintrust.
Braintrust's support site publishes a supported-countries list for payouts that names South Africa under "Middle East & Africa": "United Arab Emirates / Israel / South Africa / Egypt / Kenya". Per the same page, "If your country isn't currently supported, you can still use Braintrust and apply to jobs. However, your job feed will only show opportunities where clients can pay you directly" - so supported-country status is what unlocks the full feed for South Africans. Their Terms restrict only sanctioned "Restricted Territory" persons (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Crimea/Donetsk/Luhansk); South Africa is not among them.
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What it pays
Bottom line: AI-training work pays $20-200 an hour depending on the task, and Braintrust takes no cut of it.
Published on their own AI-training page: "$20-200/hr" overall - RLHF Rating $25-60, Data Labeling $20-45, Expert Evaluation $60-150, Prompt & Content Creation $35-80, Red Teaming $50-120, Code Review & Generation $75-200. Role examples on /join range from English Linguistics $10-30 to Staff ML Engineer $180-260. "Keep 100% of your earnings" - no talent fees.
How the money reaches you
Bottom line: You are paid through Wise or Stripe into a bank account, usually 30 days after you invoice.
Per their support article: "Braintrust sends payments through Wise and Stripe" to bank accounts in supported countries. Invoiced contracts are net-30; fallback options described include a Wise multi-currency account or Payoneer account details.
How hard is it to get in?
Expect a screening or vetting step.