TELUS International has been a go-to choice for outsourcing customer support and AI data services.
But after their rebrand to TELUS Digital in 2024, many businesses are exploring whether other providers might better fit their specific needs.
The reality is that TELUS Digital serves two very different markets: companies looking to outsource customer support operations, and AI teams needing training data and annotation services.
Depending on which camp you're in, some alternatives might actually serve you better.
Here's a breakdown of seven strong alternatives, organized by what they do best.
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What is TELUS International (now TELUS Digital)?
TELUS International started as a customer experience outsourcing provider, handling everything from call center operations to technical support. Over time, they expanded into AI data services including data labeling, annotation, and model training support.
In 2024, the company rebranded to TELUS Digital to reflect this broader scope. They now position themselves as a comprehensive digital solutions provider serving enterprise clients globally.
The company is known for:
- Global delivery centers across multiple continents
- Multi-language support capabilities
- Enterprise-grade security and compliance certifications
- Both BPO services and AI data solutions under one roof
For some businesses, this full-service approach is exactly what they need. For others, the enterprise focus and pricing structure can feel like overkill.
How we evaluated these TELUS International alternatives
To make this comparison useful, we looked at several factors:
- Service model: Whether they offer fully managed services, platform-based solutions, or hybrid approaches
- Pricing transparency: Clear pricing structures versus "contact sales for a quote"
- Geographic coverage: Where their teams are located and what languages they support
- Industry specialization: Whether they focus on specific verticals or take a generalist approach
- Quality assurance: How they ensure accuracy and consistency in their work
We also separated providers into two categories: those focused on customer support outsourcing, and those specializing in AI data and annotation services.
Comparison table: TELUS International alternatives at a glance
The 7 best TELUS International alternatives
1. NeoWork
Best for: Full-service BPO with flexible contracts
NeoWork positions itself as a more agile alternative to traditional BPOs. They emphasize startup-friendly terms like no setup fees and shorter cancellation periods.
Their hiring process is selective: they interview just 3.2% of candidates and maintain a 91% employee retention rate. This matters because high turnover is one of the biggest pain points in outsourcing.
Services offered:
- Customer experience (omnichannel support)
- Virtual assistants (bookkeepers, social media managers, executive assistants)
- IT and development (software engineering, data science)
- AI training (data labeling, supervised fine-tuning, RLHF)
- Creative services (animation, graphic design)
Pricing:
Key differentiators:
- No setup fees (compared to $5,000+ at many BPOs)
- 30-day cancellation period (versus 60+ days elsewhere)
- Operation manager hours not billed to client
- 3-week ramp-up time
Potential drawbacks:
- Custom pricing for enterprise tier requires sales contact
- Smaller brand recognition compared to TELUS
2. SupportNinja
Best for: E-commerce and SaaS customer support
SupportNinja focuses specifically on customer experience outsourcing for online businesses. They've built their reputation around helping e-commerce and SaaS companies scale their support operations.
Their AI-enabled approach combines automation with human agents, which they claim makes agents "more human" by handling routine tasks.
Services offered:
- Full-lifecycle CX (onboarding, retention, support, conversion)
- Technical customer support
- Content moderation
- Data processing
- Finance and accounting outsourcing
Security and compliance:
- SOC 2 Type 2 certified
- PCI-DSS 4 certified
- HIPAA compliant
- GDPR compliant
- PII redaction at point of capture
Notable clients: Happy Socks, Origin USA, Product Madness, RedWeek, Conga, Midjourney
Potential drawbacks:
- Pricing not publicly disclosed (contact sales)
- Limited AI/data services beyond basic data processing
3. Near
Best for: Nearshore LATAM outsourcing
Near connects US companies with talent from Latin America, offering significant cost savings (30-70% less than US hires) with the benefit of timezone overlap.
Unlike traditional BPOs that manage teams for you, Near operates more like a recruiting and staffing partner. You get direct access to manage your hires while they handle sourcing, payroll, and compliance.
