# micro1 vs Mercor: how each pays companies for data

> micro1 vs Mercor compared for company data: published tiers against reported offers, minimums, process, payment timing and security claims. Self-reported.

By Matt Burns, Vaultfish. Canonical: https://vaultfish.com/answers/micro1-vs-mercor  
Published: 2026-10-02  
Updated: 2026-10-14

## The short answer

micro1 vs Mercor: micro1 publishes tiers ($100K+, $500K+, $1M+), but Mercor's data page shows no figure. Press reports put Mercor's offers at up to $300,000 for startup archives. Mercor pays by wire in two to four weeks. micro1 states no timing for company data.

Both firms also hire experts to train AI models. This page covers their company-data programs only.

## What figures does each publish?

[micro1](/buyers/micro1)'s [data partnerships page](https://www.micro1.ai/data-partnerships) lists $100K+, $500K+ and $1M+ tiers. Its Enterprise Data Partnership listing says $100K-$2M+ for approved data packages, and its CFO said in an undated recorded forum talk that it pays $100K to $2M per company on its corpus track.

[Mercor](/buyers/mercor)'s [data page](https://www.mercor.com/data/) says pay depends on data volume, tools connected and data depth. It states no figure.

Everything I have on Mercor's numbers comes from outside the company. The Information, relayed by [BigGo Finance](https://finance.biggo.com/news/d34746c0-e437-4855-93c5-09c6e850550d), reported offers up to $300,000 for shuttered-startup archives.

[Time](https://time.com/article/2026/08/25/google-spirit-airlines-ai-data-RL/) reported that Mercor bid $7.5M for Spirit Airlines' archive. [Fortune](https://fortune.com/2026/09/14/micro1-tries-to-beat-googles-bid-to-buy-bankrupt-spirit-airlines-data-for-12-5-million-highlighting-value-of-data-to-ai-companies/) reported that micro1 later offered $12.5M.

Figure: comparison of Company-data programs from two AI data firms: micro1 (emphasized: Publishes deal tiers, Publishes tiers), Mercor (No figure on page). micro1 is emphasized because it publishes deal tiers and Mercor's data page does not.

## How does the process differ?

micro1's page lists four stages: assessment, evaluation, discovery and partnership. In an undated recorded forum talk, David Revland, who works on human data at micro1, described a data manifest form, a payment proposal and a contract.

Then its own engineers help run the transfer, and payment comes after it checks the data.

Mercor's page describes these steps:

- Scope the tools.
- Connect your accounts.
- Run automated extraction and removal of personal details.
- Get paid when the data reaches the buyer.

It says no data leaves your systems until you approve it.

## Who can take part?

micro1's current public criteria list 30+ employees, mature operations and primarily English documentation, with US companies prioritized. Acceptance depends on its review and current demand. Mercor's data page names no minimum.

## What do they say about security?

Mercor claims SOC 2 Type II certification, encryption in transit and keys held in AWS KMS (self-reported, unverified). micro1 names no certification.

In March 2026 a supply-chain attack hit Mercor. The data involved was contractor and applicant data. My [Mercor data breach](/answers/mercor-data-breach) page has the dated record.

Read the full terms in [how micro1's data partnership works](/guides/micro1-data-partnership) and [Mercor data licensing](/answers/mercor-data-licensing). Run the [rights check](/rights-check) before a first call. Talk to a privacy or commercial lawyer in your state before you sign.

micro1 may pay us a referral fee if a company we introduce goes ahead with it. [How we are paid](https://vaultfish.com/disclosure)

[Apply to micro1's data partnership (paid link)](https://req.micro1.ai/post/74520e8b-4673-4da5-b855-53609aaf6710?referralCode=f82e519e-5d64-4e0e-9574-760c84371cf2&utm_source=referral&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=data_referral) · [micro1's own data-partnerships page](https://www.micro1.ai/data-partnerships)

_Paid link. [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

- [data partnerships page](https://www.micro1.ai/data-partnerships)
- [data page](https://www.mercor.com/data/)
- [BigGo Finance](https://finance.biggo.com/news/d34746c0-e437-4855-93c5-09c6e850550d)
- [Time](https://time.com/article/2026/08/25/google-spirit-airlines-ai-data-RL/)
- [Fortune](https://fortune.com/2026/09/14/micro1-tries-to-beat-googles-bid-to-buy-bankrupt-spirit-airlines-data-for-12-5-million-highlighting-value-of-data-to-ai-companies/)
- [Mercor security incident update](https://www.mercor.com/blog/update-on-mercor-security-incident/)
- [The Next Web](https://thenextweb.com/news/meta-mercor-breach-ai-training-secrets-risk)
- [CourtListener docket, Deboni v. Mercor.io Corp.](https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73129103/deboni-v-mercorio-corporation/)
- [micro1 company referral](https://www.micro1.ai/company-referral)
- [micro1 referral terms](https://www.micro1.ai/legal/referral-terms)