# Mercor vs Outlier

Both pay professionals to train AI models, but they hire in very different ways. Here is how they compare.

Facts checked 8 November 2026. First published 8 November 2026. Canonical: https://bestdataannotationjobs.com/mercor-vs-outlier/

## The quick pick

**Pick Mercor** if you are a working professional, such as a doctor, lawyer, engineer or mathematician, and want to see a rate before you apply. Specific Mercor openings show an hourly rate, and its standing expert pools say past listings paid about $40 to $180 an hour depending on the field.

**Pick Outlier** if you are earlier in your career or a generalist. Its published minimum is an associate degree, and it screens your skills on the platform rather than through an interview. Projects can still have their own degree, skill and country rules.

## Side by side

| | Mercor | Outlier |
|---|---|---|
| Run by | Mercor.io Corporation, San Francisco, founded 2023. Backed by Benchmark, Felicis and General Catalyst. | Operated by Scale AI (contracting entity Smart Ecosystem Inc., d/b/a Outlier AI). Also runs Remotasks. |
| Published pay | Per project. Past pool rates about $40 to $180/hr by field | Per project. Official examples: up to $15 to $50/hr by role and country |
| To join | AI interview, matching experience, supported country | Associate degree+, ID, local phone, work visa, screenings |
| Payout | Weekly: Stripe Connect, or Wise in some countries | Weekly (Tuesdays): PayPal, Airtm or ACH |
| Best for | Working professionals and experts | Generalists and subject experts |
| Verdict | Legit, with caveats | Legit, with caveats |

## How hiring works

**Mercor** works like a recruiter. You apply to a specific opening or to a standing expert pool, do a short AI interview (about 20 minutes on the listings we checked), and get offered a contract when a project matches. Mercor says its pools are not specific job openings and stay open whether or not a matching project is running, so joining one does not mean paid work is available.

**Outlier** works like a marketplace. You sign up once, verify your ID and pass skill screenings, then get offered projects on the platform with the rate shown up front.

## Pay

**Mercor** shows a rate on specific openings, such as $90 to $140 an hour for a [US maths PhD role](https://work.mercor.com/jobs/list_AAABoYr34sDSXamCPtFMIrdv/mathematics-domain-expert) on 8 November 2026. Its standing pools give historical ranges instead: past listings paid $60 to $180 an hour in medicine, $70 to $150 in software engineering, $60 to $150 in law and about $40 to $75 in maths. It cites an average of over $95 an hour.

**Outlier** shows the rate per project and does not publish a general rate card. Its own pages showed examples on 8 November 2026 of up to $15 an hour (English writing), up to $27.50 (coding, including its India page) and up to $50 (biology, and an [agent-builder role](https://outlier.ai/coding/oc-hcc-3r9p) open in eight countries including the US and UK), per its [About page](https://outlier.ai/about-us).

These figures cover different jobs, countries and seniority, so they do not show which platform pays a given person more.

## Getting paid

Both pay weekly. **Mercor** pays through Stripe Connect, or Wise in a few countries, with a 7-day hold on your first Stripe payout. **Outlier** pays every Tuesday by PayPal, Airtm or ACH bank transfer.

## Steady work

Neither guarantees hours. Mercor contracts are tied to client projects that start and stop: in late 2025, Futurism reported, it moved about 5,000 workers to a project paying $16 an hour instead of $21. Some Outlier reviewers report gaps between projects and sudden deactivations (dated examples on the [Outlier check](https://bestdataannotationjobs.com/is-outlier-legit/#what-workers-complain-about)).

Both have legal issues to know about. Mercor disclosed a data breach in March 2026 and faces a proposed misclassification class action in Texas; as of 8 November 2026 we found no ruling on its request to move that case to arbitration. Scale AI, which runs Outlier, agreed a $12.5 million California misclassification settlement and denies violating any laws; its final approval hearing was set for 30 October 2026, and we could not confirm the result as of 8 November.