Key stats:
- 45,000+ pre-vetted professionals
- 97% placement rate
- Under 21 days to hire
- 2,700+ professionals placed
- $70M+ saved by clients
Common roles filled:
- Marketing specialists and managers
- Executive assistants
- Accountants and bookkeepers
- Account executives and SDRs
- Software engineers
- Data analysts
Geographic coverage: Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and other Latin American countries
Sample salary ranges:
- Graphic Designer: $3,500-$4,200/month
- Growth Marketing Manager: $4,000-$4,800/month
- Software Engineer: $3,000-$3,500/month
Potential drawbacks:
- Talent pool limited to Latin America
- Requires more hands-on management than fully managed BPOs
4. Twine AI
Best for: AI training data and voice/multilingual projects
Twine AI operates a global network of over 1 million experts for data collection, annotation, and model evaluation. They position themselves as a managed service rather than a crowdsourced marketplace.
Their strength is in complex data projects requiring domain expertise or diverse demographic representation.
Key capabilities:
- Data collection and labeling across video, speech, text, and images
- Model evaluation and RLHF (reinforcement learning from human feedback)
- 190+ countries and 160+ languages covered
- Expert network includes data scientists, AI engineers, linguists, and voice actors
Industries served:
- Generative AI
- IT and electronics
- Manufacturing
- Media and entertainment
- E-commerce
Notable clients: Google, Samsung, Amazon, Synthesia, HeyGen, Synaptics
Pricing model: Rolling monthly subscription based on project scope. You can cancel or pause anytime.
Ethical data collection:
- Informed consent from all participants
- GDPR compliance
- Complete data provenance tracking
- Bias reduction through diverse datasets
Potential drawbacks:
- Project-based pricing requires consultation for exact costs
- May be overkill for simple, one-off data tasks
5. Scale AI
Best for: Large-scale AI data labeling for autonomous systems
Scale AI serves the most demanding end of the AI data market. They work with major AI labs, government agencies (including the U.S. military), and Fortune 500 companies.
Their platform handles massive-scale projects that would overwhelm smaller providers.
Key offerings:
- Scale Data Engine for enterprise data integration
- Fine-tuning and RLHF for foundation models
- Scale Donovan for defense and intelligence applications
- Gen AI Platform for enterprise AI transformation
- SEAL research lab for model evaluation and safety
Security certifications:
- FedRAMP authorized
- ISO 27001 certified
- SOC 2 certified
Notable clients: Meta, Cohere, Adept, Character AI, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, Defense Innovation Unit, Cengage, Cisco, Mayo Clinic
Key partnerships:
- Anthropic partnership for enterprise GenAI deployment
- Meta partnership for Llama enterprise adoption
Potential drawbacks:
- Enterprise-focused pricing (contact sales)
- Likely overkill for smaller projects or startups
- Complex platform requires significant onboarding
6. Labelbox
Best for: Enterprise annotation platform (bring your own workforce)
Labelbox takes a platform-first approach. Rather than providing managed annotation services, they give you the tools to manage your own data labeling operations.
This makes them ideal for companies that want full control over their data pipeline and already have (or want to build) internal annotation teams.
Platform capabilities:
- Data for reinforcement learning and RLHF
- Model evaluation and benchmarking
- Robotics data for embodied intelligence
- Multimodal annotation (image, video, LiDAR, text, audio)
- Deep Reasoning Lab for chain-of-thought workflows
Alignerr expert network:
- 1 million+ knowledge workers
- 40+ countries
- 50,000+ PhDs
- 200,000+ Master's degrees
- 85,000+ licensed professionals
Pricing:
Notable clients: ElevenLabs, Shutterstock, Ideogram, Stryker, Warner Bros, Peloton, Pinterest, Walmart, Runway, Etsy
Model integrations: Keras, PyTorch, TensorFlow, Azure, Snowflake, Google Cloud, AWS, Databricks
Potential drawbacks:
- Requires internal annotation team or external BPO
- Not a fully managed service
- Subscription pricing can add up at scale
7. iMerit
Best for: Domain-specific annotation (healthcare, finance, geospatial)
iMerit combines annotation technology with domain expertise. They actively source and manage subject matter experts for complex projects requiring specialized knowledge.
Their iMerit Scholars program matches projects with experts who have deep domain knowledge in specific fields.
