Alignerr is the contributor network of Labelbox, a San Francisco data-labeling company founded in 2018, and it pays weekly. The risks are about work, not the company: volume is uneven, per-task work only counts once approved, and reviews report accounts deactivated without explanation. Apply only through Alignerr's own site.

Is Alignerr better than Mercor?

It depends on your credentials. Mercor advertises higher pay and is harder to get into. Alignerr is easier to join, but one guide rates getting consistent work there as hard. If you hold senior credentials, start with Mercor.

Alignerr is operated by Labelbox. The Alignerr site is titled 'Powered by Labelbox'.

How does Alignerr pay?

Weekly. Pay periods run Monday to Sunday and money lands by the following Friday. Payment goes through Stripe Connect or PayPal, with one provider assigned per country.

Can I retake the Alignerr assessment?

Usually not. One guide says you generally get one attempt, and a failure is typically permanent for that role. Prepare before you start, because the test is timed and you cannot go back to answered questions.

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Mercor vs Alignerr

Mercor vs Alignerr for AI trainers: advertised pay, assessments, payment providers, work consistency and documented risks.

Figures checked November 9, 2026

The short version

Mercor pays more and is harder to get into. In a September 2026 comparison, Mercor's median advertised rate was $75 an hour against $22.50 for a sample of Alignerr job board roles, although Alignerr's homepage advertises $40 to $120 an hour. Alignerr is easier to join and harder to get steady work from. Both pay weekly, and both have documented risks worth reading before you spend time on an assessment.

How Mercor vs Alignerr compares

Mercor vs Alignerr, checked 2026. Pay figures are advertised or reported rates, not guaranteed earnings.
Attribute	MeMercor	AlAlignerr
Pay and payment
Median advertised rate	Better here$75/hr across 365 open hourly listings (28 Sept 2026). US and UK listings had an $80/hr median. India listings had $21/hr.	$22.50/hr median midpoint across a sample of 60 job board roles (29 Sept 2026). The homepage claims $80/hr average pay and shows roles at $40 to $120/hr.
Rates by role	Medical roles $105/hr median, legal $95/hr, bilingual $21/hr.	One guide lists $15 to $20/hr for generalist and bilingual work, $30 to $40 for coding and QA, $60 to $100 for software engineering and $70 to $120 for advanced math, medical and corporate law.
Payment schedule	Weekly. The pay week runs Saturday to Friday.	Weekly. Pay periods run Monday to Sunday and land by the following Friday.
Payment provider	Stripe, or Wise where Stripe is not supported. One review says the first Stripe payout is held for 7 days.	Stripe Connect or PayPal, with one provider assigned per country.
Getting in
Application steps	Profile and resume, an AI interview, role applications, an offer, then Stripe or Wise setup.	Sign up with Google or LinkedIn, apply to a role, take a timed assessment, then verify your phone and ID through Persona. Contract, billing and onboarding follow.
Assessment	An AI-led video interview. Accounts range from 20 to 90 minutes.	A timed TestGorilla assessment with no going back to answered questions. One guide says you generally get one attempt per role. Results usually come the same day.
How easy it is to get in	Hard. One guide estimates about 0.6% of profiles earn in a given week. That figure is derived from Mercor's own numbers, not published by Mercor.	Better hereRated easy in the same comparison. Passing does not guarantee paid work.
Work and stability
Getting consistent work	Better hereMedium. Once you are matched to a project, work usually materializes, though engagements can be short.	Hard. One guide calls it 'feast or famine, tied to project launches', with waits from a few days to several weeks.
Typical work	Expert evaluation, benchmark authoring, code review, agentic tasks, clinical and legal review and paid research studies.	Audio transcription and editing, model response evaluation, conversation quality review, data classification, healthcare QA and coding and STEM tracks.
Time tracking	Insightful desktop app with periodic screenshots. No manual time entry, and a weekly billable-hour cap.	A built-in Labelbox timer plus an external tool (Hubstaff) on hourly projects.
Rejected or unpaid work	Mercor's policy lets it end contracts without notice.	On per-task projects, work counts only after manual approval, and work on a project that closes before review can go unpaid. Hourly projects pay like a normal contract.
Trust and risk
Who runs it	Mercor, founded in 2023 in San Francisco. $10B valuation after a $350M Series C in October 2025.	Labelbox, a San Francisco data-labeling company founded in 2018. Alignerr is its contributor network.
Documented risks	A March 2026 data breach from a LiteLLM supply chain attack. The class action Ananthula et al. v. Mercor.io, filed 21 April 2026 in the Northern District of California, is pending and its claims are unproven. Meta reportedly paused work.	Reviews report accounts deactivated without explanation, and a BBB rating of F with 8 complaints, all unanswered, as of 29 Sept 2026.
Biggest stated risk	Contracts can end without notice.	Finishing onboarding and then getting no paid work.

Which one should you pick

Pick Mercor if

You hold a PhD, MD, JD or several years at a top firm
You want the higher rates and want to see the rate on a listing before you apply
You can handle gaps between engagements

Pick Alignerr if

You want a lower barrier to getting started
You can work in bursts around project launches
You can find hourly projects, not just per-task ones

Apply to Mercor first if you have senior credentials. The higher rates and steadier matching are there, and the listing data from the same comparison shows a $75 median against $22.50. Try Alignerr if you want a quick assessment and can accept uneven work. Treat the $80 an hour average on Alignerr's homepage with caution. A sample of its job board sits far lower, and one guide's tiers put generalist work at $15 to $20. On Alignerr, prefer hourly projects over per-task ones, since per-task work only counts after approval and a project that closes early can leave work unpaid. If you worry about where your personal data ends up, remember that Mercor disclosed a breach in March 2026. Alignerr asks for a government ID through Persona, and changing your payment method later repeats the check.

Pros and cons

Mercor: what works

Higher advertised rates
Rates are posted on listings before you apply
Work usually materializes once you are matched
Weekly payment

Alignerr: what works

Easier to get into
Weekly payment on a fixed Monday to Sunday cycle
A wide spread of roles, from about $15/hr for generalist work to $100+/hr for experts
Run by Labelbox, a data-labeling company founded in 2018

Mercor: what to watch