Get Paid To Train Frontier AI Models With Mercor
One profile, an AI assessment, then matched to projects from the labs building frontier models. Remote, contract, weekly pay, terms published before you apply.
- Remote
- Professional background
- Weekly pay
- Your own schedule
Applying is free and takes one profile. Nothing is committed until you accept a project.
What Is Mercor?
Mercor is an expert marketplace that connects working professionals to the AI labs training frontier models. Physicians, lawyers, engineers, accountants, consultants and linguists are hired to answer questions, review model output, and supply the judgment a model cannot produce on its own. Mercor says its network holds more than 30,000 experts.
It is not a task site where you grind through a queue. You build one profile, take an AI assessment, and Mercor matches you to projects that fit your background. Listings run across business operations, creative, finance, healthcare, legal, management consulting and software engineering.
Work is fully remote and done on your own schedule as an independent contractor. Projects run from weeks to months.
Is Mercor Right For You?
- You have a real professional specialty, not just general availability
- You hold at least undergraduate-level expertise in your field
- Many roles want years of professional experience or an advanced degree
- You are happy being assessed by an AI interview that adapts to your background
- You want to work remotely on your own hours, contract by contract
- You can wait a few weeks between applying and hearing back
Mercor At A Glance
| Company | Mercor, an expert marketplace supplying human expertise to AI labs and enterprises |
|---|---|
| Work | Evaluating model output, answering domain questions, writing and reviewing examples, specialist research tasks |
| Fields | Business operations, creative, finance, healthcare, legal, management consulting, software engineering, and language work |
| Who they hire | Professionals with proven expertise. Mercor states a network of 30,000 plus experts including physicians, lawyers, engineers and consultants |
| Education | Undergraduate-level expertise as a baseline. Many roles ask for years of experience or an advanced degree |
| Contract | Independent contractor, fully remote, your own schedule |
| Project length | Weeks to months, depending on the customer |
| Pay | Set per listing and shown up front. Rates depend on your expertise, project complexity and demand for the role. Some listings pay hourly, others pay per task |
| Payment | Weekly, through Stripe or Wise |
| Response time | Usually two to four weeks to hear whether you have moved to the next stage |
| Interview data | Mercor states interview responses are not sold and are not used to train customer AI models |
How The Application Works
- Create your profileApply through the button on this page and build one professional profile covering your background and specialty.
- Take the AI assessmentMercor's interview adapts to your field and asks questions relevant to what you actually do. It replaces the resume screen.
- Get matchedIf it is a fit, Mercor's team follows up and connects you to projects aligned with your skills. Expect two to four weeks, and keep applying to other listings in the meantime.
- Agree the termsEach listing states its own rate, hours and eligible locations before you accept anything.
- Work and get paid weeklyDeliver on your own schedule. Payment lands weekly through Stripe or Wise. You are a contractor, so tax is on you.
How Mercor Pays
Every Mercor listing publishes its own terms before you apply. Some projects pay an hourly rate, others pay a fixed amount per completed task. Mercor states that compensation depends on your expertise, the complexity of the project and demand for the role.
Payments run weekly through Stripe or Wise. High-performing experts are invited to ongoing work rather than having to reapply each time.
Because you are an independent contractor, no tax is withheld. Keep your own records from the first project.
Mercor Payment Schedule and Currency
Mercor pays weekly. Regular wages go out every Wednesday around 12:00 PM Pacific time and cover the previous work week, which runs Saturday to Friday on India Standard Time.
- Bonuses, work trial pay and referral payouts have their own two release windows, Wednesday and Friday.
- Every Mercor contract is in USD. Stripe or Wise converts it to your local currency when it pays out.
- You do not pick the provider. Mercor assigns Stripe where Stripe supports payouts and Wise everywhere else it pays.
- Your first Stripe payout has a 7-day hold. That is a Stripe rule, and Mercor cannot override it.
- On Wise, you have to accept an email for each payout before the money moves.
- The bank account must be in your own legal name. Joint, business and family accounts fail the checks.
