Crowdsourcing Platforms Comparison & Selection Guide in 2024

A McKinsey study identified that crowdsourcing platforms can have a positive impact on businesses around the world (Figure 1). Despite the benefits, finding the right crowdsourcing platform can be overwhelming due to the abundance of options on the market. 

Therefore, we have curated this article to help you find the right option for your business from the crowdsourcing platforms market. We also offer a selection guide to help your business narrow down the options.

Figure 1. Benefits of Crowdsourcing / online talent platforms McKinsey study ¹.

Comparison of the top crowdsourcing platforms on the market

If you are ready to compare the options, here is a comparison of the top crowdsourcing platforms on the market. We have separated them into 3 broad domains:

• AI data services
• Content creations services
• Software algorithm development, software testing, etc.

Table 1. Crowdsourcing platforms comparison (AI data services)

Table 2. Crowdsourcing platforms comparison (Content creation services)

Table 3. Crowdsourcing platforms comparison (Software or algorithm development, software testing, etc.)

Notes and observations from the comparisons:

• We identified the top vendors from the 3 categories explained before; covering all services offered by all vendors on the market was not possible.
• The platforms/services were selected based on the relevance of the services they provide.
• The vendors are sorted according to audience/crowd size
• The services compared in the tables are based on publically available and verifiable data gathered from company websites.
• All platforms offered their domain-specific basic-level services
• All platforms served multiple industries.

How we selected the vendors for comparison

This section explains the vendor selection criteria for the comparisons offered in this article.

1. Define your goals

The most important step in selecting the right crowdsourcing platform is to understand your project’s goals. It’s important to be clear on what type of crowdsourcing service you require from such platforms. You need to consider:

• What are your project’s objectives?
• What end result will it provide?
• What will be the impact of errors made in the project?
• What will be the level of secrecy or confidentiality that the crowdsourced tasks will require?

2. Understand the required service

Crowdsourcing companies cover many areas, such as digital design and development, content creation, data collection/harvesting and annotation, and more. Take the time to research the platforms/services available on the market and match them with the scope of your project.

3. Consider domain-specific knowledge of the crowd

While selecting a crowdsourcing service, it is important to learn if the worker network has the domain-specific knowledge that you require. For instance, a company looking to build a mobile app will want to make sure the crowdsourcing platform has developers who understand mobile application development. Similarly, if you require data annotation of medical images, then you require annotators with relevant experience.

4. Know Your Budget

Crowdsourcing services offer different pricing models, such as fixed-price or hourly rates. Knowing your budget will give you a better understanding of the service that fits within your wallet. See if the vendors offer free trials or free versions of their services.

Some crowdsourcing services also allow the customer to pick their price per unit of work, and workers apply to complete the service at that price.

5. Crowd size

Crowdsourcing services have varying sizes of crowds and levels of expertise. You should select the platform that is able to provide you with enough qualified Crowd Workers to complete your tasks in a timely manner. The larger the crowd size, the faster the service will be. It is also important to check the diversity level of the crowd. For instance, If you require a multi-language AI training dataset, the vendor should have a diverse crowd in multiple countries.

6. Check references

You can also evaluate the crowdsourcing platform companies based on online customer reviews or references from past customers. It’s important to check the reviews of crowdsourcing services in order to understand how reliable they are. You can also consider the crowdsourcing company’s year-founded to estimate their experience level.

7. Data protection

As cyber-attacks rise, businesses need to crank up their cybersecurity efforts. When selecting the right crowdsourcing service, consider if they offer any form of data protection or security measures to protect your data. You can look for certifications such as ISO 27001 or IASME.

What is a crowdsourcing platform/service?

A crowdsourcing platform is an online service that allows companies or individuals to tap into a large pool of workers to accomplish tasks. These services provide access to skilled and specialized resources (e.g., Data collectors, annotators, web developers, graphic designers, content writers, etc.) from around the world. While working with a crowdsourcing platform/service, companies can access collective intelligence without the hassle of actually hiring talent.

We also offer a data collection vendor evaluation sheet to help you assess different vendors via objective metrics:

Transparency statement:

AIMultiple serves numerous emerging tech companies, including such as Clickworker.

Further reading

• Top 9 Data Collection Services To Fulfill Your Data Needs
• Crowdsourced Data Collection Benefits & Best Practices
• 7 Data Transcription Services in 2023 & Selection Criteria

External Links

• 1. “Connecting talent with opportunity in the digital age.” McKinsey reports June 1, 2015. Accessed: 20/Dec/2022.