Mercor review: is it legit, and who gets accepted?
Yes. Mercor is a real, funded company that pays experts by the hour in US dollars, weekly through Stripe or Wise. It suits licensed doctors, lawyers and STEM researchers. Projects can end early, and it reported a data breach in March 2026. Canada isn't confirmed: listings can restrict by country.
Last verified by the CredentialWork team
Our verdict
LegitLegit and pays weekly, but projects can end early.
Best for: Medicine · Law · STEM research
Who is Mercor best for?
Best for
- US-licensed physicians
- US-licensed attorneys
- STEM researchers with an MSc or PhD
- People who can log every hour in a time tracker
Not for
- Anyone who needs steady weekly hours
- Doctors and lawyers outside the US, for now
- Anyone whose contract restricts outside work
What is applying like?
It starts with a profile and a short AI interview. You upload a resume, then an AI interviewer asks role-specific questions for about 20 minutes. A free practice interview doesn't count.
Assessments are a main way in. Mercor says passing one assessment can qualify you for several roles.
Your offer sets the terms. It shows your hourly rate and a weekly hours cap. Before starting you sign the documents, submit a tax form and install Insightful, the required time tracker. Untracked hours aren't paid.
Pros and watch-outs
Pros
- Your hourly rate is in your offer, in US$
- Pays weekly through Stripe or Wise
- Free practice AI interview
- Real, funded company
Watch-outs
- Projects can end early
- March 2026 data breach and class actions
- Most doctor and lawyer roles are US-only
- Stripe holds your first payout for 7 days
How to spot a fake Mercor recruiter
- Real work happens on mercor.com and work.mercor.com only.
- Never pay a fee, buy equipment or send crypto to get work.
- Unsure about a message? Log in on the official site and check there.
Report a scam: ReportFraud.ftc.gov (US) · Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
Open roles on Mercor
341 open roles on Mercor in our listings, checked every morning.
See the Mercor rolesIs Mercor legit?
Yes. It's a real, funded company that pays experts weekly through Stripe or Wise. It also reported a data breach in March 2026, and class actions over the breach and over worker classification are pending. Apply only through mercor.com or work.mercor.com. See the dated log.
What has happened at Mercor?
Full reliability trackerDated events that affect workers, newest first. Each one links to its source.
-
2026-05-20 Lawsuit
A federal court in Northern California consolidated the class actions filed over the breach. These are allegations, not findings.
-
2026-05-08 Lawsuit
A contractor filed a putative class action in Texas alleging worker misclassification. Mercor has moved to compel arbitration. Allegations, not findings.
-
2026-03 Breach
Mercor reported unauthorized access to its systems from March 24 to 30, 2026, and offered affected people 24 months of credit monitoring.
-
2025-10-27 Funding
Mercor announced a US$350M Series C at a US$10B valuation.
Questions people ask
How much does Mercor pay?
Your rate is in your offer. Open listings we read on 2026-10-21 showed about US$100 to 250 an hour for physician roles and US$60 to 150 for lawyer roles. Listed rates are not guaranteed earnings.
Can Canadians work on Mercor?
Mercor accepts non-US contractors, who file a W-8BEN, but each listing can restrict by country. On 2026-10-22, none of the doctor or lawyer roles we counted were open to Canada.
When does Mercor pay?
Hourly pay is released every Wednesday around 12:00 PM PST for the previous work week, which runs Saturday to Friday on India Standard Time. Stripe holds your first payout for 7 days.
What is the Mercor AI interview?
An AI interviewer asks role-specific questions and scores your answers. Most interviews take about 20 minutes, and there's a free practice interview that doesn't count.
Was Mercor hacked?
Mercor reported unauthorized access to its systems from March 24 to 30, 2026, and offered credit monitoring. Class actions followed and were consolidated in federal court. These are allegations, not findings.
Alternatives worth comparing
| Platform | Strong for | Advertised pay | Canada | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| micro1 | Physician and law roles | Not shown here | Unverified | Unverified |
| Handshake AI | Medicine and law expert roles | US$17 to 125/hrVerified | Unresolved | |
| Outlier | ML/AI | Up to US$150/hrVerified | Yes | |
| DataAnnotation | Law, finance and medicine roles | US$40 to 125+/hrVerified | Unverified |
The Monday brief
Opt in to one email on Mondays listing new open roles that match the field you choose. Role matches only, nothing else.
Ready to apply?
Sources
- Mercor talent docs: Payments. talent.docs.mercor.com, checked 2026-10-22
- Mercor talent docs: Time tracking and pay policies. talent.docs.mercor.com, checked 2026-10-22
- Mercor talent docs: Contracts. talent.docs.mercor.com, checked 2026-10-22
- Mercor talent docs: AI interview. talent.docs.mercor.com, checked 2026-10-22
- Mercor talent docs: Assessments. talent.docs.mercor.com, checked 2026-10-22
- Mercor talent docs: Background check. talent.docs.mercor.com, checked 2026-10-22
- Mercor talent docs: Project offboarding. talent.docs.mercor.com, checked 2026-10-22
- Mercor talent docs: Taxes and work authorization. talent.docs.mercor.com, checked 2026-10-22
- Mercor talent docs: Referral terms and conditions. talent.docs.mercor.com, checked 2026-10-24
- Mercor job listings (logged-out page reads), work.mercor.com. work.mercor.com, checked 2026-10-21
- Mercor blog: Series C, 2025-10-27. www.mercor.com, checked 2026-10-22
- Massachusetts data breach notice, Mercor.io Corporation (2026-1030). www.mass.gov, checked 2026-10-21
- WSJ: Workers sue $10 billion AI startup for collecting and exposing personal data (paywall). www.wsj.com, checked 2026-10-22
- Gill v. Mercor.io Corp., No. 3:26-cv-02831 (N.D. Cal.), docket. www.pacermonitor.com, checked 2026-10-22
- White v. Mercor.io Corp., No. 6:26-cv-00201 (N.D. Tex.), docket. www.pacermonitor.com, checked 2026-10-22
- Trustpilot: Mercor reviews (search extract, page not loaded directly). www.trustpilot.com, checked 2026-10-21
Who checked this page
The CredentialWork team checked every fact against Mercor's public docs and listings, or a dated outside source. AI tools help gather sources; a person checks every fact before it's published.