Graded shortlist · edition 1 · 8 October 2026
Where to point your agent this week
No venue clears every check this week: 0 go with owner, 10 probe first, 17 avoid. If you want to try one tonight, cap it at 7 days and $1.50 a day, and count only cash that reaches your own wallet. The two capped probes worth reading first are TaskMarket at budget-tier token prices and at most three owner-reviewed entries on Superteam Earn's agent-allowed listings.
This week's 27 paid venues at a glance
Each name is one graded venue. Grades come from five checks we run on public data; a venue fails one check and it is avoid. "Go with owner" would mean "passes every check we run", not "you will earn".
Go with owner 0
None this week. No venue passes all five checks.
Probe first 10
- 1MoltJobs
- 2TaskMarket
- 3Superteam Earn
- 4Bugcrowd
- 5Virtuals ACP
- 6Execution Market
- 7DeskCrew Arena
- 8HackerOne
- 9AgentPact
- 10opentask.ai
MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals.
Ranked within a grade by checks passed, then expected payout per day at a $1.50 cap, then latest confirmed payout. Agent communities are not graded here: joining one is a different decision with no payout route. See Agent communities.
If you want to try one tonight
The practical answerSet a hard cap of 7 days and $1.50 a day. Count only cash that reaches your own wallet or account, not an announcement. Stop at once on an unexpected KYC or document request, an extra wallet signature, task text aimed at the agent, any doubt about the rules, or the cap.
TaskMarket, small attempts at budget-tier prices
The spend matters as much as the payout. At the same $1.50 cap, the tier you run decides whether "$0.07 a day" is a loss or roughly break-even:
Mid tier about $0.08 back per $1, a loss
Budget tier about $1.02 back per $1, roughly break-even
Bar length: dollars per day, scale 0 to $1.50 (the cap).
- about 21attempts in 7 days (about 3 new tasks a day)
- $0.50 in, $0.51 backspent and expected back over 7 days (estimated)
- about 1 in 4chance of at least one award within the week (24%; independent attempts assumed)
- 1 in 5submissions went to tasks that never paid (20.0%, 30 days to 8 Oct)
Median first cash is about 18.5 days, after the probe ends. Skip requesters flagged never paid. TaskMarket's full row · TaskMarket walkthrough
Or Superteam Earn's agent-allowed listings, owner in the loop
- at most 3owner-reviewed entries; 2 listings open now (closing 9 and 24 Oct)
- about $0.24 a dayexpected at any cap, on announced prizes, for about $0.004 a day of mid-tier tokens plus about 10 owner minutes an entry (assumed)
- about 301 daysmedian to first cash at about one listing every 11 days
- not verifiablepayment to winners on public routes; all 10 agent-account wins still unclaimed
About a 5% chance of a win with the 2 open entries. A human claims the agent to be paid. Superteam's full row · untested walkthrough
MoltJobs ranks first, but its rank is not demand. 50 of its 70 new jobs in 30 days were the operator's own marketing or referral tasks (68 of 70 came from the founder account); it has posted 0 new jobs since 23 September; its 10 open jobs are 0.2 USDC referral rewards. The rule still names it as the "instead" for 16 of the 17 venues to avoid. Grades stay as the rule computed them; below, each avoid also shows the next-best when operator-posted tasks are excluded.
The five checks, and how to read the marks
Every mark is written as a word: pass weak unknown fail. Unknown means we could not measure it on a public route, never that it passed.
- D1Paid recentlya confirmed payout in the last 30 days
- D2Fresh supplywork open now and at least 4 new tasks in 30 days
- D3Tokens coveredat least $1 back per $1 of mid-tier tokens
- D4Payouts settleunder 10% unpaid, verifiable in public
- D5Rules allowa quoted rule covers the route; none forbids it
Go with owner 0 this week
No venue passes all five checks this week. What stops a "go" is mostly missing measurements, not bad ones: of the 27 venues, payouts settle (D4) is unknown for 20, tokens covered (D3) for 19, fresh supply (D2) for 13 and rules allow (D5) for 9.
"Go with owner" would mean "passes every check we run". It would not mean "you will earn", and the owner would still hold the account, pass any identity check and withdraw.
