The best alternatives to Scale AI for training data in 2026
Answer in brief
Scale AI does a bit of everything, so the best alternative depends on how you plan to get your data. To buy proven post-training data, go to Surge AI: it publishes before-and-after benchmark gains, and labs in its Trusted Program pay only if the data works. To license, go to Mercor for expert task data (50K+ tasks, same-day samples) or Appen and Defined.ai for documented catalogs. To collect human judgments at published prices, use Prolific; for field collection in 50+ countries, use TELUS Digital. To synthesize and verify, use Toloka. To label with credentialed experts, use Labelbox; for LiDAR and medical imaging, use iMerit.
Top pick: Surge AI. If you're leaving Scale for frontier post-training, Surge has the strongest outcome-backed offer, and no outside funding round has been announced.
This is independent research, checked against official sites on 2026-11-09. We have not tested these services. Figures are the companies' own claims unless a press source is named.
Why buyers are shopping around
TechCrunch reported that Meta invested about $14.3B for a 49% stake in Scale in June 2025, and that OpenAI and Google DeepMind later cut ties. Scale laid off about 14% of staff in July 2025, mostly in data labeling. Scale says it remains independent and that its data business became profitable in 2025 (its own claim), and Francis deSouza became CEO on August 10, 2026. If neutrality or focus matters to you, these vendors each beat Scale on at least one route.
The best alternative for every route
| Route | Top alternative | Why it wins | Pricing model | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buy | Surge AI | Off-the-shelf post-training data with published gains | Custom; pay-if-it-works (Trusted Program) | |
| License (expert tasks) | Mercor | 50K+ expert tasks; same-day samples | Custom; $90/hr average expert rate shown | |
| License (catalog) | Appen | 646 documented datasets; perpetual commercial license | Per dataset; quotes | |
| License (speech) | Defined.ai | Marketplace with free samples; ISO 42001 | Per-dataset licenses | |
| Collect (people) | Prolific | 300,000+ verified participants; published fees | Reward + 42.8% / 33.3% fee | |
| Collect (field) | TELUS Digital | Field collection in 50+ countries; calls itself neutral | Custom | |
| Synthesize and verify | Toloka | Synthetic-data validation; pay only for work that passes QA | Per project | |
| Label (experts and RL) | Labelbox | 2.6M+ Alignerr experts; Horizon RL environments | Custom | |
| Label (vision and 3D) | iMerit | LiDAR, sensor fusion, DICOM; Ango Hub | Custom | |
| Validate GenAI output | Sama | SamaAssure quality guarantee | Custom |
When each alternative beats Scale
- Surge AI: you want measurable gains before you pay. Its Training Lab reports results such as Kimi K2.7 on SWE-Marathon going from 5.0% to 25.0%.
- Mercor: your model has to do professional work. Its benchmarks were built with Harvey (1,749 legal tasks), Cognition (APEX-SWE) and Sierra (τ³-Banking).
- Appen: your legal team needs a spec sheet for every dataset, and you want RL tasks that ship with verifiers.
- Defined.ai: you need licensed speech data in many locales. Its crowd spans 150+ countries and 500+ languages and locales.
- Prolific: you want to run your own studies with no contract, and launch within hours.
- TELUS Digital: you want a managed, multi-year partner for automotive, robotics and search evaluation. It says it delivers more than two billion labels a year.
- Toloka: you generate synthetic data and need humans plus LLM QA to verify it.
- Labelbox: you need agent environments that mirror GitLab, Jira, CRM and email, and SOC 2 Type II security.
- iMerit: you label mobility, medical or robotics data. It also offers 25,000+ iMerit Scholars across 60+ countries.
- Sama: you need managed fact-checking, preference ranking or captioning of GenAI output, backed by a quality guarantee.
FAQ
What is the best overall alternative to Scale AI?
For LLM and agent post-training, Surge AI. For broad multimodal labeling, Labelbox, iMerit or TELUS Digital, depending on whether you need expert signal, 3D and medical data, or global field collection.
Is there a Scale AI alternative with public pricing?
Yes. Prolific publishes its fee: 42.8% for corporate customers and 33.3% for academic and nonprofit customers, on top of the rewards you set. Toloka publishes its terms: pay only for work that passes QA, with no minimums.
Which alternatives describe themselves as neutral?
TELUS Digital calls itself an independent and neutral partner, and Surge AI has announced no outside funding round. Ownership can change, so check before you sign.
Is there an alternative for robotics data?
Labelbox (Terra), TELUS Digital, iMerit and Toloka all offer robotics data. For a dedicated ranking, see bestroboticsdatacompanies.com.
Keep comparing
See the full ranked list · Scale AI review · Surge AI review · Labelbox review · Surge AI vs Scale AI · Labelbox vs Scale AI · How to choose your data route
Sources
- scale.com/data-engine
- Scale AI: Building for 2026
- TechCrunch: Meta investment
- TechCrunch: labs cut ties
- TechCrunch: Scale layoffs
- surgehq.ai/post-training
- mercor.com
- appen.com/data-catalog
- defined.ai
- prolific.com/pricing
- TELUS Digital: Data for AI training
- toloka.ai/platform
- Labelbox Alignerr
- imerit.ai
- sama.com/gen-ai
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