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Head to head · 2026-08-27

AfterQuery vs Mercor: what each one actually pays

AfterQuery advertises a median top rate of $100/hr across 62 distinct advertised rates; Mercor advertises a median top rate of $85/hr across 140 distinct advertised rates. Read from each platform's own listings on 2026-08-27.

AfterQuery

median top rate
$100/hr
typical band
$75–$150/hr
highest rate
$250/hr
distinct rates
62
live roles
154

Mercor

median top rate
$85/hr
typical band
$54–$135/hr
highest rate
$250/hr
distinct rates
140
live roles
444

What the figures leave out

  • AfterQuery: 154 live listings tracked. 2 publish no pay at all.
  • Mercor: 444 live listings tracked. 12 pay per task and are never converted to hourly. 6 publish no pay at all.

What AfterQuery hires for

Most country-specific roles: United States · 152 worldwide-remote

What Mercor hires for

Most country-specific roles: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands · 77 worldwide-remote

Best-paid live roles on each

AfterQuery

Mercor

Which suits you

  • ▪ On advertised pay alone, AfterQuery is ahead: $100/hr median against $85/hr, from 62 and 140 distinct rates respectively.
  • ▪ On volume, Mercor has more live roles right now (444 vs 154), which matters more than a headline rate if you need a queue that stays full.
  • ▪ Rates here are what platforms advertise, not what you will earn: task availability, unpaid onboarding and review time all cut the effective hourly. How we measure.

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