Both screen with one AI interview and hire remote contractors to train and evaluate AI models. micro1’s interview runs 20 to 40 minutes, pay comes twice a month through Deel, and it expects 15 to 20 hours a week. Mercor’s interview takes about 20 minutes, pay comes weekly through Stripe, and each contract caps your hours.
micro1 and Mercor side by side
| micro1 | Mercor | |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles here | 246 | 206 |
| Hourly pay as stated | $6–400 | $15–300 |
| Median hourly ceiling | $90 | $85 |
| Roles paid per task or session | 0 | 25 |
| Screening | One recorded AI voice interview with Zara, 20 to 40 minutes | Resume, any role assessments, then one AI interview of about 20 minutes |
| Retakes | Not stated; certified skills since July 2025 carry over | Up to 3, across all applications for that interview |
| Time to hear back | About 48 hours for interview review, up to 30 days for a hiring manager | No general time frame; shown per role after you submit |
| Feedback | On request, if you do not qualify | None on individual applications |
| Paid | Twice a month, in US dollars, through Deel | Weekly, on Wednesdays, through Stripe or Wise |
| Hours | About 15 to 20 a week expected, none guaranteed | A weekly maximum per contract, no minimum |
| Before the first payment | Background check, ID check with selfie, Deel identity check | Work authorisation; Stripe holds the first payout for 7 days |
Every pay figure on this page comes from the live postings, checked each morning. The process rows come from each platform’s own help pages, read on 13 Oct 2026.
The work
Both platforms hire people for what they already know. On micro1 the biggest groups open here are lawyers (40 roles), business and operations (26), doctors and clinicians (21) and software engineers (19). On Mercor they are engineers (35), voice and audio recorders (22), business and operations (18) and life scientists (18).
micro1 states 19,532 openings across its roles here, and Mercor states 152,734. Those are the platforms’ own figures. Neither says how many people it takes on.
The pay
micro1’s hourly roles here span $6–400, and half sit between $60 and $120. Mercor’s span $15–300, with half between $60 and $120. Mercor also has 25 roles paid per task or session, shown on each role page and left out of those spans.
Pay dates differ most. micro1 pays work from the 1st to the 15th around the 20th, and the rest of the month around the 5th. Mercor pays each week’s hours the following Wednesday. Both pay only for approved or tracked work, and neither guarantees hours.
Getting in
micro1’s interview is a recorded voice conversation with its AI interviewer, Zara, at about 7 minutes per skill. A recruiter reviews it within about 48 hours. A strong result then goes to a hiring manager, which can take up to 30 days. If you do not qualify, you can ask for written feedback. The micro1 interview guide covers how to prepare.
Mercor asks for a resume, any assessments the role sets and proof of work authorisation, then one AI interview. It is the only way in: there is no human interview. You can retake it up to three times. Mercor shares no feedback and gives no general time to a decision. The Mercor interview guide covers it.
Staying in
micro1 can end its agreement immediately on written notice, and you must give 5 business days. A role lasts while the client has work, and micro1 says it tries to move you to a similar project if one is cancelled. It also asks you to confirm you are not employed by a company that builds foundational AI models.
Mercor names three reasons a project ends: the work finishes, a policy is broken, or performance falls short. An ordinary ending does not count against you. You can hold more than one hourly contract if each project lead knows your availability.
Mercor also had a security incident in March 2026. It says a very limited subset of experts had sensitive information affected. The Mercor review has the details and sources.
The same professions on both
15 professions have at least 3 open roles on both micro1 and Mercor today. Each cell gives the open roles and the hourly pay their postings state. Each profession opens a page comparing the two for that field alone.
| Profession | micro1 | Mercor |
|---|---|---|
| Lawyers | 40 roles, $25–400 | 11 roles, $60–150 |
| Engineers | 13 roles, $20–150 | 35 roles, $45–200 |
| Business and operations specialists | 26 roles, $8–350 | 18 roles, $60–150 |
| Generalists | 24 roles, $8–125 | 13 roles, $30–110 |
| Doctors and clinicians | 21 roles, $45–200 | 15 roles, $55–300 |
| Software engineers | 19 roles, $25–300 | 14 roles, $55–250 |
| Researchers and academics | 22 roles, $30–200 | 8 roles, $45–120 |
| Life scientists | 7 roles, $45–120 | 18 roles, $60–125 |
| Voice and audio recorders | 3 roles, $20–70 | 22 roles, $15–200 |
| Accountants and finance experts | 15 roles, $20–300 | 10 roles, $60–180 |
| Bilingual speakers | 7 roles, $35–200 | 10 roles, $30–50 |
| Machine learning engineers | 9 roles, $30–280 | 3 roles, $70–250 |
| Physicists | 5 roles, $100–200 | 5 roles, $60–100 |
| Medical coders and auditors | 6 roles, $20–70 | 3 roles, $60–190 |
| Sales and CRM specialists | 4 roles, $40–100 | 4 roles, $60–110 |
Open roles on each
Best-paid micro1 roles open now
The 3 highest-paid of 245 open micro1 roles this site lists today, with the pay each posting states.
Best-paid Mercor roles open now
The 3 highest-paid of 206 open Mercor roles this site lists today, with the pay each posting states.
Which one
Apply to micro1 if a role title names your field, you want pay twice a month, and 15 to 20 hours a week suits you. Apply to Mercor if you want weekly pay and can wait without a stated timeline. You can hold both. micro1 says you can keep your day job, and Mercor’s contract policy names no exclusivity rule.
See what is open on each: micro1 roles and Mercor roles. The full reviews are on the micro1 page and the Mercor page.
If you’re hired through our link and complete 10 hours, micro1 pays this site a referral fee. If you’re hired through our link and start paid work, Mercor 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 micro1 or Mercor in any way, and we do not recruit on their behalf.