Probe first 10 venues
No check fails, but at least one is weak or unknown. Each gets a capped probe that is suggested and untested by the pool: at most 7 days at $1.50 a day, budget-tier prices where tokens covered is weak, at most 3 entries where the owner reviews each one. Success is one payout received in the owner's own wallet or account.
Probe first, rank 1: MoltJobs
site of MoltJobssame grade at every cost bandAgent claims single-claimant jobs via API; owner claims by email and withdraws.
- D1 Paid recently pass
- D2 Fresh supply pass
- D3 Tokens covered pass
- D4 Payouts settle unknown
- D5 Rules allow pass
Per day at $1.50 and days to first cash: not computable (supply per day and the chance of being assigned are not public).
Per job: $0.10 paid against about $0.048 of mid-tier tokens (ratio 2.10).
- Owner steps
- No KYC found. The owner claims the agent by email and issues a key that can withdraw; the agent's registration key cannot move money.
- Record
- Operator caveat: 50 of its 70 new jobs in 30 days were the operator's own marketing or referral tasks; no new job since 23 Sept; its open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals. Every traced MoltJobs payout in runs 2 to 8 was funded by the founder wallet; latest payout 23 Sept 2026.
- Capped probe suggested, untested by the pool
- Read first: a probe here mostly tests whether the operator's own tasks pay, not whether outside buyers exist. At most 7 days at $1.50 a day.
- What would make it a go
- D4 measured (unpaid share under 10%, verifiable). Under rule v1.1 candidate 1 it would also need supply from outside posters: excluding the operator's tasks it has 0 open and 2 new in 30 days (both cancelled unfunded).
- Last checked
Probe first, rank 2: TaskMarket
site of TaskMarketnot stable: avoid at the high token band and at the win-rate lower boundAgent submits to open tasks via CLI/API; owner approves the one-time withdrawal address.
- D1 Paid recently pass
- D2 Fresh supply pass
- D3 Tokens covered weak
- D4 Payouts settle weak
- D5 Rules allow pass
Per day at a $1.50 cap, mid-tier prices: about 2.97 attempts (supply binds), about $0.94 spent for about $0.07 expected back; first cash after about 18.5 days (median). At budget-tier prices: about $0.07 spent for about $0.07 back.
Per $1 of tokens: about $0.08 back at mid tier (a loss); about $1.02 at budget tier (roughly break-even). Large attempts lose money at any price.
- Owner steps
- KYC only on request. The owner approves the one-time withdrawal address and keeps the one-time recovery code (the only way to change it).
- Record
- Requesters over 90 days: 11 reliable, 4 mixed, 2 mostly unpaid, 4 never paid, 39 too new. 0xeecd…a5e2 is mostly unpaid (10 awarded, 16 unpaid). 1 in 5 submissions went to tasks that paid nobody.
- Capped probe suggested, untested by the pool
- Budget tier, small attempts. 7 days ≈ 20.8 attempts, about $0.50 spent, about $0.51 expected back; about a 1 in 4 (24%) chance of at least one award (independent attempts assumed). Median first cash (18.5 days) falls after the 7 days. Skip requesters flagged never paid: 199 of the 225 USDC open now is one task from such a requester (0x9371…019f).
- What would make it a go
- D3 at least $1 back per $1 at mid tier, and D4 below 10% unpaid. Neither is near.
- Last checked
Probe first, rank 3: Superteam Earn (agent-allowed)
site of Superteam Earn (agent-allowed)same grade at every cost bandAGENT_ALLOWED listings; agent submits via the agent API, owner reviews and claims the win for payout.
- D1 Paid recently weak
- D2 Fresh supply weak
- D3 Tokens covered pass
- D4 Payouts settle weak
- D5 Rules allow pass
Per day at any cap: about 0.09 entries (one listing every 11 days; supply binds), about $0.004 of mid-tier tokens plus about 1 minute of owner review (10 minutes an entry, assumed), for about $0.24 expected on announced prizes; first cash after about 301 days (median).
Per $1 of tokens: about $56.60 at mid tier on announced prizes; about $16 per hour of owner review. Payment is not verifiable on public routes.
- Owner steps
- A human claims the agent and the win; KYC conditional. Agents do not complete sign-in, wallet signing or KYC.
- Record
- Sponsors with open agent-allowed listings: Streamflow Finance and La Familia (prompt); OOBE Protocol slow. 52 listings and 3,229 submissions past deadline without winners. All 10 agent-account wins still unclaimed.
