# Data broker commission: what it costs your company > Data broker commission, from the owner's side: which fees come out of your proceeds, which the buyer pays, and what to get in writing first. By Matt Burns, Vaultfish. Canonical: https://vaultfish.com/answers/data-broker-commission Published: 2026-08-13 Updated: 2026-10-13 ## The short answer It depends who pays the broker. A marketplace or success-fee adviser takes a cut of your proceeds. Datarade reportedly takes 30% of marketplace sales. A finder paid by the buyer costs you nothing directly but has a reason to steer you. Get every fee in writing. Before you agree to anything, ask one question of every intermediary: who pays you, and out of whose money? The answer tells you what the deal costs you and whose side the intermediary is on. People search for "data broker" when they mean an AI data company, but legally a data broker resells consumer data and must register in some states. This site calls AI data companies buyers. ## Which fees come out of your proceeds? Two kinds of intermediary are paid from the money you receive. **A marketplace takes a cut of the deal.** A ZoomInfo pricing page says data providers on [Datarade](/buyers/datarade)'s Monda platform pay a 30% commission on marketplace-facilitated transactions, with quote-based annual plans on top ([ZoomInfo](https://pipeline.zoominfo.com/sales/datarade-pricing)). An earlier summary reported 30%, 20% and 15% by plan. The sources conflict, so check Datarade's current terms. Datarade lists data products for enterprises and buys no company archives. **An adviser on a success fee takes a share of what you receive.** Get the rate in writing, along with the base it applies to and whether it's due only when you're paid. [What a data licensing advisor does](/answers/data-licensing-advisor) lists the conflict questions. A buyer's revenue split is a different thing. [Troveo](/buyers/troveo) says it pays you "on every sale, not just the first" and publishes no split ([Troveo](https://www.troveo.ai/business-data)). Ask for the split in writing before you compare it with a commission. ## Which fees does the buyer pay? Some intermediaries are paid by the buyer, so nothing comes out of your price. **Some buyers charge you nothing.** [Polyshares](/buyers/polyshares) says the company pays "no fee and no commission" because it buys the data itself rather than acting for you ([Polyshares](https://polyshares.com/data-licensing)). That's its own statement. **A finder may be paid by the buyer.** A finder introduces you to a buyer and never handles your data. Several data companies publish referral programs for introductions, usually paid once a deal closes or the data is accepted. You don't pay that fee, but it gives the finder a reason to steer you to the buyer that pays and to push for a close. The FTC's Endorsement Guides ask for a paid connection behind an endorsement to be disclosed clearly ([16 CFR 255.5](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/255.5)). A private introduction may fall outside them, so ask directly. ## Should you pay a finder fee yourself? The finder programs I read are paid by the buyer, so a finder who also asks you for a fee is asking to be paid twice. If you agree to one anyway, put the rate, the base, the trigger and what happens if the deal unwinds in writing before the introduction. "Finder's fee" also has a meaning in securities law, where paying for introductions can raise broker registration questions. The SEC proposed a conditional exemption for certain finders on 7 Oct 2020 ([Sidley](https://www.sidley.com/en/insights/newsupdates/2020/10/sec-proposes-exemptive-order-for-certain-activities-of-finders)), and I could not confirm it was adopted. A plain data license is a different transaction. A deal that includes equity changes the picture, so take that one to counsel. ## Why does the percentage alone mislead? Each one applies to a different base. Datarade's 30% comes out of a sale made through its marketplace. An adviser's success fee comes out of what you receive. A finder's fee from the buyer sits outside your price. A low percentage on a big base can cost more than a high one on a small base. ## What should you ask before you agree? 1. Who pays you, and how much? 2. Is the fee a percentage, and of what: the gross price, net sales or the buyer's own fee? 3. Is any of it due if the deal fails or unwinds? 4. Do you work for me or for the buyer? 5. Will you send my files to anyone? An introduction needs a description, never your records. Before any introduction, run the [rights check](/rights-check) on your own records. The [pricing models page](/answers/data-monetization-pricing) explains how deals pay, and [what a value-add data broker does](/answers/what-does-a-value-add-data-broker-do) covers the work a broker should do for its fee. We facilitate introductions and we aren't lawyers. If you need a lawyer or accountant who knows this, we can point you to one. Figure: steps Ask who pays them -> Ask what it is a share of -> Get it in writing. Who pays the intermediary, and from which pocket, decides what it costs you. Our only referral relationship is with micro1, an AI data company. It may pay us a fee if a company we introduce goes ahead with it. You pay nothing extra. [How we are paid](https://vaultfish.com/disclosure) _Vaultfish helps you run the process. We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice. If you need counsel who knows this area, we can point you to one._ ## Sources - [ZoomInfo](https://pipeline.zoominfo.com/sales/datarade-pricing) - [Troveo](https://www.troveo.ai/business-data) - [Polyshares](https://polyshares.com/data-licensing) - [16 CFR 255.5](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/255.5) - [Sidley](https://www.sidley.com/en/insights/newsupdates/2020/10/sec-proposes-exemptive-order-for-certain-activities-of-finders)