Mercor has 181 open roles here to SME Careers’ 193. Mercor screens with one AI interview of about 20 minutes and pays on Wednesdays through Stripe. SME Careers asks for a CV and a recorded AI video interview of about 15 minutes, then a review by its team. It pays weekly through Deel.
The pay figures mean different things. Mercor states a rate on each role, while every SME figure is a maximum. Many SME roles pay a different maximum in each country. Both platforms pay this site a referral fee if you are hired through our link, and your pay is unaffected.
Mercor and SME Careers side by side
| Mercor | SME Careers | |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles here | 181 | 193 |
| Hourly pay as stated | $15–350 | Up to $150 an hour; every figure is a maximum |
| Median hourly ceiling | $95 | $65 |
| Run by | Mercor | SuperAnnotate’s network of subject matter experts |
| Screening | Resume, role assessments, one AI interview (about 20 minutes, up to 3 retakes) | Application, recorded AI interview (about 15 minutes, best on a desktop), review by SME’s team |
| Time to hear back | No general time frame; shown per role after you submit | Grading in 1 to 2 business days, per SME; no fixed timeline after that |
| Contract | Contractor agreement per project | Contract and identity check through Deel; Discord account linked |
| Paid | Weekly, Wednesdays, via Stripe (Wise where Stripe is unavailable) | Weekly through Deel, typically 1 to 3 days after submission |
| Where | Set per role, within Mercor’s list of supported countries | Each role names its countries, and many pay a different maximum per country |
The work
Both platforms hire remote contractors for AI training and evaluation, and both lean toward people with a professional or academic background. Mercor’s open roles are spread across engineers (28), generalists (12), bilingual speakers (13), business and operations (16) and software engineers (16), among others.
SME Careers describes itself as a network of subject matter experts in medicine, law, engineering, languages and other fields. Its board here is weighted toward bilingual speakers (66 roles) and software engineers (37). Behind them come engineers (15), researchers and academics (12) and doctors and clinicians (11). Many of its postings ask for a bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience, and some ask for experience in AI training work.
SME work happens inside each project’s own tools, such as SuperAnnotate’s platform, and a project’s Discord channel is its hub. Most projects start with a paid training period that SME calls bootcamp, scored against the project’s quality bar. Not passing ends that project but not your place on the platform.
The pay
A Mercor role states a rate, and across its hourly roles those run $15–350 with a median ceiling of $95. 4 Mercor roles pay per task or per session instead.
Every SME rate is a maximum. The highest on the board is up to $150 an hour and the median ceiling is $65. Some applicants are asked for the hourly rate they expect, and what a project pays below its maximum is not stated publicly. Many roles also pay a different maximum in each country.
Each SME role page here lists every country’s figure as SME states it. Check the figure for the country you work from rather than the headline.
Neither platform promises hours. A listed rate is not promised income, and SME says directly that onboarding does not guarantee a placement and that invitations depend on client demand.
Getting in
Mercor’s process is the same for every role: resume, whatever assessments the role asks for, work-authorisation verification, then one AI interview. There is no human-interview option. You can retake up to three times in total across all your applications, and Mercor gives no general time to an answer. How a Mercor application is put together covers what carries over between applications.
SME starts with an application: a CV as a PDF of 5 MB or less, or your education and work history typed in. It also asks for your languages and your country. Your country must be one Deel can pay. Most roles then ask for a recorded AI interview of about 15 minutes, best taken on a desktop computer. SME says automated tools produce a summary and a first assessment, and people make the final decision.
Grading usually takes 1 to 2 business days, and one retake may be offered if you do not pass. Passing qualifies you for the role. SME’s team then reviews your profile and CV and may invite you to a short call. If screening succeeds, it invites you to onboard with a contract and identity check through Deel and a linked Discord account.
Staying in and how pay arrives
Mercor pays weekly on Wednesdays through Stripe, or Wise where Stripe is unavailable. Its hourly contracts are tracked, and hours the tracker does not capture are not eligible for payment. The Mercor pay week and which hours get paid explain the cutoff and disputes. You can hold more than one Mercor hourly contract if each project lead knows your availability.
SME pays approved work weekly through Deel, for work done Monday to Sunday. It says a payout typically arrives 1 to 3 days after it is submitted. On hourly projects the time is recorded in a desktop app called Insightful, and only active time is paid. Idle time and time on non-work sites are not. Random checks can review screenshots, screen recordings and the sites you visited while tracking.
Both platforms can leave an accepted contractor without work between projects, and neither says how many hours a week to expect.
The same professions on both
11 professions have at least 3 open roles on both Mercor and SME Careers 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 | Mercor | SME Careers |
|---|---|---|
| Bilingual speakers | 13 roles, $30–50 | 66 roles, up to $60 |
| Software engineers | 16 roles, $55–250 | 37 roles, up to $110 |
| Engineers | 28 roles, $45–200 | 15 roles, up to $105 |
| Doctors and clinicians | 12 roles, $55–300 | 11 roles, up to $150 |
| Business and operations specialists | 16 roles, $40–150 | 4 roles, up to $85 |
| Life scientists | 11 roles, $60–140 | 6 roles, up to $90 |
| Researchers and academics | 4 roles, $45–120 | 12 roles, up to $110 |
| Accountants and finance experts | 7 roles, $60–180 | 9 roles, up to $100 |
| Lawyers | 8 roles, $60–180 | 7 roles, up to $120 |
| Marketing professionals | 3 roles, $60–120 | 5 roles, up to $70 |
| Machine learning engineers | 4 roles, $70–250 | 3 roles, up to $120 |
Open roles on each
Best-paid Mercor roles open now
The 3 highest-paid of 181 open Mercor roles this site lists today, with the pay each posting states.
Best-paid SME Careers roles open now
The 3 highest-paid of 192 open SME Careers roles this site lists today, with the pay each posting states.
Which one
Mercor suits a professional who wants a stated rate on the role before applying and can wait without a stated timeline. It also suits someone who will sit a single AI interview that serves every application. Read the role’s own eligibility line, and check that your country is on Mercor’s supported list.
SME Careers suits a subject matter expert, and particularly a bilingual speaker, who wants a quick grading turnaround. Expect a recorded interview, tracked active time and rates that are maximums. Its country-by-country maximums mean the figure that matters is the one for the place you live.
Browse by background to see what is open on each:
- Software and engineering: software engineers (16 on Mercor, 37 on SME) and engineers (28 on Mercor, 15 on SME)
- Languages: bilingual speakers (13 on Mercor, 66 on SME)
- Medicine and law: doctors and clinicians (12 on Mercor, 11 on SME) and lawyers (8 on Mercor, 7 on SME)
Or see every role on each platform: Mercor roles and SME Careers roles. Platform details are on the Mercor page and the SME Careers page, and the Mercor guide goes deeper on that platform.
Mercor pays this site a referral fee if you are hired through our link. SME Careers pays this site a share of what you earn if you are hired through our link and start paid work. Your pay is unaffected on both.
Red Pen Jobs is independent. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for Mercor, SME Careers or SuperAnnotate in any way. We do not recruit on their behalf.