Sites like Mercor
Mercor alternatives
12 platforms that hire for the same kinds of work as Mercor, the ones with roles open today first: what each pays, who can join and how it pays out, read from their job boards every day.
Mercor alternatives: the short answer
The closest alternatives to Mercor with roles open today are micro1 (205 open roles in the same work), AfterQuery (165), Turing (134) and SuperAnnotate (SME) (260).
Like Mercor, they are expert networks that hire for Domain Experts, Coding and Math & STEM.
Handshake AI, Alignerr and Terac are other expert networks like Mercor.
Of all the platforms on this page, the highest typical pay right now is RemoExperts's: a median of $95/hr on its open roles.
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Sites like Mercor with roles open today
Expert networks like Mercor that hire for the same kinds of work and have open roles right now, in the site's ranking order. Each count is the open roles in the kinds of work Mercor hires for.
Zara AI-interview vetting, then expert data work at published hourly rates.
Same work as Mercor: Domain Experts, Coding, Math & STEM, Agentic & RL Envs, AI Evaluation
Expert reasoning and rubrics for frontier labs, weekly Stripe pay.
Same work as Mercor: Domain Experts, Coding, Math & STEM, Agentic & RL Envs, AI Evaluation, Writing
Coding-and-reasoning data for frontier labs, heavy vetting.
Same work as Mercor: Domain Experts, Coding, Math & STEM, Agentic & RL Envs, AI Evaluation, Red-Teaming
Vetted expert network with a data-trainer career ladder.
Same work as Mercor: Domain Experts, Coding, Math & STEM, AI Evaluation
Keep all of your pay: published per-role bands, no talent fees.
Same work as Mercor: Domain Experts, Coding, AI Evaluation, Red-Teaming, Writing
Expert AI-training contracts for degreed professionals: STEM, coding, CAD, medicine, law, finance.
Same work as Mercor: Domain Experts, Coding, Math & STEM, AI Evaluation
More expert networks like Mercor
The best known first. Some publish no job board we can read, so they show no count here; their roles are on their own sites.
Degree-holding US trainers, with hourly contract roles on its live board.
Same work as Mercor: Domain Experts, Coding, Math & STEM, Agentic & RL Envs, AI Evaluation, Writing
Design the training tasks in your own professional domain.
Same work as Mercor: Domain Experts, Coding, Math & STEM, Agentic & RL Envs, AI Evaluation, Writing
Browse live AI-training and paid-study listings, each with pay shown upfront.
Same work as Mercor: Domain Experts, Coding, Math & STEM, AI Evaluation, Red-Teaming
Scale AI's contributor arm, now leaner and shifted toward technical experts.
Same work as Mercor: Domain Experts, Coding, Math & STEM, AI Evaluation, Writing
DataAnnotation
Assessment-gated contractor
Reliable-paying generalist and expert work for educated writers.
Same work as Mercor: Domain Experts, Coding, Math & STEM, AI Evaluation, Writing
Roles listed on its own site
A unified board of AI-training jobs with real per-role pay.
Same work as Mercor: Domain Experts, Coding, Math & STEM, AI Evaluation
Pick by what matters to you
The same platforms, sorted by one number each.
Why people look for alternatives to Mercor
- Earnings come in waves, rising and falling as project queues open and close.
- Many projects are limited to certain countries or time zones.
Still weighing it up? Read the full Mercor review, with what it pays, how it pays out and whether it is legit.
Mercor and its alternatives, side by side
| Platform | Kind | Typical pay | Open roles in this work | Who can join | How it pays |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercor(for reference) | Expert network | $55-$150/hr typical (live median $75) | 187 | Global (45+ countries) | Weekly via Stripe (1099 contractors) |
| micro1 | Expert network | $50-$270/hr typical (live median $75) | 205 | Global, remote-first | USD via Deel (bank, PayPal, Wise, Payoneer) |
| AfterQuery | Expert network | $50-$125/hr typical (live median $75) | 165 | Remote, but it can pay only banks in the countries on its supported list | Weekly (Fridays) via Stripe to bank |
| Turing | Expert network | $15–$150/hr | 134 | Global, fully remote | Monthly for the hours you log: paid on the 5th calendar day of each month, through Turing's own portal or Deel depending on the project |
| SuperAnnotate (SME) | Expert network | $17–$115+/hr by domain and geography | 260 | 40+ countries, 5 continents, up to ~18 languages | Via Deel (contracts, tax/compliance) |
| Braintrust | Expert network | $18-$100/hr typical (live median $25) | 23 | Global (100+ countries, 50+ languages) | Weekly |
| RemoExperts | Expert network | $70-$150/hr typical (live median $95) | 27 | Remote | Stripe, Payoneer or Wise |
| Handshake AI | Expert network | $55-$150/hr typical (live median $90) | 155 | United States | Weekly through Stripe (set up in Handshake AI): Handshake sends each Monday-to-Sunday week's pay to its pay partners by Wednesday afternoon |
| Alignerr | Expert network | $35-$130/hr typical (live median $60) | 219 | Global, remote-first | Stripe Connect or PayPal by region |
| Terac | Expert network | $55-$105/hr typical (live median $85) | 19 | Payouts in most countries (its payment docs name no list) | Terac wallet, cashed out through Whop: $12.50 minimum, up to $10,000 a day (its payment docs, read 15 Oct 2026) |
| Outlier (Scale AI) | Expert network | $15–$50/hr; specialists to ~$100/hr | 1 | Global remote | Weekly (Tuesdays) via PayPal, Airtm or ACH bank transfer |
| DataAnnotation | Expert network | $15–$100+/hr | See its site | 6 countries only | PayPal |
| OpenTrain AI | Expert network | $15-$60/hr typical (live median $30) | 27 | Global job board | Stripe payouts to your bank, in the 120 countries its payout docs list |
Pay shows each platform's live measured band where its job board publishes enough hourly rates to measure, otherwise our compiled benchmark. How we compile pay.
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Mercor alternatives: common questions
What are the best Mercor alternatives?
The closest alternatives to Mercor with roles open today are micro1 (205 open roles in the same work), AfterQuery (165), Turing (134) and SuperAnnotate (SME) (260). Like Mercor, they are expert networks that hire for Domain Experts, Coding and Math & STEM. Handshake AI, Alignerr and Terac are other expert networks like Mercor.
Why do people look for Mercor alternatives?
Earnings come in waves, rising and falling as project queues open and close. Many projects are limited to certain countries or time zones.
Which sites like Mercor pay the most?
Among the alternatives whose job boards publish enough hourly rates to measure, RemoExperts has the highest typical pay right now, a median of $95/hr, followed by Handshake AI ($90) and Terac ($85). These are medians of the rates on roles open today, so they move as roles open and close. Mercor's own pay: $55-$150/hr typical (live median $75).
Which Mercor alternative is easiest to join?
All of the alternatives here are expert networks, gated by a screen for a degree, professional expertise, or a skills test.
Can you work on Mercor and other platforms at the same time?
Yes. They are independent platforms, and many contributors join several at once to keep a steady flow of work. Joining one does not affect your account on another.