Quick verdict
Mercor pays more on live listings: Claru $13/hr median (middle half $7 to $21, 60 distinct listed rates across 60 open listings) vs Mercor $75/hr median (middle half $50 to $100, 1,361 distinct listed rates across 1,404 open listings). Updated October 4, 2026. How we count.
Typical Pay (Median)
Mercor
$75/hr listed median · 500% higher
Faster Onboarding
Similar
Claru: Unknown (platform too new to have a first-hand onboarding report) Mercor: Varies (AI interview, then a client match)
Global Access
Limited to Specific Regions
Claru: Remote-first; most annotation/RLHF/review roles are open globally, while the video-capture gigs are geo-tiered by country (US $15/hr, Canada $10/hr, LATAM $6-7/hr, parts of Asia $5/hr) Mercor: 130+ countries via Stripe, plus Brazil, UAE, Nepal and Turkey via Wise
Trustpilot Score
Mercor
Claru: /5 Mercor: 4.5/5
The Case for Claru
Claru offers competitive rates with $10–$61/hr potential for generalists. Key strength: Backed by Reka AI, an existing frontier-model company. Primary user complaint: "Very new consumer-facing brand (scraped live for the first time 2026-09-20) with no third-party review history yet to check pay or payment claims against".
The Case for Mercor
Mercor offers higher pay with $75/hr potential for generalists. Key strength: Paid every Wednesday for the previous work week. Plan on a live interview: 98% of the Mercor listings we've tracked require one before you start (n=143). Most roles stay flexible: only 4% of listings (n=554) demand a full 35+ hour week. Contract length varies by domain: Business averages 3 weeks (n=31), while Languages runs closer to 23.5 weeks (n=64).
| Metric | Claru | Mercor |
|---|---|---|
| Typical Pay (Median) | $10/hr
Generalist median: $10/hr
Specialist median: $61/hr
| $75/hr
Generalist median: $75/hr
Specialist median: $75/hr
|
| Payment Schedule | Contract, paid via direct deposit (US) or international transfer (Wise/Payoneer) elsewhere; capture gigs are bi-weekly, annotation/review roles unspecified at listing level | Weekly, every Wednesday (Stripe or Wise) |
| Geo Accessibility | Remote-first; most annotation/RLHF/review roles are open globally, while the video-capture gigs are geo-tiered by country (US $15/hr, Canada $10/hr, LATAM $6-7/hr, parts of Asia $5/hr) | 130+ countries via Stripe, plus Brazil, UAE, Nepal and Turkey via Wise |
| Onboarding Speed | Unknown (platform too new to have a first-hand onboarding report) | Varies (AI interview, then a client match) |
| Top User Complaint | "Very new consumer-facing brand (scraped live for the first time 2026-09-20) with no third-party review history yet to check pay or payment claims against" | "Strict activity tracking" |
| Trustpilot Rating | /5 | 4.5/5 |
| Interview Required (from listings) | Not enough tracked listings yet | 98% (n=143) |
| Typical Contract Length (from listings) | Not enough tracked listings yet | 3–23.5 weeks (n=121) |
| Full-Time Commitment (35+ hrs/wk, from listings) | Not enough tracked listings yet | 4% (n=554) |
Interview, hours, contract-length, and timezone figures come directly from live job listings we track and manually verify, not platform marketing copy.
Claru
Claru is the annotation and data-capture brand of Reka AI. Live listings split into two tracks: flat-rate first-person video capture ($5-$15/hr, set by country) for everyday household, garage and garden footage, and $20-$100/hr annotation, RLHF and expert-review roles spanning code, law, physics and medical imaging. Every listing shows its hourly rate, pay is bi-weekly via Wise, Payoneer or bank transfer, and applications are reviewed within 3 to 5 business days. There's no independent review history yet.
- ✓ Backed by Reka AI, an existing frontier-model company
- ✓ Wide role spread from no-experience video capture to $55-$100/hr expert work
- ✓ Every listing shows its pay rate before you apply
Current Openings
3 latest listings from claru
Virtual Environment Tester
Gaming AI Feedback Specialist
Gameplay Annotation Specialist
Mercor
Mercor hires professionals as contractors to train and evaluate AI models, with more open roles than any other platform we track. Fields run from law, medicine and finance to software, STEM and languages, and listed hourly rates have a $75 median. You apply with one AI interview and a one-time Persona ID check, and pay lands every Wednesday via Stripe or Wise.
- ✓ Paid every Wednesday for the previous work week
- ✓ More open roles than any other platform we track
- ✓ Homepage states an average contracted rate of $109/hr
💬 User Feedback
"Mercor was my first experience with training AI and working intensely in a remote setting. I've been around for six months plus and while nothing is perfect, Mercor is darned close. I've met some amazing colleagues and learned a tremendous amount about AI."
– Steven W. • Jan 22
"Out of all the AI training companies I've worked for, Mercor has the highest pay rates and the most available projects. Even though it can take a while to get accepted into a project, it's definitely worth the wait."
– B Maly • Jan 20
Current Openings
3 latest listings from Mercor
Multimodal Image Expert
Task Writer: Project Agentic-MME
Baseball Fan – Live MLB Game AI Evaluator (US)
Claru vs Mercor: common questions
- Which pays more, Claru or Mercor?
- Mercor pays more on live listings: Claru $13/hr median (middle half $7 to $21, 60 distinct listed rates across 60 open listings) vs Mercor $75/hr median (middle half $50 to $100, 1,361 distinct listed rates across 1,404 open listings). Updated October 4, 2026.
- Which is easier to start, Claru or Mercor?
- Onboarding time is similar. Claru: Unknown (platform too new to have a first-hand onboarding report). Mercor: Varies (AI interview, then a client match). Claru has no interview-rate data yet; 98% of Mercor's 143 tracked listings require an interview.
- Can I work on both Claru and Mercor?
- Yes. Both are independent-contractor platforms with separate accounts and separate payouts (Claru: Contract, paid via direct deposit (US) or international transfer (Wise/Payoneer) elsewhere; capture gigs are bi-weekly, annotation/review roles unspecified at listing level; Mercor: Weekly, every Wednesday (Stripe or Wise)). Exclusivity, where it exists, is set per project in the agreement you sign, so check each project's terms before overlapping hours.
Both platforms are legitimate and widely used. The best choice depends on your background, goals, and location.