Key solutions:
- Generative AI fine-tuning
- Mobility AI (autonomous vehicles)
- Healthcare AI (medical imaging, clinical notes)
- Advanced data annotation
- Ango Hub platform
Platform features (Ango Hub):
- Multimodal support (image, video, LiDAR, DICOM, text, PDF, audio)
- Deep Reasoning Lab for complex workflows
- Production analytics and QA modes
- Model-assisted pre-annotation
Compliance:
- SOC 2 certified
- ISO 27001 certified
- GDPR compliant
- HIPAA compliant
- TISAX compliant
Notable clients: AWS, Google Cloud, eBay, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, GE, Blue River, TripAdvisor, Autodesk
Case study highlights:
- Math Chain of Thought reasoning across 60+ subdomains
- LiDAR annotation for autonomous vehicle companies
- HIPAA-compliant GenAI for clinical notes automation
Potential drawbacks:
- Custom enterprise pricing (contact sales)
- Premium pricing reflects expert-level service
- Not suited for simple or low-complexity projects
Choosing the right TELUS International alternative for your needs
The best choice depends entirely on what you're trying to accomplish:
For customer support outsourcing:
- Choose NeoWork if you want flexible contracts and startup-friendly terms
- Choose SupportNinja if you run an e-commerce or SaaS business
- Choose Near if you want timezone-friendly nearshore talent you manage directly
For AI training data and annotation:
- Choose Twine AI for voice, multilingual, or complex data collection projects
- Choose Scale AI if you're working on autonomous vehicles or need massive scale
- Choose Labelbox if you want to build and manage your own annotation pipeline
- Choose iMerit if you need domain experts in healthcare, finance, or specialized fields
Key questions to ask potential partners:
- What is your pricing structure? (Hourly, per-task, platform fee, or hybrid?)
- What SLA guarantees do you offer for quality and turnaround time?
- What security certifications do you maintain?
- How do you handle scale? Can you ramp up quickly if needed?
- What is your quality assurance process?
Final thoughts: finding your ideal TELUS International alternative
TELUS Digital remains a solid choice for enterprise clients who want a single provider for both BPO and AI data needs. But they're not the only option, and depending on your specific situation, you might get better results elsewhere.
The alternatives above each have clear strengths. NeoWork offers more flexibility. SupportNinja understands e-commerce deeply. Near gives you direct control over nearshore talent. For AI data, Twine specializes in complex projects, Scale handles massive scale, Labelbox gives you platform control, and iMerit brings domain expertise.
Our recommendation: start with a pilot project to test quality and fit before committing to a long-term engagement. Most providers are willing to do a small test run so you can evaluate their work firsthand.
If you're specifically looking to improve your customer support operations with AI, Ringly offers a different approach entirely. Our AI phone agent Seth handles inbound calls 24/7, resolves over 70% of issues without human intervention, and integrates directly with your existing systems. Start your free trial to see how it works for your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to TELUS International?
TELUS International rebranded to TELUS Digital in 2024 to reflect their expanded services beyond traditional BPO into AI data solutions and digital transformation services.
How do TELUS International alternatives compare on pricing?
Pricing varies significantly. NeoWork offers transparent hourly rates ($10-$14/hr), while enterprise-focused providers like Scale AI and iMerit require custom quotes. Near offers clear salary ranges for LATAM talent ($2,000-$5,000/month). Most alternatives are more transparent than TELUS Digital, which typically requires contacting sales for pricing.
Which TELUS International alternative is best for startups?
NeoWork is generally the most startup-friendly with no setup fees, flexible contracts, and transparent pricing. Near is also a good option if you want to build a dedicated remote team with direct management.
Can I use multiple TELUS International alternatives together?
Yes. Many companies use different providers for different needs. For example, you might use SupportNinja for customer support while using Twine AI for training data collection. Just ensure clear boundaries to avoid confusion.
What should I look for in a TELUS International alternative for AI data projects?
Look for: (1) experience in your specific data type (images, text, audio, etc.), (2) quality assurance processes and guarantees, (3) security certifications relevant to your industry, (4) scalability to handle your project volume, and (5) pricing transparency or clear project-based quotes.
Are there free alternatives to TELUS International for AI data labeling?
Labelbox offers a free tier for up to 30 users and 50 projects, making it a good starting point for small teams. For larger projects, all major providers require paid engagement, though some offer free trials or pilot projects.