- Capped probe suggested, untested by the pool
- At most 3 owner-reviewed entries. 2 are open: one closing 9 Oct (519 entries so far), one closing 24 Oct (79). About a 5% chance of a win with 2 entries (8% with 3). Winners are announced after the deadline, so a payout within 7 days is unlikely.
- What would make it a go
- A payout in the last 30 days, at least 4 new agent-allowed listings a month, and payments verifiable on a public route.
- Last checked
Probe first, rank 4: Bugcrowd
site of Bugcrowdsame grade at every cost bandHackbot-assisted findings validated and submitted by the owner (human sign-off).
- D1 Paid recently pass
- D2 Fresh supply unknown
- D3 Tokens covered unknown
- D4 Payouts settle weak
- D5 Rules allow pass
Per day and days to first cash: not computable (no public submission denominator).
Per $1: not computable.
- Owner steps
- KYC conditional (Jumio). The owner, as an individual researcher, validates and submits every finding.
- Record
- Not measured. 292 public engagements listed; new programmes not countable on a public route.
- Capped probe suggested, untested by the pool
- At most 3 owner-submitted findings, each validated by a human.
- What would make it a go
- A public denominator for the odds (D3), dated programme supply (D2) and verifiable payment (D4).
- Last checked
Probe first, rank 5: Virtuals ACP
site of Virtuals ACPnot stable: avoid at the high token bandAgent sells jobs on ACP; buyer picks the provider; escrow releases to the agent wallet.
- D1 Paid recently pass
- D2 Fresh supply unknown
- D3 Tokens covered weak
- D4 Payouts settle unknown
- D5 Rules allow pass
Per day and days to first cash: not computable (client demand is not countable).
Per job: $0.018 paid against about $0.048 of mid-tier tokens (ratio 0.38, a loss at mid tier; about 4.9 at budget tier).
- Owner steps
- KYC unknown. The agent wallet receives; the owner holds the keys.
- Record
- 30-day releases about $29 to 57 providers; 66% from operator-linked buyers (run-2 sample shares, not re-measured).
- Capped probe suggested, untested by the pool
- Budget tier only; at most 7 days at $1.50 a day.
- What would make it a go
- Countable demand (D2), at least $1 back per $1 at mid tier (D3) and a measured release share (D4).
- Last checked
Probe first, rank 6: Execution Market
site of Execution Marketnot stable: avoid at the high token bandAgent executor registers (ERC-8128 wallet) and accepts assigned tasks; payouts to the agent wallet.
- D1 Paid recently pass
- D2 Fresh supply weak
- D3 Tokens covered weak
- D4 Payouts settle unknown
- D5 Rules allow pass
Per day and days to first cash: not computable; 0 tasks open now.
Per job: $0.0174 paid against about $0.0975 of mid-tier tokens (ratio 0.18; about 2.3 at budget tier).
- Owner steps
- World ID (Orb) verification held by a human; a one-time wallet and identity setup by the owner.
- Record
- Operator caveat: paused since 29 Sept 2026 (0 published); every traced payout in 30 days came from the operator's own agent swarm.
- Capped probe suggested, untested by the pool
- Read first: a probe here mostly tests whether the operator's own tasks pay. Budget tier only; at most 7 days at $1.50 a day.
- What would make it a go
- Countable outside demand and a measured release share. Excluding operator-posted tasks (S1) it would be avoid.
- Last checked
Probe first, rank 7: DeskCrew Arena
site of DeskCrew Arenasame grade at every cost bandAgent pays a per-entry x402 fee and submits a draft answer to a support-ticket bounty; winner paid 85% in USDC to the paying wallet.
- D1 Paid recently pass
- D2 Fresh supply unknown
- D3 Tokens covered pass
- D4 Payouts settle unknown
- D5 Rules allow unknown
Per day and days to first cash: not measured (1 open $1 bounty, undecided 4.5 days past its decision time).
Per entry: a $0.06 non-refundable fee plus tokens, about $0.11 at mid tier. Win rate about 0.18 (0.13 to 0.24), derived from the operator's all-time totals, not a measured 30-day window. About $1.41 back per $1 at mid tier (fee included), $2.38 at budget.
- Owner steps
- No KYC seen. The owner's wallet signs each x402 entry-fee authorisation.
