Mercor review for finance professionals

Last updated: October 21, 2026

Mercor has the largest choice of finance roles of any AI training platform. Finance roles have a median of ~$100/h (range $40-$210/h), and Mercor pays weekly through Stripe or Wise in 107 countries. It suits experienced professionals in fields such as investment, accounting and financial analysis. Projects start and end often, so many people combine multiple projects on different platforms.

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What is Mercor?

Mercor is a San Francisco company that connects AI labs with professionals, such as bankers, accountants, lawyers and doctors, who create and check AI training data. Brendan Foody, Adarsh Hiremath and Surya Midha founded it. In October 2025 it raised $350 million at a $10 billion valuation. In July 2026 Bloomberg reported that Mercor was in talks to raise money at a $20 billion valuation. It reportedly works with major AI labs, but doesn't name them on its finance page.

How does Mercor score for finance?

Our experience with Mercor

One of our team members has worked on four Mercor projects, one of them full time for four months, and was promoted to reviewer along the way. Below we share what that was like, from getting placed to getting paid.

How long did it take to get work?

It varied. The first, smaller project came about a week after sign-up. The project our team member worked on longest, full time, started a few months later. Our team member was placed without a work trial, while some people who joined later did a trial first.

What is the AI interview like?

It is short. Our team member's interview took about 15 minutes, and Mercor says most take around 20. The AI interviewer asks follow-up questions based on your answers. Some interviews ask you to share your screen, so read beforehand whether you need to prepare anything or show something.

How did onboarding go?

Each project had a detailed onboarding guide that explained every step. There was some software to install, and sometimes a wait of 24 to 48 hours before access to a tool or channel was approved. Some projects pay for onboarding time and others don't. Projects expect you to need time to settle in. After your first tasks you get written feedback from a reviewer, who is there to help you get better.

What was the work like?

Most of the work was reviewing and rating AI answers against several criteria. Those answers can be text, but also files such as financial models or presentations. Some projects also involved writing your own prompts. On one project our team member was promoted to reviewer, checking other experts' work and giving written feedback. Reviewers get feedback themselves from senior reviewers.

How flexible are the hours?

Very flexible. Each project sets its own weekly minimum and maximum, for example at least 15 and up to 40 hours a week. You choose when you work. In weeks with less available work, the minimum requirement was dropped. In a weekly check-in you say whether you want more hours on your project or extra work on other projects.

How does pay work?

Most work is paid by the hour. Some projects pay per task instead, and each task has to be approved before it is paid. On our team member's hourly contracts, pay arrived every week, always on time, and the logged hours were always approved in full. Mercor picks the payout service based on your country. That is Stripe in most countries and Wise where Stripe doesn't pay out. Hourly pay is released every Wednesday.

What is the time tracker like?

Mercor uses Insightful for hourly work. You start and pause the timer yourself. Some projects have separate timers for different kinds of work, such as admin, evaluating and reviewing. Insightful records which apps and websites you use and your active and idle time, and it takes screenshots now and then. In practice you barely notice it while working. You can see your own data, such as time per app and how productive you were.

How quickly do you get answers?

Usually quickly, in the shared Slack channels. People on a project work from many countries, so everyone's working day starts at a different time. In our team member's experience, there was always someone from management online to help. A reply from a specific person can still take a few hours, depending on their time zone and yours.

Why do people get removed from a project?

Using AI for the work is the most common reason. Other reasons are low speed or quality, not following the instructions, behavior issues in the communication channels and long periods of inactivity. You can let the team know when you are away, for example on holiday. For speed and quality you usually get a warning first.

How do projects end?

Often suddenly, and usually because the client needs less work. Contracts may first be paused, after which some people are taken off the project with "project constraints" as the reason. Team sizes can change fast. The project managers our team member worked with handled this politely and patiently.

Would we recommend it?

Yes, absolutely. Mercor pays well and on time, and you choose when and where you work. Because projects can pause, it works best as extra income or next to a second platform. In your first weeks, use the reviewer feedback to improve fast, and use the weekly check-in to ask for more work when your project slows down.

What finance roles does Mercor have, and what do they pay?

Mercor's own finance page lists:

Roles we've seen include Investment Banking Expert, Private Equity Expert, Equity Research Expert, Financial Analyst, Accounting and Audit Expert, Corporate Tax Expert (US only) and Insurance Domain Expert.

Typical requirements are 2 to 5 years of experience or more, often "at a recognized institution". CFA, CPA, ACCA, CA or FRM are preferred and rarely required. Each project sets its own hours, and some ask for a minimum of about 10 hours a week.

Which countries can join Mercor?

• Mercor accepts people in 107 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Every EU country is on the list, as are the UK, the US, Canada, India, Australia, Japan and Singapore. See the full list on Mercor's supported countries page.
• Most countries are paid through Stripe. Brazil, the UAE, Nepal and Turkey are paid through Wise.
• Mercor can't onboard people in a list of other countries, including Russia, China, Ukraine, Pakistan and Kenya.
• Many roles have their own country rules. Most tax roles are US only, and some FP&A roles are limited to the US and Canada or to the UK. One accounting and audit role was open to 17 countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, France and the UK.
• Since July 2026 Mercor blocks sign-ins through a VPN.

How do you get in?

1. Create a profile and upload your CV.
2. Fill in short assessment forms.
3. Do the AI video interview. Practice is unlimited and you get up to 3 official attempts.
4. If you're selected, you sometimes do a paid work trial of 4 to 6 hours. You get one work trial in total, so choose the role carefully.
5. You complete an ID check (Persona), sign the contract and get access to Slack, the task tools and the time tracker.

Decisions usually take a few hours to two weeks. Read How to apply, step by step.

How do you get paid?

• Pay for the previous work week is released every Wednesday around 12:00 Pacific time.
• A Stripe payout usually reaches your bank in 2 to 3 business days, or within about 30 minutes for a 1% fee. You can't choose the payout service.
• The first Stripe payout is held for 7 days.
• Contracts are in US dollars and are converted to your currency at payout.
• Mercor works only with individuals, not companies. The bank account must be in your own name, and you can't invoice through your own company.
• Mercor withholds no tax for non-US contractors, who sign a W-8BEN. You declare the income yourself.

What do users say?

• Positive: weekly pay on time, flexible hours, good rates for experts and helpful project managers.
• Negative: no feedback after a rejection, long waits for a first project and projects ending suddenly.

Mercor scores 4.5 out of 5 on Trustpilot, from about 1,200 reviews. Trustpilot notes that Mercor invites its users to leave a review. On Glassdoor it scores 4.2 out of 5 (October 2026).

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