MercorCoding & software eval
Builders & Developers: Share Your AI Coding Sessions
$200/task
About this role, in Mercor's words
Mercor is partnering with a leading AI research organization to understand how people build with AI coding assistants. We're looking for builders with their own projects, from experienced developers to non-coders who build with AI, to do their normal work in OpenCode, a terminal-based coding assistant, while each session is recorded.
What you'll do
- Build or improve your own real project using the open-weight and Gemini models we provide
- Choose which model to use for each task, and switch whenever you naturally would
- Use one chat per task
Candidate background
Ideal Qualifications
- Actively building a real project (side project, startup, app, or LLM-powered feature)
- Uses AI tools to build, such as Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, Cline, Replit, or Lovable
- Comfortable following simple terminal setup steps on Mac or Linux
- Professional coding experience is welcome but not required; non-coders who build with AI are encouraged to apply
Quoted from selected sections of Mercor's posting. The full posting may state other conditions. Read the full posting
A closer look
More context, when you need it.
Full job descriptionThe original posting, in Mercor's words
Posted by Mercor, reproduced here so you can judge the role before clicking. Original posting ↗
Role Overview
Mercor is partnering with a leading AI research organization to understand how people build with AI coding assistants. We're looking for builders with their own projects, from experienced developers to non-coders who build with AI, to do their normal work in OpenCode, a terminal-based coding assistant, while each session is recorded.
What You'll Do
• Build or improve your own real project using the open-weight and Gemini models we provide
• Choose which model to use for each task, and switch whenever you naturally would
• Use one chat per task
Ideal Qualifications
• Actively building a real project (side project, startup, app, or LLM-powered feature)
• Uses AI tools to build, such as Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, Cline, Replit, or Lovable
• Comfortable following simple terminal setup steps on Mac or Linux
• Professional coding experience is welcome but not required; non-coders who build with AI are encouraged to apply
Project Details
• Remote, flexible schedule
• $200 per accepted session (about 50 turns, typically 2–3 hours of active work)
• Start: immediate
Working with MercorPay, getting started and work, from Mercor's own pages
What the platform publishes in general. These are not extra terms confirmed for this particular role.
- Getting paid
- Hourly work is paid every Wednesday for the previous week, through Stripe Connect or Wise, whichever Mercor assigns to your region. Stripe holds the first payout for 7 days. talent.docs.mercor.com/how-to/payments, talent.docs.mercor.com/policies/contracts
- Before your first paid task
- An AI interview of about 20 minutes, reused for other roles that need it, then any assessments the role asks for. Before logging hours: ID verification through Persona, a tax form, the contract documents, the Insightful time tracker, and a background check the onboarding guide says usually takes one to two weeks. talent.docs.mercor.com/support/ai-interview, talent.docs.mercor.com/how-to/apply, talent.docs.mercor.com/policies/contracts, talent.docs.mercor.com/how-to/id-verification, talent.docs.mercor.com/working/project-onboarding
- How much work
- Hearing back after the AI interview usually takes 2 to 4 weeks. When a project ends you are not moved to a new one automatically. talent.docs.mercor.com/support/ai-interview, talent.docs.mercor.com/support/project
- Contract
- Independent contractor with Mercor.io Corporation of San Francisco, which deducts no taxes. talent.docs.mercor.com/policies/taxes-work-authorization, talent.docs.mercor.com/support/legal
Read on the pages linked above on 23 Sep 2026. Platforms change these terms, so check the linked page before you rely on one.
Alex's experience on MercorA personal account, not a promise about your project
Alexruns this site and has worked on Mercor himself. Written 31 Aug 2026.
- Every interview I took used an AI interviewer. They always checked my microphone and camera and asked me to share my screen, and some included a timed exercise of around 25 minutes.
- Many later applications needed no new interview from me. With the required assessments complete and no other outstanding steps, applying could be close to one click.
- The application I checked did not ask for a rate. My offer matched my minimum in Work Preferences. That does not establish that Mercor always caps higher offers at your preference.
- Onboarding and setup came to about 4 hours, with more security and tool setup. Of the three platforms I worked on, it was the most complicated for me. That is an estimate from my projects, not a platform average.
- Mercor required the Insightful tracker on my project. I observed app and website usage monitoring, and I am unsure which screenshot settings applied, so check the configuration.
- I was paid for hours logged, once every 14 days, and I have not experienced late or incorrect payments. That was my arrangement. Mercor's current documentation describes weekly payout cycles, so check your own offer.
One person's applications, not a promise about yours.
What happens after you apply, first-handHow does the pay compare?Across Coding & software eval roles, not this role alone
From our own daily reads of every open listing on the platforms we follow, not from Mercor's posting. How we count.
Pay across the field: Coding & software eval
Across 394 roles in this field with a stated hourly rate in US dollars, on 14 platforms, the middle half pays $65 to $120 an hour at the top of the range, and the median is $95.
| Platform | Roles | Top of range, per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Alignerr | 137 | $50 to $400 · median $100 |
| micro1 | 46 | $35 to $350 · median $110 |
| Handshake AI | 43 | $47 to $125 · median $80 |
| Meridial (Invisible) | 34 | $22 to $150 · median $60 |
| Mercor (this platform) | 33 | $60 to $200 · median $105 |
Sources and listing historyWhere this information comes from
This listing's history
- First seen here on 7 Oct 2026, and still on Mercor's list when we last read it on 13 Oct 2026.
- Listed pay changed on 8 Oct 2026: $500/task before, $200/task after.
A change can also be a correction to how we read Mercor's feed. The figure at the top of this page is always the latest read.
- Posted by Mercor
- First seen by AIPayList
- Last seen live
- Listing ID
- list_AAABoRiaKGOq5ceLrrpLR6zE
Pay as the source states it: “200 USD HOUR”.
Platforms sometimes change a rate after posting. Every listing here is re-read at least once a day and corrected when its source moves, so a difference you see on the platform is usually a change made since the last read. How freshness works.
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