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Comparison · Updated

Polyshares vs Troveo: Which Pays More for Company Data?

By the DataBuyout editorial team · Sources cited and dated

Two ways to license your company's operating data, scored on the same 11 published-term criteria, with a pick for each situation.

See the scorecardEstimate your data

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The short answer

Polyshares is a direct buyer: one counterparty, no fee, an offer in one to two weeks, and typical deals of $100,000 to $2 million and up. Troveo is a marketplace that licenses your data to buyers and pays you on every sale, which can mean recurring income but less certainty about timing and price. Pick Polyshares if you want one buyer and published terms. Pick Troveo if you'd rather license the same data repeatedly over time.

Polyshares vs Troveo: side-by-side scorecard

Polyshares
Direct buyer
Typical payout
$100K to $2M+
Fee to you
None
Time to offer
1 to 2 weeks
10 of 11 terms published
Troveo
Marketplace
Typical payout
No per-deal figure
Fee to you
Not published
Time to offer
Not published
7 of 11 terms published

Published payout ranges

Log scale, so each step is roughly three times the last. A fading bar means the company says "and up". Hover or tap a bar for the source.

Polyshares
$100K to $2M+
Troveo
No per-deal range published
Wind-down market
$10K to $100K
$10K$30K$100K$300K$1M$3M

Full scorecard

PublishedPartly publishedNot published
Criteria
Polyshares
Troveo
Money
Fees to you
PublishedNone. No fee or commission
Not published
Typical payout
Published$100K to $2M+ typical (published)
PublishedMore than $20M paid to rights holders across its marketplace (all data types, not just business data)
Payment terms
PublishedNet 30 to 60 days after approved, anonymized delivery
Partly publishedPaid on every sale. Timing not published
Process
Buyer or broker
PublishedDirect buyer. Licenses the data itself and supplies AI labs
PublishedMarketplace. Matches owners with AI buyers and handles rights, packaging and scope
Time to offer
Published1 to 2 weeks from intake
Partly publishedNot published. Starts with a free data value assessment
Who qualifies
PublishedAny company with real operating history, any sector or size
PublishedCompanies with years of operating history and clean rights
Data types
PublishedChat, email, CRM, tickets, files, calls, accounting and more (96 systems listed)
PublishedCommunications, documents, workflow records, code, tickets and transactions
Protection
Anonymization
PublishedIdentifying fields stripped by a specialist partner before anything moves
PublishedNames and personal details removed, with safeguards fit to each dataset. Standard not named
Ownership after the deal
PublishedLicense. You keep the business and the data
PublishedLicensed for defined uses with terms set in advance. Whether ownership transfers isn't stated
Exclusivity
Not published
Partly publishedNot stated. Its model of payment on every sale implies non-exclusive licensing
Track record
PublishedFounders previously built and sold companies, including Roofer.com and Simplicity Solar
PublishedOver $20M paid to rights holders across its marketplace (company figure)
Verdict
Best for
Owners who want one buyer, a fast offer and a single payment with no fee
Owners who want recurring income from licensing the same data to multiple buyers over time

Polyshares in brief

Polyshares licenses the operating record a business produces, like Slack, email, tickets, CRM and files, pays for it directly, anonymizes it and supplies AI labs. You answer three intake questions, the team reviews a sample, and an offer follows within one to two weeks. Payment lands 30 to 60 days after approved delivery.

Strengths: one counterparty, no fee, published deal sizes and timing, broad system coverage, you keep the data.

Watch for: pricing comes after a sample review, and exclusivity terms aren't published, so ask.

Troveo in brief

Troveo runs a data licensing marketplace that connects rights holders with AI buyers. For company data, it runs inventory, rights review, scoping, privacy review, packaging and licensing end to end, and says your company is never named publicly. It pays on every sale, not just the first, and reports paying more than $20 million to rights holders across its marketplace.

Strengths: Potential for repeat income, full rights and packaging support, confidentiality, an established marketplace.

Watch for: Fees and revenue share aren't published, and marketplace sales depend on buyer demand, so timing and total payout are less predictable than a direct offer.

Which one should you pick?

Pick Polyshares if

Owners who want one buyer, a fast offer and a single payment with no fee.

Pick Troveo if

Owners who want recurring income from licensing the same data to multiple buyers over time.

You can ask both for a number before signing anything. Compare written offers on fee, payout, timing, what's licensed, exclusivity and what you keep.

Request a Polyshares offerEstimate your data first

Common questions

Is Troveo legit?

Troveo has a public site, published terms and coverage in reporting on this market. It's a young industry, so have an attorney review any license before you sign.

Does Polyshares or Troveo pay more?

Both point to six-figure deals for strong records. Actual offers depend on your history, systems and how much work is done in writing. Get both in writing and compare.

Do I keep my data?

Polyshares licenses the data and you keep it. Licensed for defined uses with terms set in advance. Whether ownership transfers isn't stated.

Can I talk to both?

Yes, until you sign. Check any exclusivity clause before you commit to one.

Sources
  1. Polyshares published terms
  2. Troveo: Can a company license its data for AI?
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We have a referral relationship with Polyshares and may earn a fee if you request an offer through our links. We score every company on the same 11 published-term criteria, and write "Not published" wherever a company doesn't publish a term, rather than guess.