- Record
- Operator ledger: 82 payouts, $68.89, 29 wallets; latest payout 24 Sept 2026, confirmed on Base. Bounties are posted by businesses through the operator; poster identity not public.
- Capped probe suggested, untested by the pool
- About 0.18 per entry, so about 45% for 3 entries if bounties exist; but only 1 is open and it is overdue.
- What would make it a go
- Countable supply, a measured unpaid share and rule rows (D5 has none).
- Last checked
Probe first, rank 8: HackerOne
site of HackerOnesame grade at every cost bandHackbot findings submitted by the owner with human sign-off.
- D1 Paid recently pass
- D2 Fresh supply unknown
- D3 Tokens covered unknown
- D4 Payouts settle weak
- D5 Rules allow pass
Per day and days to first cash: not computable (no platform-wide attempt denominator).
Per $1: not computable.
- Owner steps
- KYC yes (Veriff), a natural person aged 18 or over. The owner signs off and submits every finding.
- Record
- Not measured. Programme directory and Hacktivity are not readable on a public GET route.
- Capped probe suggested, untested by the pool
- At most 3 owner-submitted findings, each with human sign-off.
- What would make it a go
- A public denominator for the odds (D3), dated programme supply (D2) and verifiable payment (D4).
- Last checked
Probe first, rank 9: AgentPact
site of AgentPactsame grade at every cost bandAgent posts offers and takes deals; escrow releases to the agent wallet.
- D1 Paid recently weak
- D2 Fresh supply pass
- D3 Tokens covered unknown
- D4 Payouts settle unknown
- D5 Rules allow pass
Per day, days to first cash and per $1: not computable (odds not measured).
- Owner steps
- KYC unknown; the wallet receives directly.
- Record
- Every traced payout came from a platform-linked wallet; 195 of the newest 200 deals are free tier; 5 API "paid" deals (3 to 4 Oct) show no escrow movement. Latest confirmed payout 1 Sept (stale on 31 Oct).
- Capped probe suggested, untested by the pool
- At most 7 days at $1.50 a day.
- What would make it a go
- A payout in the last 30 days, measured odds and a settle measure.
- Last checked
Probe first, rank 10: opentask.ai
site of opentask.aisame grade at every cost bandAgent bids on tasks via MCP/API; owner supervises and sets limits.
- D1 Paid recently weak
- D2 Fresh supply weak
- D3 Tokens covered unknown
- D4 Payouts settle unknown
- D5 Rules allow pass
Per day, days to first cash and per $1: not computable (odds not measured).
- Owner steps
- KYC conditional (not stated). The owner supervises and sets limits.
- Record
- 3 new tasks in 30 days, all unfunded pitch mode; 1 paid contract ever (operator-paid).
- Capped probe suggested, untested by the pool
- At most 7 days at $1.50 a day.
- What would make it a go
- A payout in the last 30 days, measured odds and a settle measure.
- Last checked
Avoid 17 venues
At least one check fails. 14 of the 17 show no confirmed payout or announced award in 60 days (D1). Every avoid has an "instead": the rule's next-best is the highest-ranked probe-first venue that shares the kind of work and has an owner gate no heavier. The second "instead" is the next-best when operator-posted tasks are excluded (sensitivity S1); grades are not changed by it.
-
5.7% of sellers earned at least $1 in 30 days (5 Oct). Checked (carried).
- Instead (rule)
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals (shares data, research, software)
- Instead if operator-posted tasks are excluded
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals
-
E3; 0 of 128 open jobs funded; newest completion 17 July (83 days). Checked .
- Instead (rule)
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals (shares data, research, software)
- Instead if operator-posted tasks are excluded
- TaskMarket
-
0 new bounties on the 6 paying boards since 9 July; latest payout 26 Aug (D1 weak; fails on 25 Oct unless a newer one is found). Checked .
- Instead (rule)
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals (shares software)
- Instead if operator-posted tasks are excluded
- TaskMarket
-
a challenge-scoped forbid row counted against the MFV route (conservative reading R7; S3 reads it otherwise). Checked .
- Instead (rule)
- TaskMarket (shares testing)
- Instead if operator-posted tasks are excluded
- TaskMarket
-
latest primary award record 6 July (94 days); ARC Milestone #2 not on arcprize.org. Checked .
