Mercor
Small (~200)
Notion
Mid (~800)
Best For
Mercor
Best for: Engineers who want to build AI hiring infrastructure at a $10B rocketship with extreme ownership and MIT-founder energy
Notion
Best for: Product-obsessed engineers who care deeply about craft and want to build tools that millions use daily
Ratings
MercorNotion
3.9
4.4
Overall
3.9
4.2
Work-Life Balance
3.6
4.5
Culture & Values
4.0
4.4
Comp & Benefits
3.5
4.2
Senior Mgmt
3.7
4.2
Career Opps
👍 74% Recommend
👤 82% CEO Approval (Brendan Foody)
👍 88% Recommend
👤 92% CEO Approval (Ivan Zhao)
Culture Values
Mercor only
🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate🤝 Flat Hierarchy
Notion only
🎯 Direct Product Impact🌱 Learning & Growth🪟 Transparent🌈 Diverse & Inclusive
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven💎 Strong Comp & Equity
Pros & Cons
Mercor
- Massive impact at an AI company growing at breakneck speed
- Top-tier compensation with strong equity at $10B valuation
- Intense 9/9/6 work schedule — long hours are the norm
- Work-life balance is a real sacrifice at this stage
Notion
- Incredible product culture — everyone uses Notion daily and cares deeply
- Transparent leadership with accessible founders and high trust
- Fast pace can lead to burnout, especially during product pushes
- Hybrid required (3 days in-office) — not truly remote-friendly
Bottom Line
Mercor
Choose Mercor if you want outsized impact on AI-era hiring at a tiny, fast-moving team — but the 9/9/6 schedule is real, and work-life balance is genuinely sacrificed for speed.
Notion
Strong product culture with a beloved CEO (96% approval) and genuine design sensibility — but hybrid-required and the pace can burn people out during product pushes.
Open Roles
Mercor — 49 jobs
💻 Engineering
20
🧠 ML / AI
6
💼 Sales / GTM
5
👤 HR / People
3
📊 Data
2
📣 Marketing
2
📋 Product
2
🎨 Design
1
⚙️ Operations
1
Notion — 142 jobs
💼 Sales / GTM
70
💻 Engineering
18
📣 Marketing
9
📊 Data
5
👤 HR / People
4
⚙️ Operations
4
📋 Product
4
🎧 Support
4
💰 Finance
3
🎨 Design
2
⚖️ Legal
1
Summary
Mercor scores 3.9/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.9 work-life balance rating. Notion scores 4.4/5.0 overall with a 4.2 WLB. That’s a 0.5-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Engineering-Driven, Strong Comp & Equity. Mercor also emphasizes Ship Fast & Iterate, Flat Hierarchy. Notion also emphasizes Direct Product Impact, Learning & Growth, Transparent, Diverse & Inclusive.
On the hiring front, Mercor has 49 open roles and Notion has 142 open roles.