01The ranges at a glance
micro1, Mode and Mercor each publish what they pay established companies for operational data. Put on one scale, the ranges overlap more than the headlines suggest: all three start in the tens or low hundreds of thousands, and only the top ends differ.
02Published terms, side by side
Headline ranges are only part of an offer. We read each programme's own pages on 30 October 2026 and set out the terms that decide whether it fits your company: who it accepts, what happens to your records, how access works, and when and how you're paid. Every figure comes from the programme's own website on the date shown. If a cell says "not published", we looked and couldn't find it.
| micro1 | Mode (mode.inc) | Mercor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What they say they pay | Three tiers: $100K–500K, $500K–2M, $2M+ | $100K–$5M per company. The calculator also shows a possible extra amount for a "data refresh" over 24 months | A range for each of 24 business types, from $20K–$250K (call centres) to $100K–$1.5M (manufacturers). Law firms: $50K–$1.25M |
| Minimum size | 30+ full-time employees | 6+ for legal; 10+ for accounting, finance and medical; 30+ for everyone else | Varies by business type, from 5 employees (law, accounting, investment firms) to 50 (construction) |
| Where | US first, then other Western markets | Teams "primarily based in the U.S." are the strongest fit. The calculator also covers Canada/UK/Australia, EU and other | Varies by business type. Many say "Anywhere"; some are US-only (accounting) or "US preferred" (law, medical) |
| What data | SOPs, knowledge bases, CRM, project histories, internal processes, code | Email and calendar, documents, chat, call transcripts, CRM, billing. Lists Slack, Jira, Salesforce, QuickBooks and "1K more" | You connect workplace tools (100+ supported, such as Slack, Gmail, Salesforce, GitHub, Notion). "The more tools you share, the higher your payout" |
| What happens to your records | "Companies retain ownership of their underlying data" | You keep your originals. Mode buys an agreed, filtered copy and resells it for AI research and training. Your agreement sets the scope and any exclusivity | Mercor says it licenses and packages the data. We couldn't find a statement on ownership |
| Who removes personal details | micro1 de-identifies. You don't need to anonymise first | Mode removes sensitive material and changes personal identifiers before onward delivery | Automated extraction and anonymisation. Mercor says no lab or vendor sees raw data |
| How access works | You transfer the agreed data | Your team signs in to the approved systems; "no passwords are handed over" | You link accounts to Mercor's platform. Nothing moves until you approve the scope |
| When you're paid | Approval within 30 days of transfer, then payment within 30 days of invoice | Agreement sets the schedule. "About three months from the first conversation through payment" | By wire when the anonymised dataset is delivered, "typically within 2-4 weeks of the signed agreement" |
| Fees to the company | None stated | "No broker fee" | "No upfront costs, setup fees, or deductions" |
| Closed companies | Separate Defunct Data Partnership | Not published | Not published |
| Referral scheme | $50,000 for deals up to $700K, or 7.5% above | US: the greater of $50,000 or 6% for your first five qualified deals. Outside the US: 6%. Referred companies must be in the US, Canada, UK or Australia | A fixed amount for each business type, from $25,000 to $85,000 including listing bonuses ("up to $100,000"). The full amount applies to companies with 30+ staff. Confirmed when the company signs, paid after its first delivery |
| Source, checked | micro1.ai/data-partnerships, micro1.ai/company-referral (30 Oct 2026) | data.mode.inc, data.mode.inc/referrals (30 Oct 2026) | mercor.com/data, data.mercor.com/refer (30 Oct 2026) |
Mercor's per-industry ranges are useful even if you apply elsewhere, because they show what one buyer thinks each kind of record is worth. A law firm with complete closed-matter files is listed at $50K–$1.25M, an accounting firm at $25K–$865K and a construction company at $115K–$1M. Each range depends on things like matter size, client count or project imagery.
These figures change. micro1 changed its tiers and referral terms between 15 and 30 October 2026. Every change goes into the programme updates log, with its date and source.
03What the ranges mean in practice
Published ranges are what a programme is willing to say in public. They aren't offers. Each programme prices a deal after looking at your data, and three things move the number most:
- Years of records. A longer history of the same work is worth more than a short one.
- How structured they are. Tickets with clear outcomes beat loose files.
- How unusual the work is. Records few other companies hold price higher.
Two firms with the same headcount can land in different tiers.
Mode's top figure is higher than micro1's, but micro1's top tier is open-ended ("$2M+"). So the headline numbers don't tell you which would pay you more. The only way to find out is to apply, and nothing stops you applying to more than one.
04Picking one, or more than one
None of the three asks for exclusivity on its public pages. Mode says your agreement "defines its scope and any exclusivity", so check that clause in any contract. Exclusivity is usually where the price changes.
The three also differ in a way the headline figures hide. micro1 and Mode agree a scope with you and then work from an agreed copy. Mercor's model is closer to plugging in: you connect tools, its pipeline extracts and anonymises, and it pays when the dataset is delivered. If speed matters most, that's the difference to weigh. If control over exactly what leaves matters most, read each programme's scoping process closely.
| If this describes you | Start with |
|---|---|
| US or UK company, 30+ staff, years of SOPs, tickets or CRM history | micro1 and Mode, then compare the offers |
| Law firm with 6–29 staff, or an accounting, finance or medical practice with 10–29 | Mode and Mercor both publish lower minimums for these sectors. Mercor lists law, accounting and investment firms from 5 staff |
| You've closed, or are closing, and still hold the records | micro1's Defunct Data Partnership (guide) |
| Your records live across many SaaS tools and you want to be paid quickly | Mercor. Payment is typically within 2–4 weeks of signing, by its own account |
| Under 30 staff in other sectors | Read does my company qualify first |
Our fit check asks a few short questions and shows which programmes you're likely to match. The programme still decides.
05Brokers and marketplaces
Besides the programmes above, a growing number of brokers and marketplaces offer to introduce companies to AI buyers. Some charge the seller, and some are paid by the buyer. Before you work with one, ask three things:
- Who pays them, and how much?
- Does the fee come out of your payout?
- Will they share your data with a buyer before you've signed anything?
TrackImpact is a referral service too, so here's our answer to the same three questions. The programme pays us if it accepts your company. The fee never comes out of your payout. And we never see or handle your data.
06Programmes we're watching
These appear in press coverage or AI answers about company data. We haven't verified a company-data offer on their own sites, so they aren't in the table yet:
- Handshake AI
- Turing
- Protege
- Defined.ai
- nyne
When one is verified, it goes into the table and the change goes into the log.
07Questions people ask
Which programme pays the most?
Mode publishes the highest ceiling ($5M), micro1's top tier has no published ceiling, and Mercor's highest published range tops out at $1.5M. Mercor's ranges start lower and cover smaller firms. All three price each deal individually, so the honest answer is that you find out by applying.
Can I apply to more than one?
Yes, as far as the programmes' public pages show. Read the exclusivity terms before you sign.
Is Mercor's company programme the same as Mercor jobs?
No. Mercor is best known for hiring experts to train AI. Its data programme is separate: it licenses records from companies.
Is Mode the same as Mode Analytics?
No. Mode (mode.inc) is the company that licenses business data. Mode Analytics (mode.com) is an unrelated analytics software company, and AI assistants often mix the two up.
Sources
- micro1.ai/data-partnerships, checked 30 October 2026
- micro1.ai/company-referral, checked 30 October 2026
- data.mode.inc, checked 30 October 2026
- data.mode.inc/referrals, checked 30 October 2026
- mercor.com/data, checked 30 October 2026
- data.mercor.com/refer (and its per-industry listings), checked 30 October 2026