Can we apply to both Mercor and micro1?

The terms we track from both programs include no rule against it, and neither publishes its exclusivity terms. Check whether anything you sign along the way, such as an NDA, limits you, and whether the license itself stops you from licensing the same data elsewhere.

Which pays more, Mercor or micro1?

There is no way to tell from published terms. micro1 publishes a range of $100K to $3M+; Mercor publishes a range for each industry listing, from $10K to $1.5M overall. A published range is not an offer; only a written offer for your scope tells you what either will pay.

Does Mercor need access to our accounts?

Mercor's page describes linking accounts to its platform, with credentials held per session, and says no data leaves your systems until you approve it. micro1 describes transfer through its APIs or other approved methods instead. Ask either one for the exact access and permissions involved before you connect anything.

Mercor vs micro1: company data programs compared

How do Mercor and micro1 differ at a glance?

Both are aggregators in our terms: they pay you, then license the data on. micro1 says its data is licensed to labs and enterprises in the US and allied countries; Mercor says it licenses de-identified data to frontier AI labs. The differences are in who they accept, how data moves and what they publish. See who buys company data for what each kind means for where your data ends up.

Everything below comes from their own pages as we checked them on November 7, 2026. Where a program does not publish a term, we say “not published” rather than guess. The tracker carries each field with its source link.

What does each publish, field by field?

Field	micro1	Mercor
Kind	Aggregator	Aggregator
Minimum headcount	30+ full-time employees	Not published
Industries	All industries; strongest in software and engineering, finance and accounting, customer support, sales and CRM, legal and contracts, operations and logistics	Legal, healthcare, finance and insurance, professional services, manufacturing, retail and e-commerce, real estate, logistics and supply chain
Countries	US first, then other Western markets; demand strongest in the US, UK and Canada; English data and English-speaking representatives	Not published
Company status	Operating, plus a separate Defunct Company Data Partnership track	Not published
Years of history	Not published; several years of records across multiple systems are “generally a stronger fit”	Not published
Data wanted	SOPs, process documentation, knowledge bases, workflows, templates, internal communications, project histories, CRM records, support tickets; agent trajectories as an optional add-on	Industry records such as contracts, claims and work orders, plus Slack threads, Gmail messages and metadata, Salesforce records, GitHub repos and PRs, Notion pages
Tools named	Not published	Slack, Microsoft Teams, Gmail, Confluence, Salesforce, Outlook, GitHub, Drive, Notion; “100+ supported tools”
Transfer method	Secure transfer through micro1 APIs or other approved methods; representative samples can be reviewed first	Link accounts to the Mercor platform; nothing leaves until you approve; credentials held per session
Privacy claims	Personal and identifying information removed or transformed before sharing with third parties; contract commits not to resell until anonymized; company retains ownership	Platform extracts and de-identifies data; no AI lab buyer or third-party vendor sees raw data; automated; SOC 2 Type II
Published range	$100K to $3M+	Not published; based on data volume, tools connected and depth of data
Structure	Not published for datasets; agent trajectories are recurring	Not published
Timing	In full within 30 days of acceptance	On delivery of the anonymized dataset to the buyer, typically 2 to 4 weeks after signing
Payment method	Not published	Wire transfer
Exclusivity	Not published; only buyer geography: licensed exclusively to labs and enterprises in the US and allied countries	Not published
Deletion	Raw data deleted according to an agreed schedule	Not published
Fees to the company	Not published	No upfront costs, setup fees or deductions from the payment
Sign-up	Self-serve registration with a company profile and data manifest, then review and an AI interview	Work-email form; sales follows up
Referral program	Yes: $50,000 for operating-company deals up to $700,000, or 7.5% above; $75,000 for defunct-company deals up to $1M, or 7.5% above; no cap	Yes; amount not published; paid through Stripe after the referred company’s first delivery

Sources: micro1 Company Data Partnerships, micro1 company referral, Mercor Data, Mercor partner form, Mercor referral page.

How does data leave your systems?

This is the most practical difference between the two.