Apply on Mercor's official site: https://www.mercor.com
Apply on Outlier's official site: https://outlier.ai

## Related

- [Is Mercor legit?](https://bestdataannotationjobs.com/is-mercor-legit/)
- [Is Outlier legit?](https://bestdataannotationjobs.com/is-outlier-legit/)
- [Outlier vs DataAnnotation](https://bestdataannotationjobs.com/outlier-vs-dataannotation/)
- [AI training jobs for coders](https://bestdataannotationjobs.com/ai-training-jobs-for-coders/)
- [Best data annotation jobs, all platforms compared](https://bestdataannotationjobs.com/)

## Questions

### Is Mercor harder to get into than Outlier?
Neither publishes acceptance rates, so we cannot say. Their published requirements differ: Mercor asks for professional experience that fits each listing plus an AI interview, while Outlier's general minimum is an associate degree, ID and skill screenings, with extra rules on some projects.

### Which pays more, Mercor or Outlier?
There is no clear winner. Mercor's expert pools cite past listings of about $40 to $180 an hour by field, and Outlier's own pages show examples from up to $15 to up to $50 an hour by role and country. These are published ranges for different jobs, not actual earnings, so compare the rate for your own skill and country.

## Sources

- Mercor listing: Healthcare Professional: https://work.mercor.com/jobs/list_AAABoY6KKlFwa2GA4jxPrI7D/healthcare-professional
- Mercor listing: Software Engineering Expert: https://work.mercor.com/jobs/list_AAABoKOP6g9ZUjU9LdNBCqS7/software-engineering-expert
- Mercor listing: Legal Expert: https://work.mercor.com/jobs/list_AAABoKOQUds_uf4uJMtGK64s/legal-expert
- Mercor listing: Mathematics Expert: https://work.mercor.com/jobs/list_AAABoKMjug1fFXpwuDdIZ6TO/mathematics-expert
- Mercor listing: Mathematics Domain Expert (US), checked 8 Nov 2026: https://work.mercor.com/jobs/list_AAABoYr34sDSXamCPtFMIrdv/mathematics-domain-expert
- Mercor newsroom (founding, backers, average pay): https://www.mercor.com/newsroom/
- Mercor supported countries: https://talent.docs.mercor.com/policies/supported-countries.md
- Mercor time tracking and pay: https://talent.docs.mercor.com/policies/time-tracking-pay.md
- Mercor worker terms (updated 26 Aug 2026): https://mercor.com/worker-terms
- Mercor listing: Expert Model Trainer: https://work.mercor.com/jobs/list_AAABlRvLjyMZ_QjpNyhB6r5E/expert-model-trainer
- TechCrunch: Mercor after its data breach (9 Apr 2026): https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/09/after-data-breach-10b-valued-startup-mercor-is-having-a-month
- Law360: AI startup misclassified 30K workers, suit says (11 May 2026): https://www.law360.com/employment-authority/articles/2475907/ai-startup-misclassified-30k-workers-suit-says
- Futurism: Mercor project pay cut (Nov 2025): https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/mercor-meta-ai-labor
- Outlier FAQ (operator, degree, ID, weekly pay methods): https://outlier.ai/faq
- Outlier terms of use (contracting entities, effective 11 May 2026): https://outlier.ai/legal/terms-of-use
- Outlier coding page, India (up to $27.50/hr), checked 8 Nov 2026: https://outlier.ai/coding/code-quality/en-in
- Outlier About page (role rate examples), checked 8 Nov 2026: https://outlier.ai/about-us
- Outlier role: OpenClaw Agent Builder (up to $50/hr; AU, CA, FI, FR, IT, NO, UK, US), checked 8 Nov 2026: https://outlier.ai/coding/oc-hcc-3r9p
- Outlier community guidelines: https://outlier.ai/legal/community-guidelines
- King & Siegel: Scale AI $12.5M misclassification settlement (Aug 2026): https://www.kingsiegel.com/blog/scale-ai-misclassification-settlement-california-class-action/
- TechCrunch: second wage lawsuit against Scale AI (Jan 2025): https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/09/scale-ai-hit-by-its-second-employee-wage-lawsuit-in-less-than-a-month
- Remotasks home page: https://www.remotasks.com/en
- Rest of World: Remotasks closes in Kenya, Nigeria and Pakistan (Mar 2024): https://restofworld.org/2024/scale-ai-remotasks-banned-workers/
- McKinney v. Scale AI settlement administrator FAQ (hearing date, defendants' denial), checked 8 Nov 2026: https://www.mckinneyscaleaisettlement.com/faq
- PAGA filings list for Scale AI (30 Oct 2026 documents, posted 2 Nov 2026), checked 8 Nov 2026: https://pagasearch.com/case/scale-ai-inc--lwda-cm-1066361-24