Sources: Mercor payments, Mercor contracts, Mercor supported countries.
Is Mercor Free, and Are You an Independent Contractor?
Mercor is free to join. Its pay policy says it never asks talent for any payment or fee and never charges your bank account. Standard Stripe payouts are free, and the optional Instant Payout costs 1%.
All Mercor work is contract work. Mercor offers no W-2 positions, does not treat the work as employment, and cannot turn a contract into a full-time job.
- US citizens and residents fill in a W-9 and get a 1099-NEC at the end of the tax year.
- Everyone else fills in a W-8BEN instead.
- Mercor does not deduct tax, so your local tax is yours to handle.
Sources: Mercor time tracking and pay, Mercor 1099 vs W2, Mercor taxes, Mercor project FAQ.
- This page is general information for educational purposes only. It is not financial, tax, legal or investment advice.
- Tax rules depend on where you live and your personal circumstances, and they change. Speak to a qualified accountant or tax adviser before you act.
- Pay, payout and listing details come from Mercor's own pages and listings, were correct when checked, and may have changed. Confirm them on Mercor before you apply.
- DigiNo is not responsible for any loss or decision based on this page. You use it at your own risk.
Mercor Assessments, Academy and Certification
Assessments are now a main way in. Pass one that Mercor recommends for your profile and you are considered for new roles that use it, even without applying to a listing. Most assessments allow a single submission, so check your answers before you send.
Mercor Academy is the free learning area on the work platform. Each course has short video lessons, a knowledge check after each one with 3 attempts, and a capstone that ends in AI interviews. Finish it and you earn a certificate you can share on LinkedIn or X.
- Academy courses are unpaid, so Academy time never goes on a project timer.
- The certificate shows on your Mercor profile and can lead to projects, but Mercor says it does not guarantee a project, an offer or a pay change.
- You can share the certificate. You cannot share course content or questions.
- Prompt Academy and Rubric Academy fellowships are separate paid contracts, usually offered after an earlier project or trial.
Sources: Mercor assessments, Mercor Academy, Mercor contracts.
Getting paid
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AI training platforms pay in USD. A Wise account gives you local account details in USD, GBP, EUR and more, so you get paid like a local and convert at the mid-market rate with the fee shown up front.
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Who Gets Accepted
Mercor matches one profile to projects, and most projects want a professional background rather than a teaching certificate. Of the 284 open projects today, the biggest fields are Life, Physical, and Social Science (62), Software Engineering (38), Other Engineering (30), Language and Audio (29), Data Analysis (24), Finance (21). 192 projects name no location, which Mercor treats as open to the US, Canada, the UK and the EU by default; the most common named locations are USA (78), GBR (13), CAN (9), DEU (8), NLD (7). 233 of the 284 are hourly or part-time, so most can sit alongside other work.
On 2026-10-11, listed hourly rates ran from $15 to $450 depending on the field and seniority the project asks for. Each card below shows its own rate, hours and eligible locations before you click through.
Open Mercor Projects
284 projects open right now, pulled from Mercor and refreshed twice a day. Filter by field, then apply on Mercor with one profile.
Listings from Mercor. Updated 2026-10-11. Showing the first 160; the full list is on Mercor.
Other Ways To Get Paid For AI And Online Work
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- Online Teaching JobsTeach English online instead, with platforms hiring worldwide.
Every platform currently hiring is on the AI Training Jobs page.
Mercor FAQ
What is Mercor?
An expert marketplace that connects professionals to AI labs training frontier models. Physicians, lawyers, engineers, accountants, consultants and linguists are hired to evaluate model output and supply domain judgment. Mercor states a network of more than 30,000 experts.
Who can work for Mercor?
Professionals with real expertise in a field. Undergraduate-level expertise is the baseline, and many roles ask for years of professional experience or an advanced degree. Work is fully remote, and each listing states its own eligible locations.
How does the Mercor application work?
You create one profile, take an AI assessment that adapts to your background, and Mercor matches you to projects that fit. If it is a fit, their team follows up and connects you to the work.
