Which pays more, Braintrust or Mercor?

Mercor advertises more: a median top rate of $100/hr against $85/hr at Braintrust. These are the rates in open listings (23 on Braintrust, 262 on Mercor), not earnings; each platform sets individual pay after you apply.

Which has more open roles, Braintrust or Mercor?

Mercor has more open roles: 297 against 52 on Braintrust. Counts are refreshed daily from each platform's public listings.

How is applying to Braintrust different from Mercor?

Braintrust: You apply with a Braintrust profile; accepted work is contracted and paid through the platform. Mercor: Expect an AI-led interview of 45–90 minutes, the longest of the major platforms. Most applicants are rejected; if you pass, work comes in intensive 2–8 week engagements.

Braintrust vs Mercor

Two AI-training platforms side by side, from the roles they have open today and what we know about how each hires and pays. Numbers refresh daily.

Mercor advertises more: a median top rate of $100/hr against $85/hr at Braintrust.
Mercor has more open roles: 297 against 52 on Braintrust.
Mercor is open to more places: 65% of its roles name no country restriction, against 2%.

Side by side

	Braintrust	Mercor
Open roles	52	297
Median top rate	$85/hr	$100/hr
Middle half of rates	$21/hr – $94/hr	$65/hr – $120/hr
Highest advertised	$150/hr	$450/hr
Open worldwide	2% of roles	65% of roles
Hires most for	Languages & translation, Miscellaneous, General (no specialty)	Science & research, Software engineering, Medicine & healthcare
Kinds of work	—	—
After you apply	You apply with a Braintrust profile; accepted work is contracted and paid through the platform.	Expect an AI-led interview of 45–90 minutes, the longest of the major platforms. Most applicants are rejected; if you pass, work comes in intensive 2–8 week engagements.
How it pays	Through the Braintrust platform	Weekly via Stripe

Rates are what open listings advertise (median of the top of each range), not earnings. How we measure pay

Braintrust

Freelance marketplace carrying AI-training projects from Outlier, DataMundi and a leading AI lab.

Braintrust jobs and pay →Read our review

Mercor

Frontier-lab SME placement at the highest pay tier in the market ($80–$200+/hr).

Mercor jobs and pay →Read our review