micro1 suits people who want pay twice a month and can give 15 to 20 hours a week. Mercor suits people who want weekly pay and a weekly cap set per contract. Both screen with one AI interview and use contractors with no guaranteed hours. From each platform’s own pages, read 6 November 2026.
micro1 and Mercor side by side
| micro1 | Mercor | |
|---|---|---|
| Operator | micro1, Inc., San Francisco | Mercor.io Corporation, San Francisco |
| How you apply | Application, then a recorded AI voice interview with Zara, 20 to 40 minutes | Resume, any role assessments, work-authorisation check, then an AI interview of about 20 minutes |
| Stated pay | $6–400 an hour across hourly roles; median ceiling $90 | $15–350 an hour across hourly roles; median ceiling $95 |
| How and when paid | Twice a month in US dollars through Deel, around the 20th and the 5th | Weekly, Wednesdays, through Stripe or Wise |
| Who can apply | No country list published; each posting can set its own rule | Mercor’s list of 107 supported countries, plus any limit a role sets |
| Contractor status | Independent contractor; you handle your own taxes | Contractor; Mercor deducts no tax |
| Fees | Its introduction mentions none | Standard Stripe payouts are free; instant payouts carry a 1.0% fee |
Every pay figure comes from the live postings, checked each morning. The process rows come from each platform’s own pages.
Which pays more, micro1 or Mercor?
Of micro1’s 317 open roles on this site, hourly pay spans $6–400, and half sit between $60 and $120. Mercor’s 181 roles span $15–350, with half between $65 and $130. Mercor also has 4 roles paid per task or session, left out of those spans.
Neither platform publishes what a typical worker earns. Both pay only for approved or tracked work. The pay depends on the role, so compare the two postings you would take.
Which is easier to get into?
Neither publishes an acceptance rate. micro1’s interview is a recorded conversation with Zara, at about 7 minutes per skill. A recruiter reviews it within about 48 hours, and a hiring manager can take up to 30 days. If you do not qualify, you can ask for feedback. Our micro1 interview guide covers it.
Mercor asks for more before the interview and has no human alternative. You can retake the AI interview up to three times. Mercor gives no feedback on individual applications and no general time to a decision. See the Mercor interview guide.
Who is each one for?
Both hire people for what they already know. On micro1 the biggest groups open here are lawyers (44 roles), business and operations (31), doctors and clinicians (22) and software engineers (25). On Mercor they are engineers (28), voice and audio recorders (11), business and operations (16) and life scientists (11).
micro1 says it expects about 15 to 20 hours a week and that you can keep your day job. Mercor sets a weekly maximum per contract with no minimum, and its contract policy names no exclusivity rule. You can hold both.
micro1 states 41,162 openings across its roles here, and Mercor states 103,565. Those are the platforms’ own figures.
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 | 44 roles, $25–400 | 8 roles, $60–180 |
| Generalists | 36 roles, $8–285 | 12 roles, $30–110 |
| Business and operations specialists | 31 roles, $10–170 | 16 roles, $40–150 |
| Engineers | 19 roles, $20–170 | 28 roles, $45–200 |
| Software engineers | 25 roles, $20–200 | 16 roles, $55–250 |
| Doctors and clinicians | 22 roles, $45–285 | 12 roles, $55–300 |
| Bilingual speakers | 16 roles, $30–65 | 13 roles, $30–50 |
| Accountants and finance experts | 16 roles, $20–300 | 7 roles, $60–180 |
| Researchers and academics | 18 roles, $30–120 | 4 roles, $45–120 |
| Life scientists | 10 roles, $45–120 | 11 roles, $60–140 |
| Voice and audio recorders | 5 roles, $20–70 | 11 roles, $15–100 |
| Medical coders and auditors | 10 roles, $50–70 | 3 roles, $60–190 |
| Machine learning engineers | 8 roles, $30–285 | 4 roles, $70–250 |
| Writers and editors | 5 roles, $10–120 | 3 roles, $80 |
| Sales and CRM specialists | 3 roles, $40–100 | 4 roles, $60–110 |
How and when does each pay?
micro1 pays through Deel. Work from the 1st to the 15th is paid around the 20th, and the rest of the month around the 5th. Before the first payment it asks for a background check, an ID check with a selfie and a Deel identity check.
Mercor pays each week’s hours the following Wednesday. Stripe holds a first payout for 7 days. Bonuses and work-trial pay follow a separate schedule.
Is either one a scam?
Both are run by named San Francisco companies. micro1’s privacy notice names micro1, Inc. Mercor’s terms name Mercor.io Corporation.
micro1 can end its agreement immediately on written notice, and you must give 5 business days. micro1 says the recorded interview is reviewed by people, and its privacy notice describes what it keeps. Mercor said a security incident began in late March 2026 and affected a very small subset of its experts.
Read each in full: Is micro1 legit and Is Mercor legit.
How this site is paid
If you are hired through micro1 after applying from a link here and complete 10 hours, micro1 pays this site a referral fee. If you are hired through Mercor after applying from a link here, Mercor pays this site a referral fee. Your pay is unaffected.
See what is open: micro1 roles and Mercor roles.
Best-paid micro1 roles open now
The 3 highest-paid of 316 open micro1 roles this site lists today, with the pay each posting states.
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.
What neither publishes
- An acceptance rate.
- How many hours of work a hired person can expect.
- What a typical worker earns.
- Whether a project will still be running next month.
This site is not affiliated with micro1 or Mercor, and passing either interview is not a promise of work.