Mercor

1. 01Write realistic domain prompts and expert reference answers
2. 02Score and rank model responses with structured rubrics and written justifications
3. 03Draft, refine and audit evaluation rubrics
4. 04Build answer keys and scoring standards for evaluation sets
5. 05Software-engineering and coding tasks for model training and evaluation
6. 06Professional-domain evaluation in medicine, law, finance, accounting, consulting and education
7. 07Creative projects, such as defining rubrics for and reviewing AI-generated brand work

When you are paid. Weekly. Hourly pay for the previous Saturday–Friday work week is released every Wednesday around 12:00 PM Pacific. Mercor's docs say it usually arrives on Thursday, depending on your bank, though international bank payouts can take longer. Bonuses, paid work trials and referral earnings follow a separate Wednesday/Friday cycle. Stripe holds the first payout for seven days, and Mercor says it cannot pause, delay or batch payouts. Contracts are in USD, converted to local currency at payout.

Every listing states its own rate, usually as a range, and the final rate can depend on experience and location; some listings say their range applies to US-based applicants. Generalist listings cited for 2026 paid about $20–$30/hr for answer-key and research work, $25–$45/hr for rubric writing and auditing, and $35–$45/hr for generalist writing. Listings for credentialed specialists such as software engineers, physicians, lawyers, and finance or consulting professionals can reach $100–$200/hr, and a few go higher (one community-shared software-engineering listing advertised $150–$210/hr). A third-party tracker put the median listed rate at about $75/hr in October 2026, with the middle half roughly $50–$100. Most contracts are hourly, with a weekly hour cap set in the offer; some are deliverable-based and pay per accepted item. Rates can fall between projects. In late 2025, Business Insider reported that contractors on an ending Meta project were offered similar work at $16/hr, $5 below their previous rate. Mercor called the report inaccurate.

• Stripe Connect to a bank account in your legal name (primary; debit cards not supported)
• Wise, for the few supported countries Stripe does not cover (Mercor names Brazil, Georgia, Kosovo, UAE, Nepal and Turkey) and for some one-off payments; each Wise payout must be actioned by email

Receiving USD in Africa? Read our payouts guide.

• Residence in a Mercor-supported country, plus any listing-specific residency (often the US, UK or Canada)
• Credentials matching the listing: degrees, licenses or years of professional experience; some generalist roles target students or graduates of top-ranked universities
• A résumé that holds up to detailed follow-up questions
• A computer with the latest Chrome, a webcam and a microphone (mobile browsers are not supported for the AI interview)
• Government-issued ID and a selfie video for Persona identity verification; some projects add a background check
• A bank account in your legal name that can receive Stripe (or Wise) payouts, and a mobile number for SMS two-factor authentication
• On hourly projects, willingness to run the Insightful time tracker, which takes periodic screenshots while tracking

1. 1

   Create an account

   Sign up at work.mercor.com with your email or Google account (sign-in is passwordless) and complete the minimal profile, including your résumé.

2. 2

   Choose listings carefully

   Browse roles at work.mercor.com/explore. Check the residency, credential and weekly-hours requirements before applying; passing the interview does not override a residency rule.

3. 3

   Complete the application steps

   Each listing shows a step list. Most include a recorded AI video interview of about 20 minutes, based on your résumé and the role. Some add a domain assessment or a written task such as a model-response evaluation. A completed interview carries over to other listings that use it.

4. 4

   Wait for matching

   Applications are matched against client demand. Third-party guides report one to three weeks from application to decision, and sometimes considerably longer.

5. 5

   Accept the offer and onboard

   Offers appear under the Offers tab. Verify your identity with Persona (government ID and selfie video), set up Stripe payouts, sign the contract and finish any project onboarding or background check.

6. 6

   Start work

   Install Insightful and run it only while working. Hourly pay for each week is released the following Wednesday.

1. 01

   Apply only where you meet the residency requirement. Many Mercor listings are restricted to the US, UK or Canada, and applying from elsewhere is unlikely to lead to an offer even if you pass the interview.

2. 02

   Treat your résumé as the interview script. The AI interviewer draws its questions from your résumé and the role, so be ready to explain each project's problem, your decisions and the measurable result.

3. 03

   Set up as for a recorded panel: latest Chrome on a computer, face fully visible and lit from the front, a quiet room, and camera and microphone tested beforehand.

4. 04

   Answer concisely and concretely. Generic, lengthy answers waste the roughly 20 minutes available.

5. 05

   Treat your first attempt as final. Retakes are limited, and a submitted interview is reused for other listings that share it.

6. 06

   Keep one account, use the same legal name on your offer, Stripe and bank account, and keep project material out of third-party tools. Violations can mean reduced pay or removal.

7. 07

   Once working, run Insightful only while on task and never add time manually. The tracker takes periodic screenshots, and off-task time can be deducted.

More in How to pass AI training assessments.

Mercor's payment-countries policy, as captured in October 2026, lists Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Egypt as supported, with payment via Stripe to a local bank account. Kenya was on the unsupported list in that capture and in Kenyan guides checked in October 2026, so Kenyan residents could not be onboarded at that time. Ethiopia was also unsupported. Another Mercor page has suggested otherwise for Kenya, so Kenyan readers should confirm on the live list. In supported countries the practical limit is listing-level residency, because many roles are restricted to the US, UK or Canada. Look for listings without a residency restriction before investing time in an interview.

Where it hires. Limited to the countries on Mercor's supported-countries policy. Most are paid through Stripe, and a few (Brazil, Georgia, Kosovo, UAE, Nepal, Turkey) through Wise. Mercor says it cannot onboard experts or issue contracts anywhere else. As captured in October 2026, unsupported locations included Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Ethiopia and Kenya. Separately, many listings are restricted to residents of particular countries, most often the US, UK or Canada.

• Mercor Talent Docs: Supported countries for payment
• Mercor: Supported Countries & Regions
• Mercor Talent Docs: Payouts
• Mercor Talent Docs: Payments
• Mercor Talent Docs: Accept Stripe payments
• Mercor Talent Docs: Create account
• Mercor Talent Docs: Apply
• Mercor Talent Docs: AI interview

Reviewed Oct 29, 2026. Platforms change their terms, pay and country lists often. Check the details on Mercor's own site before you rely on them. Spotted something out of date? Email us.