He continued as a first-team regular until returning to Notts County when his loan expired, match-fit and hopeful of proving himself to Curle. He played the last two games of County's 2012–13 season, and scored the last goal of their campaign in a 2–2 draw with Coventry City at Meadow Lane. Out of contract at the end of the season, Pearce was told that any new deal was subject to budgetary considerations; in the event, he was released. On 30 July 2013, Pearce signed a two-year contract with League Two club Torquay United. He made 37 appearances as Torquay were relegated out of the Football League in the 2013–14 season. He made 32 League appearances in 2014–15, and was then released after manager Chris Hargreaves judged that Pearce failed to "reach the heights of last season" and that his wages were too high for the club. Pearce signed for League Two side Mansfield Town following a trial period in July 2015. He made 40 appearances in the 2015–16 campaign despite being sent off three times, and signed a new contract in the summer. He stated that he was happy to be signing again because he believed in the squad and in what manager Adam Murray was trying to achieve. He scored four goals in 48 appearances in the 2016–17 campaign, and was named as the club's Player of the Season. Speaking in September, he stated that the "Stags" aimed to finish in the top three at the end of the 2017–18 season after manager Steve Evans invested heavily in the playing squad over the summer. Pearce signed a new one-year contract, with the option of a further 12 months, to keep him at Field Mill until either 2019 or 2020. He made 44 appearances in the 2017–18 campaign, scoring two goals and receiving one red card, as Mansfield finished a disappointing eighth-place under the stewardship of David Flitcroft. He was named on League Two's PFA Team of the Year for the 2018–19 campaign, alongside teammate Tyler Walker, having scored four goals in 54 league and cup appearances. On 2 February, he scored in a 3–1 home win over Macclesfield Town to secure himself a place on the EFL team of the week. Despite keeping 18 clean sheets in the league, Mansfield missed out on automatic promotion by three points and went on to lose to Newport County on away goals in the play-off semi-finals. He was named as the club's captain. On 5 October 2019, he scored the only goal of the game at Grimsby Town to earn himself a place on the EFL team of the week.