How long does Mercor take to reply?
Usually two to four weeks, because of application volume. You can keep applying to other open listings while you wait.
How does Mercor pay?
Weekly, through Stripe or Wise. Each listing sets its own terms up front, with some projects paying hourly and others paying per task. Rates depend on your expertise, project complexity and demand for the role.
Is Mercor employment or contract work?
Independent contractor work only. Mercor offers no W-2 positions and cannot convert a contract into full-time employment. US citizens and residents get a 1099-NEC; others fill in a W-8BEN. No tax is withheld, so keep your own records.
How long do Mercor projects last?
Weeks to months, depending on the customer. High-performing experts are invited to ongoing opportunities.
Is the Mercor AI interview recorded or used to train models?
Mercor states that interview responses are not sold and are not used to train customer AI models.
What if Mercor is not a fit for me?
Other AI training platforms take experts from early career through to PhD level, with high-volume data collection and annotation roles alongside specialist work. The AI Training Jobs page matches you to open roles.
Is Mercor legit?
Yes. Mercor is a San Francisco expert marketplace that pays independent contractors weekly through Stripe or Wise for AI training and evaluation projects. Applying is free, the terms of each project are published before you apply, and DigiNo earns a referral when you sign up through the links on this page.
What are the Mercor interview questions?
There is no fixed list. The AI interview adapts to the specialty on your profile: it asks about your field, your working experience and how you reason through problems in it. Concrete examples from real work score better than general answers.
Are Mercor jobs remote?
Every Mercor project is remote and done on your own schedule as an independent contractor. Each listing states its own hours, pay and eligible locations before you click through.
What day does Mercor pay?
Every Wednesday around 12:00 PM Pacific time. Each payout covers the previous work week, Saturday to Friday India Standard Time, so money is released about five days after your last workday. Bonuses, work trials and referral payouts are released separately, on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Does Mercor pay in USD?
Every Mercor contract is set in USD. Your payout provider converts it to your local currency when it pays out. Mercor assigns the provider by country: Stripe for most countries, and Wise in Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal and Turkey. With Wise you must accept an email after each payout for the money to reach your bank.
How long does a Mercor payout take to reach my bank?
On Stripe, the free standard option lands within five business days of release, and the Instant Payout option lands in about 30 minutes for a 1% fee. Your first Stripe payout has a 7-day hold that Mercor cannot override. The bank account must be in your own legal name; joint, business and family accounts fail verification.
Does Mercor work in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa or Kenya?
Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa are on Mercor's Stripe-supported payment list, so experts there can be paid. Kenya and Pakistan are on the list of locations where Mercor currently cannot onboard experts or issue contracts. Check Mercor's supported countries page before you start any work.
What is Mercor Academy and is there a Mercor certification?
Mercor Academy is a free, unpaid set of self-paced courses on the Mercor work platform. Each course ends in a capstone with AI interviews, and finishing it earns a certificate you can share on LinkedIn or X. Mercor says the certificate can lead to projects but does not guarantee a project, an offer or a pay change.
What does Mercor do?
Mercor runs an expert network for AI training work. Companies search its talent pool with AI search, and Mercor matches experts using their resume, AI interview transcript and public profiles such as LinkedIn or GitHub. Selected experts get a contract, log their work, and are paid weekly.
Is Mercor free to join?
Yes. Mercor says it never requests or requires any payment or fee from talent and does not charge your bank account. Mercor Academy courses are free too. Standard Stripe payouts are free, and the optional Instant Payout costs 1%.
Does Mercor pay weekly?
Yes. Hourly contracts pay every Wednesday for hours logged Saturday to Friday (India Standard Time) the week before. Deliverable contracts pay in the next payout cycle once your work is approved. Your first Stripe payout has a 7-day hold set by Stripe.
Is there a Mercor queue?
Mercor does not describe a task queue in its help docs. Most projects use hourly contracts: you log time in Insightful up to a weekly hour cap set in your contract, and only logged hours are paid. Some projects pay per approved deliverable instead.
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