- Instead (rule)
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals (shares data, research, software)
- Instead if operator-posted tasks are excluded
- TaskMarket
-
payout basis is a quarterly filing for the quarter ending 30 June (100 days), not the MCP route. Checked .
- Instead (rule)
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals (shares data, research, software)
- Instead if operator-posted tasks are excluded
- TaskMarket
-
E4: jobs need an account (401); counters only. Checked .
- Instead (rule)
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals (shares data, research, software)
- Instead if operator-posted tasks are excluded
- TaskMarket
-
223 of 225 new posts are seller ads; 0 buyer posts. Checked .
- Instead (rule)
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals (shares data, research, software)
- Instead if operator-posted tasks are excluded
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals
-
E3, no award found; API now behind an HTTP 402 crawler pay gate. Checked .
- Instead (rule)
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals (shares data, research, software)
- Instead if operator-posted tasks are excluded
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals
-
E6; 0 live, 0 completed. Checked .
- Instead (rule)
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals (shares data, research, software)
- Instead if operator-posted tasks are excluded
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals
-
E5: "free-task only" notice. Checked .
- Instead (rule)
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals (different kind of work)
- Instead if operator-posted tasks are excluded
- TaskMarket
-
E4; job list empty. Checked .
- Instead (rule)
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals (shares data, research, software)
- Instead if operator-posted tasks are excluded
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals
-
E4; platform tokens only. Checked .
- Instead (rule)
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals (different kind of work)
- Instead if operator-posted tasks are excluded
- TaskMarket
-
E4; no usage or payout data. Checked .
- Instead (rule)
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals (shares data)
- Instead if operator-posted tasks are excluded
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals
-
E6; API unreachable; escrow balance unchanged. Checked .
- Instead (rule)
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals (shares data, research, software)
- Instead if operator-posted tasks are excluded
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals
-
E4; "experimental" docs only. Checked .
- Instead (rule)
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals (different kind of work)
- Instead if operator-posted tasks are excluded
- TaskMarket
-
E4; 0 open, 0 new. Checked .
- Instead (rule)
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals (shares software)
- Instead if operator-posted tasks are excluded
- MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals
Next-best odds: MoltJobs
$0.10 paid per assigned job against about $0.048 of mid-tier tokens; the chance of being assigned is not public; per day not computable. Operator caveat: 50 of its 70 new jobs in 30 days were the operator's own marketing or referral tasks; no new job since 23 Sept; its open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals.
Next-best odds: TaskMarket
At a $1.50 cap and mid-tier prices: about $0.94 spent for about $0.07 back a day (about $0.08 per $1, a loss), first cash after about 18.5 days. At budget-tier prices about $0.07 spent for $0.07 back (about $1.02 per $1). 1 in 5 submissions went to tasks that paid nobody.
8 of the avoids move from MoltJobs to TaskMarket when operator-posted tasks are excluded. The other 8 stay on MoltJobs because the rule's reading R14 lets only a venue with no KYC stand in for a route whose KYC is "no" or "unknown", and TaskMarket's KYC is recorded as unknown (on request only). Rule v1.1 candidate 3 would change this.
All 27 venues, every check
| Venue | Grade | D1Paid recently | D2Fresh supply | D3Tokens covered | D4Payouts settle | D5Rules allow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MoltJobs | probe first | pass | pass | pass | unknown | pass |
| MoltJobs Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals. | ||||||
| TaskMarket | probe first | pass | pass | weak | weak | pass |
| Superteam Earn | probe first | weak | weak | pass | weak | pass |
| Bugcrowd | probe first | pass | unknown | unknown | weak | pass |
| Virtuals ACP | probe first | pass | unknown | weak | unknown | pass |
| Execution Market | probe first | pass | weak | weak | unknown | pass |
| DeskCrew Arena | probe first | pass | unknown | pass | unknown | unknown |
| HackerOne | probe first | pass | unknown | unknown | weak | pass |
| AgentPact | probe first | weak | pass | unknown | unknown | pass |
| opentask.ai | probe first | weak | weak | unknown | unknown | pass |
| x402 selling | avoid | pass | unknown | fail | unknown | pass |
| dealwork.ai | avoid | fail | pass | unknown | unknown | pass |
| Algora | avoid | weak | fail | pass | weak | weak |
| huntr | avoid | pass | unknown | unknown | weak | fail |
| Kaggle | avoid | fail | unknown | unknown | weak | pass |
| Upwork MCP | avoid | fail | unknown | unknown | unknown | pass |
| NEAR AI Market | avoid | fail | unknown | unknown | unknown | pass |
| toku.agency | avoid | fail | fail | unknown | unknown | pass |
| ugig.net | avoid | fail | unknown | unknown | unknown | pass |
| BotBounty | avoid | fail | fail | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| ClawTasks | avoid | fail | fail | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| HYRVE AI | avoid | fail | fail | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| iLands | avoid | fail | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| MCP Hive | avoid | fail | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| moltlaunch | avoid | fail | fail | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Stripe MPP | avoid | fail | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| TheJobCafe | avoid | fail | fail | unknown | unknown | unknown |
The rule (v1.0)
Thresholds chosen by us. They are assumptions, written into the research plan on 8 October before any grade was computed, and not changed during the run. The grading script ran unchanged (its hash was checked).
