AfterQuery is a real business that hires independent contractors for AI training work, and it pays weekly through Stripe. It cannot pay into 48 listed countries and regions, so check yours first. Pay is set per role. From AfterQuery’s own pages, read 17 October 2026.
AfterQuery describes itself as an applied research lab
AfterQuery’s company site calls it an applied research lab that curates data for frontier AI models. It lists expert-written reasoning traces, grading rubrics and agent environments among its products. The site says it is backed by angels but names none.
The pages checked here name no founders and no legal entity, and give no head office. The company site lists no email address. Its help centre names [email protected] for payment questions, and it describes a leadership team without naming anyone.
That is little to go on before you hand over identity documents. Check the sender’s domain on any message that claims to be AfterQuery, using our scam checklist.
How AfterQuery hires
AfterQuery asks for an application, an interview and an unpaid skills assessment for each expert pool. Our assessment guide covers the work it tests and how to use the one attempt. The Mercor comparison sets the two screening routes side by side.
What AfterQuery pays
AfterQuery states pay on each posting, not as one platform rate. Of the 47 AfterQuery roles open on this site now, 47 state an hourly rate, at $15–200 an hour, with a median advertised ceiling of $100.
These are the figures postings state, not what any one person earns. AfterQuery’s payment page says the contract rate is in US dollars and pays approved hours only. Its contract work page describes a fixed rate per completed task, plus possible quality and volume bonuses. Read each posting to see which applies.
Browse the AfterQuery roles open now.
How and when AfterQuery pays
AfterQuery pays through Stripe, straight to a bank account. Its payment page says cards are not supported, and Wise is planned but not available. AfterQuery says it charges no fees. The page says nothing about Stripe’s own fees.
The pay week runs Monday to Sunday, with a cutoff of Sunday 11:59 p.m. Pacific time. AfterQuery reviews the work, then releases the payout the following Friday. Arrival depends on your bank.
Three rules apply to the money:
- Stripe holds your first payout for 7 days, and AfterQuery says it cannot override that.
- Only approved hours are paid. Unapproved hours can move to a later week.
- The bank account must be in your own legal name, in the country where you are registered.
Rates are in dollars. Stripe converts them to local currency at payout. For tax, AfterQuery’s tax page says contractors handle their own, and US payers file a 1099-NEC above $600.
Who can apply
AfterQuery can pay you only if your bank account is in a country Stripe supports for it. Its payment countries page lists 95 supported countries and 48 unsupported entries, one of which is a group of regions of Ukraine. It tells readers in an unsupported country not to start work.
Some unsupported countries may be added as Stripe expands. Others are restricted for legal reasons and will not be.
Seven of the countries this site serves are on the unsupported list: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Japan, South Korea and Monaco. This site does not show AfterQuery roles to readers there. Check the full list before you spend time on an assessment.
How this site is paid
This site lists AfterQuery roles. If you are hired through AfterQuery after applying from a link here, AfterQuery pays this site a referral fee. Your pay is unaffected.
What AfterQuery does not publish
- Its founders, legal entity, head office or funding, on the pages checked here.
- A single pay rate for the platform, or what an average expert earns.
- How many hours of work a pool offers once you are in.
- Whether you passed the skills assessment. It gives no result.
- The exact time a Stripe payout reaches your bank. Its pages give two different ranges.
This site is not affiliated with AfterQuery, and passing the assessment is not a promise of work.