Every article comparing these two platforms on pay has the same problem, and none of them mention it.
Short answer: Of 245 live Turing job pages we track, none publishes a pay rate. Mercor publishes a rate on 615 listings, at a median top-of-range of $90 an hour and $100 for coding roles. Any comparison of the two on pay is therefore comparing a published figure against a secondhand one.
Key takeaways
- Third-party comparison sites report Mercor paying $35 to $60 an hour for software engineering tasks with per-role ranges from $60 to $200 or more, and Turing engineers earning $90 to $150.
- 121 live listings in this category publish a rate, at a median top-of-range of $100 an hour and a ceiling of $300.
- The work is remote contract work, asynchronous, with no set hours and no guaranteed volume.
- Applications screen on a short skills assessment rather than a resume or interview.
What was reported
The finding
Third-party comparison sites report Mercor paying $35 to $60 an hour for software engineering tasks with per-role ranges from $60 to $200 or more, and Turing engineers earning $90 to $150 an hour on engagement-specific work, alongside onboarding estimates of two to six weeks for Mercor against three to eight for Turing. These figures come from aggregator and review sites rather than from either platform. Checked directly against live listings, 245 Turing job pages carry no published rate at all, while 615 Mercor listings publish one, at a median top-of-range of $90 an hour across all roles and $100 for coding roles specifically, reaching $300. micro1 publishes rates on 313 listings at a $90 median top-of-range, reaching $400.
We checked our own board. Across 245 live Turing job pages, not one publishes a pay rate. Mercor publishes a rate on 615 listings. So a comparison putting Turing at $90 to $150 an hour against Mercor's range is setting a secondhand figure beside a stated one, which is not a comparison.
What the listings pay
What can be said from the listings themselves: Mercor's median top-of-range is $90 an hour across all roles and $100 for coding specifically, reaching $300. micro1 publishes on 313 listings at a $90 median top, reaching $400.
| # | Role | Advertised rate | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CUDA Engineering Expert | $300 to $300 an hour | Mercor |
| 2 | Machine Learning Engineer Talent Network | $70 to $250 an hour | Mercor |
| 3 | Legacy Codebase Migration Expert | $200 to $200 an hour | Mercor |
| 4 | UK-Based Data Engineering Experts | $140 to $200 an hour | Mercor |
| 5 | AI Software Engineering Domain Expert | $100 to $200 an hour | micro1 |
| 6 | AI/ML Engineer | $70 to $200 an hour | micro1 |
| 7 | Engineering / Platform Professionals | $80 to $160 an hour | Mercor |
| 8 | Open Source Applied Engineer Talent Network | $100 to $150 an hour | Mercor |
| 9 | Backend Engineer Talent Network | $70 to $150 an hour | Mercor |
| 10 | Software Engineering Expert | $50 to $150 an hour | Mercor |
Source: 121 live listings on this board that publish a rate, read directly from each posting on 2026-09-06. Listings without a published rate are excluded rather than estimated.
How this compares across the board
A rate only means something next to the alternatives. This is every category we track with at least five listings publishing a rate, ranked by median top-of-range, so you can see where this work sits rather than taking a single number on trust.
| Category | Listings | Median low | Median top | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal | 95 | $100 | $140 | $400 |
| Medical | 68 | $77 | $120 | $400 |
| Consulting | 45 | $80 | $120 | $280 |
| Finance | 94 | $80 | $110 | $280 |
| Engineering | 114 | $70 | $100 | $300 |
| Research/PhD | 132 | $70 | $90 | $280 |
| Writing | 36 | $40 | $80 | $280 |
| Bilingual | 78 | $44 | $52 | $120 |
| Annotation | 25 | $12 | $24 | $120 |
Same source and date as above. Categories are matched on listing title, so a role can appear in more than one.
What it means for you
None of that makes Turing a worse platform. It publishes 245 roles and people are working through it. It means you will find out the rate later in the process rather than before you apply, and you should plan for that rather than trust a number from a comparison site.
What to do when a platform does not publish rates
Apply anyway if the role fits, but treat the rate as an open question rather than an assumed one, and ask directly before committing hours. A platform that discloses late is not necessarily paying badly, but you are negotiating with less information than the other side.
Do not anchor on a number you read on a comparison site. Those figures circulate between aggregators without a primary source, and the same range often appears verbatim across several of them.
Where rates are published, use them. Across 121 live listings on our board that publish a rate, the median top-of-range is $100 an hour, reaching $300, and every figure on this site links to the posting it came from.
Use several platforms, for a reason beyond pay
There is no exclusivity in this market and the listings differ substantially. Turing launched Frontier in April 2026 for elite US domain experts, Handshake reached a $1 billion run rate, micro1 hit a $500 million gross run rate.
The stronger argument for spreading out is not rate arbitrage, it is exposure. Meta paused work with Mercor indefinitely after the 2026 breach, and Scale AI cut 500 contractors after Meta's stake prompted rival labs to pull business. Neither event was announced to contractors in advance.
Applications take minutes. Being approved on three platforms before you need any of them is the whole mitigation.
Who should apply
Two checks before you spend time on an application. Confirm the role accepts applicants from your country with the eligibility checker, since a meaningful share of listings carry location requirements. Then run the advertised rate through the take-home calculator, because this is contract work and the headline figure is before self-employment tax.
Applications complete on the hiring platform and usually take a few minutes, with a short skills assessment in place of an interview. Fill in every credential, language and professional background field on your profile. Those are what route you to the better paid listings, and most applicants leave them blank.
Frequently asked questions
Does Turing publish pay rates?
Not on the listings we track. Across 245 live Turing job pages, none states a rate. Mercor publishes one on 615 listings.
What does Mercor actually pay?
From listings that publish a rate: a median top-of-range of $90 an hour across all roles, $100 for coding roles specifically, reaching $300.
Where do the Turing pay figures online come from?
Aggregator and comparison sites rather than the platform. The same ranges often appear verbatim across several of them without a primary source.
Which platform pays more for coding work?
On published rates, only Mercor and micro1 can be answered: median top-of-range $100 and $100 respectively for coding roles. Turing cannot be compared on published data.
Is Turing worth applying to?
It lists 245 roles and people work through it. Just treat the rate as an open question to ask directly rather than an assumed figure.
How long does onboarding take?
Comparison sites estimate two to six weeks for Mercor and three to eight for Turing, but these are third-party estimates rather than platform-published figures.
Should I join more than one?
Yes, and the strongest reason is exposure rather than pay. Meta paused work with Mercor after the 2026 breach and Scale cut 500 contractors after a corporate deal, neither announced to contractors in advance.
Sources
See every live role
The full board updates several times a week, with the advertised rate on each listing and closed roles removed.