Mercor connects to your accounts. You link your tools to the Mercor platform, which extracts and de-identifies the data. Mercor says no data leaves your systems until you approve it, that credentials are held per session, and that the process is automated; it also cites SOC 2 Type II. Connecting accounts is usually less work for your team than running exports. It also means granting a third-party platform access to your workspaces, so your IT or security lead will want to see exactly which permissions are requested and how access ends.

micro1 has you transfer the data. You send data through micro1’s APIs or other approved methods, and you can review representative samples first. That puts more of the work on your side, but you decide what goes into each transfer. micro1 does not publish a tool list, so ask early whether the systems you use have an approved route.

Neither approach is safer by default. One moves preparation to the program; the other keeps it with you. Our guide to preparing your data covers what to exclude either way.

What will you be paid, and when?

Range. micro1 publishes $100K to $3M+, with tiers of $100K to $500K, $500K to $3M and $3M+. For agent trajectories it shows $1M to $2M annually, on a recurring basis. Mercor publishes a range for each of 25 industry listings on its referral page, $10K to $1.5M overall: for example $50K to $1.2M for a law firm, $25K to $865K for an accounting and tax firm and $115K to $1M for a construction company (source). Its program page adds that compensation depends on data volume, the tools you connect and the depth of your data. A published range is not an offer for your company.

Mercor has no single headcount minimum. Each listing states its own size, from “Any size” for imaging centers and 5 employees for law, accounting and investment firms to 50 for construction, SaaS and call centers (source).

Timing. Mercor says payment comes on delivery of the anonymized dataset to the buyer, typically 2 to 4 weeks after the signed agreement, by wire. micro1 says it pays in full within 30 days of acceptance; its FAQ describes a 30-day review, then payment within 30 days of invoicing. The trigger differs: Mercor ties payment to delivery to its buyer, and micro1 to its own acceptance. Ask both what happens if delivery or acceptance is delayed. How payouts work explains the common triggers.

What about exclusivity, deletion and fees?

Exclusivity. Neither publishes whether its license is exclusive. micro1 publishes only who receives the data: labs and enterprises in the US and allied countries (source). That describes its licensees, not whether you may license the same data elsewhere. For an aggregator like Mercor, exclusivity decides whether you can also license the same data elsewhere. For any buyer, it decides whether a second offer is still open to you later. Get the answer in writing. See exclusivity explained.

Deletion. micro1 says raw data is deleted according to an agreed schedule. Mercor does not publish a deletion term. In both cases, ask what happens to copies, backups and models trained on the data.

Fees. Mercor says there are no upfront costs, setup fees or deductions from the payment. micro1 does not publish anything about fees to the company.

Does either take closed companies?

micro1 does. It runs a separate Defunct Company Data Partnership track for companies that are no longer operating, and that page lists “10+ Countries” (source). Its company sign-up also offers “Winding down” as a status, next to Active and Defunct (source). Mercor does not publish anything about company status. If your company has closed or is closing, see licensing data from a closed startup for the other programs that publish that they take closed companies.

Who might prefer each?

These are patterns, not recommendations. The right choice depends on the offer you get for your scope.

You might lean toward micro1 if	You might lean toward Mercor if
You want to see a published range before you start	You want payment timing tied to delivery in a stated number of weeks
You have 30+ full-time employees and are US-based	You are in one of the industries Mercor lists
You would rather run transfers and review samples yourself	Your data lives in tools Mercor names, and you would rather connect accounts than export
The company is closed and you need a defunct-company track	You want a stated wire payment with no deductions
You hold agent trajectory data	You want a program that says no AI lab sees your raw data

Many companies will fit both. Applying to both and comparing written offers is the only way to know which pays more for your data and on what terms.

What should you ask both?

Is the license exclusive, and for how long?
Exactly which systems, workspaces and date ranges are in scope?
What triggers payment, and what happens if delivery or acceptance is delayed?
When are raw data, copies and backups deleted, and do trained models survive?
Who receives the de-identified data, and can they pass it on?

Referral disclosure. Both programs pay referrers, and SellData.ai may be paid by either. micro1 also pays referrers 20% of the referral bonus earned by people they invite (source), and its referral terms require referrers to disclose the relationship and compensation (source). Mercor’s referral amount is not published. The fee is paid by the program, not by you.

To see how your company compares with each program’s published criteria, run the value check. For how a deal works from first call to payment, read how licensing company data to AI works.