Mercor and Terac offer different kinds of work. Mercor hires contractors onto ongoing AI projects, screens with one AI interview and pays every Wednesday. Terac pays for single interviews, surveys and shorter projects once each submission is approved, and screens each opportunity separately. If you want steady hours, start with Mercor. If you want paid one-off sessions in your field, Terac fits.
Mercor and Terac side by side
| Mercor | Terac | |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles here | 202 | 43 |
| Hourly pay as stated | $15–450 | $5–112 |
| Roles paid per session or task | 23 | 23 |
| Kind of work | Contracts on AI projects | One-time interviews and surveys, and project work |
| Screening | Resume, any role assessments, one AI interview of about 20 minutes | A verified phone, then a screener per opportunity: a form, an AI voice interview of about 3 minutes, or a file upload |
| Retakes | Up to 3 for the interview | One attempt per opportunity |
| Who decides | The AI interview is Mercor’s only screen | A person on Terac’s team reviews each interview |
| Time to hear back | No general time frame | Varies; contact support after 7 days |
| Paid | Weekly, on Wednesdays, through Stripe or Wise | To your Terac balance once approved; cash out from $12.50 through Whop |
| Tax | None deducted | None withheld |
Pay figures come from the live postings, checked each morning. Process rows come from each platform’s own help pages, read on 13 Oct 2026.
The work
Mercor’s roles here lean toward engineers (35), voice and audio recorders (22) and business and operations (19). Terac’s lean toward business and operations (12), generalists (3) and software engineers (6).
Terac describes its opportunities as either one-time (an interview or survey) or project-based. A one-time session pays a fixed amount, and 19 of its roles here pay that way. Mercor’s work is mostly hourly contracts.
The pay
Mercor’s hourly roles span $15–450. Terac’s span $5–112, but most Terac roles here pay per session or per task instead. We never convert a session fee into an hourly rate. Compare a Terac session by its fee and the time the posting says it takes.
Mercor pays each week’s tracked hours the following Wednesday, and Stripe holds the first payout for 7 days. Terac adds earnings to your balance when a submission is approved. Moving them to your payout balance is free, and a bank withdrawal typically takes 1 to 3 business days. Terac can reverse an approved payment if the submission is later rejected.
Getting in
Mercor’s AI interview is the only way in, and it can be retaken up to three times. The Mercor interview guide covers it.
Terac’s screeners are short, and Terac says a person reviews each interview recording. Terac allows one attempt per opportunity, so a finished screener cannot be retaken. Being screened out does not count against your account. The Terac screening guide covers it.
Terac needs a government ID check through Whop before your first cash-out. Mercor needs proof of work authorisation when you apply.
Which one
Pick Mercor for weekly pay and ongoing contract work. Pick Terac for occasional paid sessions that fit around a job, with a quick screener for each. You can do both: neither platform’s pages describe an exclusivity rule.
See what is open: Mercor roles and Terac roles. The full reviews are on the Mercor page and the Terac page.
If you’re hired through our link and start paid work, Mercor pays this site a referral fee. If you sign up through our link and complete a paid opportunity, Terac pays this site a referral fee. Your pay is unaffected on both. Red Pen Jobs is independent. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for Mercor or Terac in any way, and we do not recruit on their behalf.