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How Much Money Do Companies Get for Selling Your Data?
Companies earn far more from personal data than individuals do. See the published figures and how a business can license its own records to AI buyers.
Companies that sell personal data earn far more per person than the person does. Published estimates put the value of one person's data to advertisers at about $263 a year, and the US data broker market reached $247 billion in one year. If you run a business, the question is different: you can license your own internal records to AI buyers, and the price depends on what those records contain. Buyers only give a real number after they review a sample.
What companies earn from consumer data
Most of the money comes from advertising and from reselling data to other firms. Estimates vary a lot, and most come from models rather than invoices.
| Source | Figure | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Datapods | about $263 a year | Estimated value of one person's data to the online advertising industry |
| Datapods | over $100 a year | Estimated value of medical data to scientific research |
| Proton | $217.26 a year | Average annual revenue per user in the US and Canada |
| Security.org | just over $2,000 | What the average American said they would sell their social media data for |
| Datapods | $0.001 | Price of one purchase or transaction record in a data market |
The last two rows show the spread. A single transaction record is nearly worthless on its own. A survey answer about what people would accept is a stated willingness, not a price anyone paid.
Why one person's data is worth so little
An individual record is small. Value comes from scale: millions of records, linked together, that show patterns. Buyers pay for the combined set, and the per-person share is tiny.
The same logic applies to businesses, but the records are different. A company's support tickets, project files or lab notes are dense and specific. That is why business records can sell for much more than a single consumer profile.
Can companies legally sell your data?
It depends on the data, where it was collected, and the rules that apply. This page does not give legal advice. If you are unsure whether a sale or licence is allowed in your case, take that question to a lawyer before you agree to anything.
What a business can earn from its own records
Smelted is a free matching service. AI data companies license anonymized internal business records to train AI agents. Smelted finds which buyers fit your company, gives a ballpark range, and introduces you to two or three matching buyers. The buyer pays Smelted's fee, so your company pays nothing.
You keep ownership. What you give is a licence to a copy. You choose what is included and which buyers you meet. Names, contact details and IDs are removed before anything is shared.
Records that buyers ask about include:
- Support tickets (for example, from Zendesk)
- Jira or GitHub history and code
- CRM notes (Salesforce or HubSpot)
- Standard operating procedures and project files
- CAD and design files (AutoCAD, Revit)
- Lab data (for example, from Benchling)
What the ranges look like
Buyers' published ranges, as we see them, run from about $10K to $1M+. Most of those offers are for companies with 30 or more employees. Smelted will not quote a specific figure before a buyer has reviewed a sample of your records. Any number you see before that is a general range, not an offer.
How long it takes
Plan on one to three months from your first call to payment. Buyers' own pages describe payment a few weeks to two months after signing, so the full timeline is usually longer than the review itself.
Who it fits
The best fit is a US company with 50 to 500 employees (30 to 500 for science labs), founded in 2022 or earlier, with several years of records in the tools listed above. The core industries are staffing and recruiting, engineering and architecture, B2B software, and science labs and biotech R&D.
If your company has fewer than 30 employees, be aware that the buyers who take smaller companies pay less. Talk to Chris Irving before you decide, and he will tell you what is realistic for your size.
How to get a ballpark
You can book a 15-minute call with Chris Irving at Smelted's intro call page, or call 954-682-7560. For a ballpark range, fill in the one-to-two minute form at smelted.ai/get-started.
FAQ
How much money do companies make selling your data?
For consumer data, published estimates range from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars per person per year, depending on the data and the buyer. The sources above show how wide that range is. Many of the figures are models, not actual sale prices.
How much is one person's data worth?
On its own, very little. Estimates for advertising value sit around $263 a year, and single transaction records can sell for a fraction of a cent. Value rises when records are combined at scale.
Can you sell data to AI companies?
A business can license its own internal records to AI data buyers, with names and identifying details removed first. Smelted is one way to be matched with those buyers. Whether a particular dataset can be shared depends on your contracts and the law, so check that with your lawyer.
Is it illegal for companies to sell your data?
Not always. The answer depends on the type of data, where it was collected, and the applicable rules. This page cannot tell you whether a specific sale is lawful, so speak to a lawyer for that.