Mercor has 14 open roles for software engineers on this site today, at $55–250 an hour. AfterQuery has 29 open roles, at $45–150 an hour. Both figures come from the live postings, checked each morning. How each platform screens and pays comes from its own pages.
Mercor and AfterQuery for software engineers
| Mercor | AfterQuery | |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles | 14 | 29 |
| Openings the postings state | 96 | 29 |
| Hourly pay as stated | $55–250 | $45–150 |
| Median hourly ceiling | $150 | $80 |
| Paid per task or session | 1 | 0 |
| Screening | Assessments and an AI interview of about 20 minutes | An interview and a short skills assessment |
| Paid | Weekly, on Wednesdays, via Stripe | Weekly, on Fridays, through Stripe |
A listed rate tells you what a role pays, not how many hours of work reach you. Neither platform's pages promise a set number of hours.
Open roles for software engineers on each
Best-paid Mercor roles for software engineers open now
The 5 highest-paid of 14 open Mercor roles for software engineers this site lists today, with the pay each posting states.
Best-paid AfterQuery roles for software engineers open now
The 5 highest-paid of 29 open AfterQuery roles for software engineers this site lists today, with the pay each posting states.
Which one to apply to
Apply to Mercor if:
- The role title names your background.
- Your country is on the role’s list and on Mercor’s supported list.
Apply to AfterQuery if:
- You have professional experience or an advanced degree in the field.
- You can do a live or recorded video interview.
You can apply to both.
Read more
- The full comparison: Mercor vs AfterQuery: AI interview or one skills test
- Every open role for software engineers, on every platform
- AI coding work for developers: what the tasks are and what they pay
- The Mercor and AfterQuery platform pages
If you're hired through a link here and start paid work, Mercor pays this site a referral fee. Your pay is unaffected. If you're hired through a link here, AfterQuery pays this site a referral fee. Your pay is unaffected.
Red Pen Jobs is independent. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for Mercor or AfterQuery in any way, and we do not recruit on its behalf.