Market news
Data payouts by industry: the evidence collected so far
There is not much evidence yet. Buyers advertise $100K to $2M+ for businesses still trading and $10K to $100K for startups that have shut. Broken down by industry, each sector has only one or two claims, and none names the seller.
We wanted to publish a proper payout index and have held off: nearly every figure comes from a firm courting your business, no seller is identified, and some examples appear word for word on several sites.
01
Claimed payouts by industry
Accounting
Payout claimed
$350,000, firm of 60
Source of claim
Pewter
Freight and logistics
Payout claimed
$650K, broker of 100
Source of claim
Pewter
Freight and logistics
Payout claimed
$1.6M, a Midwest brokerage
Source of claim
VMS and Cognor Labs, in matching wording
Engineering
Payout claimed
$450K, firm of 70
Source of claim
Pewter
Manufacturing
Payout claimed
$1.4M, a CNC shop in Ohio
Source of claim
VMS and Cognor Labs, in matching wording
Distribution
Payout claimed
$290K for a decade of records
Source of claim
A Goldmined ad
Marketing agency
Payout claimed
$110,000
Source of claim
Polyshares
Healthcare
Payout claimed
$943,000
Source of claim
Shfa.ai
Shut-down startups
Payout claimed
Usually $10K to $100K, across more than 150 deals
Source of claim
Reported for SimpleClosure
| Industry | Payout claimed | Source of claim |
|---|---|---|
| Accounting | $350,000, firm of 60 | Pewter |
| Freight and logistics | $650K, broker of 100 | Pewter |
| Freight and logistics | $1.6M, a Midwest brokerage | VMS and Cognor Labs, in matching wording |
| Engineering | $450K, firm of 70 | Pewter |
| Manufacturing | $1.4M, a CNC shop in Ohio | VMS and Cognor Labs, in matching wording |
| Distribution | $290K for a decade of records | A Goldmined ad |
| Marketing agency | $110,000 | Polyshares |
| Healthcare | $943,000 | Shfa.ai |
| Shut-down startups | Usually $10K to $100K, across more than 150 deals | Reported for SimpleClosure |
02
Size bands buyers publish
20 to 50
$50,000 to $500,000
50 to 200
$500,000 to $1,000,000
200 or more
$1,000,000+
| Headcount | DataFactor's indicative band |
|---|---|
| 20 to 50 | $50,000 to $500,000 |
| 50 to 200 | $500,000 to $1,000,000 |
| 200 or more | $1,000,000+ |
micro1's tiers begin above $100K for a qualifying deal and go past $1M only for unusually distinctive data. The single deal with a verified public price involves no small business: Google's $10.0M bid won the Spirit Airlines archive auction, micro1 followed with $12.5M, and the court has not ruled.
03
What a credible index requires
In our view: multiple deals in each industry, each recording headcount, years of history, systems included, exclusivity and who verified the payment. Exclusivity alone shifts the price; Troveo says buyers pay more for exclusive rights.
Until that exists, trust only the number written into an offer made to you. Line offers up by the cash you will actually receive under contract, for identical records and identical rights.
04
Making use of these numbers
For an accounting or freight firm of about 60 people, the claims point to hundreds of thousands rather than millions. Use them to test whether an offer is reasonable, not to set an asking price.
When a buyer shows an example deal, ask whether they can identify the business and whether you may speak to it. micro1's terms forbid naming a seller without written consent, so a no is not automatically a warning sign, but it does leave the example unverifiable.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Does a data payout index exist?
Not yet. Too few payouts have been published, and none identifies the business that was paid.
What have accounting firms received?
Pewter says it paid $350,000 to an accounting firm with 60 staff; that is its own claim.
What about freight brokers?
Pewter claims $650K for a broker of 100 people, and VMS and Cognor Labs both display the same $1.6M brokerage example.
Does company size affect payouts?
Buyers say it does. DataFactor's bands climb from $50,000 to $500,000 for 20 to 50 staff up to $1M+ for 200 or more.
Why are sellers never named?
Most buyers keep sellers confidential, and micro1's terms prohibit naming one without written consent.
See what your data could be worth
A rough range from published deals and buyer price bands, based on headcount and years of records.
Keep reading
Sources
Every number on this page links back to one of these.
- 1Pewter websitepewterdata.com
- 2VMS: Data licensing for manufacturingvmediasolutions.com
- 3Cognor Labs websitecognorlabs.com
- 4Goldmined websitegoldmined.ai
- 5Polyshares: Track recordpolyshares.com
- 6Shfa.ai websiteshfa.ai
- 7MIT Technology Review: AI labs buying data from dead startups (13 Oct 2026)technologyreview.com
- 801net: SimpleClosure AssetHub on track to return $10M to startups01net.it
- 9DataFactor: Data partnerdatafactor.com
- 10micro1: Data partnerships pagemicro1.ai
- 11Chapter 11 Cases: Spirit Airlines de-identified data sale auction resultschapter11cases.com
- 12Fortune: micro1 tries to beat Google's bid for Spirit Airlines data (14 Sep 2026)fortune.com
- 13Troveo: Exclusive vs non-exclusive data licensetroveo.ai
- 14Nyne: Compare data licensing offersnyne.ai
- 15micro1: Data License Master Terms (7 Oct 2026)micro1.ai
- 16SimpleClosure: How real are those million-dollar data offers?simpleclosure.com
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