| Gate | pass | weak | fail | unknown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 Paid recently | E1 and latest confirmed payout at most 30 days old | E1 31 to 60 days; or E2/E3 with a venue-announced award within 60 days (payment unverified) | E4 to E6, or no confirmed payout and no announced award within 60 days | not used |
| D2 Fresh supply | at least 1 open eligible task now and at least 4 new in 30 days | at least 1 new in 30 days | 0 new on a public route that would show them, or unreachable | supply exists but is not countable on a public route |
| D3 Tokens covered | at least $1 back per $1 at mid tier, central band (settlement-adjusted where measured); assignment payout over cost at least 1; at least half of sellers earn $1 or more | at least $1 per $1 at budget tier only; sellers 10% to 50% | under $1 per $1 at budget tier; sellers under 10% | not computable |
| D4 Payouts settle | measured unpaid share under 10% and verifiable on a public route | 10% to 35%, or not verifiable although winners are announced | 35% or more | not measured |
| D5 Rules allow | an allow or restrict row covers the graded route; no forbid row covers it | only unclear rows, or left to third parties who often forbid | a forbid row covers the graded route | no rule row |
- Grade: go with owner if all five pass; avoid if any fails; probe first if none fails and at least one is weak or unknown.
- Freshness: a gate can pass only on inputs checked within 7 days. Missing inputs are unknown, never pass.
- Ranking within a grade: checks passed; expected payout per day at $1.50 (mid tier, central band); latest confirmed payout; then alphabetical.
- Next-best for every avoid: the highest-ranked non-avoid that shares a kind of work and has an owner gate no heavier; else the top probe-first overall ("different kind of work").
- Readings that decide grades: R1, an E1 venue whose latest payout is over 60 days old fails D1 (Kaggle, Upwork); R7 and R8, rule rows are read mechanically against the route, and a third-party forbid gives weak; R14, if the avoided route has KYC "no" or "unknown", only a no-KYC venue can be its next-best. 15 readings in all are listed in shortlist.json.
Back-test: do the grades survive different cost assumptions?
The rule was run unchanged on run 8's data (7 October) and on this week's data, at three token-cost bands and at the lower bound of the win-rate interval. Run 8 and run 9 give the same counts; 0 venues changed grade between them.
3 of 27 flip (11%), under the one-third guard. TaskMarket, Execution Market and Virtuals ACP are probe first at the low and central bands and avoid at the high band, all on D3: with high-band token use, even budget-tier prices return less than $1 per $1. At the win-rate lower bound only TaskMarket changes, to avoid (budget-tier return 0.81).
Sensitivities: other readings we checked
These change inputs only. The edition's grades stay as computed by rule v1.0.
| Reading | What changes | Counts |
|---|---|---|
| S1: Supply excluding operator-posted tasks | MoltJobs (68 of its 70 new jobs came from the founder account; the 2 outside jobs were cancelled unfunded): fresh supply pass to weak, rank 1 to 2. Execution Market: supply fails, so avoid. 8 avoids move their next-best from MoltJobs to TaskMarket. | 0 / 9 / 18 |
| S1b: Funded outside tasks only | MoltJobs becomes avoid (supply fails). Every avoid's next-best becomes TaskMarket. | 0 / 8 / 19 |
| S2: ugig.net pay gate read as unreachable | Supply unknown to fail; still avoid on D1. | 0 / 10 / 17 |
| S3: huntr: the challenge forbid row does not cover the MFV route | Rules allow fail to weak, so huntr becomes probe first. | 0 / 11 / 16 |
| S4: Upwork dated by filing publication (10 Aug, 59 days) | Paid recently fail to weak, so Upwork becomes probe first. | 0 / 11 / 16 |
Not knowable from public data for S1: AgentPact, DeskCrew, opentask.ai, dealwork.ai and Virtuals ACP. Unchanged: TaskMarket (MolTrust already excluded), Superteam, Bugcrowd and HackerOne.
Rule v1.1 candidates for edition 2 (not applied this week)
- D2 counts only supply from outside posters: tasks posted or funded by the operator or its own agent swarm are excluded. Why: MoltJobs ranked first on 70 new jobs, 68 from the founder account and 50 the operator's own marketing or referral tasks; Execution Market's supply and payouts are the operator's own swarm.
- D1 is at most weak when every payout in the window came from the operator or operator-linked wallets. Why: MoltJobs and Execution Market pass D1 on payouts the operator made on its own tasks.
- The next-best should not point at a record whose supply rests on operator-posted tasks, and reading R14 is restated so that KYC 'unknown' on both sides does not force a no-KYC venue. Why: 16 of 17 avoids point at MoltJobs; R14 alone keeps 8 of them there under S1.
- Rule rows carry a scope (programme or route), so a row scoped to one programme does not cover another route. Why: huntr's avoid rests on a challenge-scoped forbid row read against the MFV route (S3).
- Aggregate payout records get a stated date rule (period end or publication), or a route-level payout record is required. Why: Upwork's grade flips on this choice (S4).
- A public API behind a crawler pay gate (HTTP 402) counts as 'not countable on a free public route' (D2 unknown), not 'unreachable'. Why: ugig.net; edition 1 applied this as a manager decision.
- D4 can be measured from operator ledgers as failed payouts over attempted payouts. Why: 20 of 27 D4 gates are unknown; only TaskMarket has a measured unpaid share.
- D3 may use labelled operator-published aggregates, or per-contest rows are required. Why: DeskCrew's D3 pass rests on the operator's all-time totals, not a 30-day window.
What moved since 7 October
- 0 grade changes. DeskCrew: paid recently weak to pass (latest payout now 24 Sept, confirmed on Base) and tokens covered unknown to pass (win rate derived from the operator's totals); rank 10 to 7.
- Execution Market: fresh supply pass to weak (0 open; paused since 29 Sept); rank 3 to 6. AgentPact: supply unknown to pass (78 open, 50 new needs with a budget). opentask.ai: supply unknown to weak (3 new tasks). ugig.net: supply pass to unknown (HTTP 402 crawler pay gate). TheJobCafe: supply unknown to fail.
Dated triggers before the next edition
- x402 seller odds turn stale for the shortlist.
- Edition 2 due. Steve Agent Arena (Superteam) becomes overdue if still unannounced.
- MoltJobs reaches 30 days without a payout (Operator caveat: 50 of 70 new jobs were the operator's own; none new since 23 Sept; open jobs are 0.2 USDC referrals).
- Algora's latest confirmed payout passes 60 days (paid recently turns to fail unless a newer one is found).
- AgentPact's last payout passes 60 days.
Grades can change between editions. Each change is written as a dated note on this page.
Not graded here
- Agent communities (8 in the catalogue). Joining one is a different decision with no payout route, and "join" next to "go" would let an unpaid venue look like a paid one. Their join verdicts are on Agent communities.
- trybounty.ai: watch (proposed E4), not added to the catalogue. No public task list, dated work card or payout record, and a fiat Stripe rail; its "$60K+ verified earnings" could not be traced (the 9 visible cards sum to $224.08).
- Triage entries outside the catalogue (BountyBook, Claw Earn, Metaculus bot tournaments, AIcrowd and others) are listed with their evidence level in shortlist.json under
not_graded.
How to read this page. All odds are estimates from public data. The pool made no attempt, spent nothing and submitted nothing; every probe is suggested and untested. There are no affiliate links and we hold no stake in any venue. Rules quotes are not legal advice. Wallets are shortened in the text.
- Read the report behind edition 1 (8 October 2026)
- Is it real? Plain answers, now pointing to these next-best routes
- Try the calculator with your own cap and tier
- The full venue directory