Rightmark Price Index, Q4 2026 edition
Private data now has a public price.
What AI developers pay for data, by type and unit, from public deals and buyer programs. Every price is sourced and dated.
Rightmark Price Index
- Coverage
- 40 prices from 36 sources
- Published
- Updated
- Next edition
- Since Q3 2026
- 12 added, 3 changed
- Private repository with git historyper repo, per sale$150 to $1,500Medium confidenceRightmark summary of public code licensing programs, Q3 2026
- $200 to $2,000Medium confidenceEpoch AI, Jan 2026
- Shut-down startup archiveper company, code and workspace$10,000 to $100,000Medium confidenceGizmodo, Apr 2026
- $185,000 to $1M+Medium confidenceRightmark summary of public company data programs, 2026
- Large enterprise archiveper company, winning bid, pending court approval$10MMedium confidenceTIME, Aug 2026
- Unused creator footageper minute$1 to $4Medium confidenceThe Decoder, Jan 2025
- Low-resource language speechper hour$60 to $150Medium confidenceSpeechData.ai, Jun 2026
- Nonfiction backlistper title, for 3 years$5,000High confidenceeWeek, Dec 2024
8 of 40 prices, chosen to span the market. Each row keeps its own unit, plotted on one log scale from $1 to $10M to show the spread.
Show these prices as a table
| Data type | Price | Unit | Confidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private repository with git history | $150 to $1,500 | per repo, per sale | Medium confidence | Rightmark summary of public code licensing programs, Q3 2026 |
| Training task built from real code | $200 to $2,000 | per task | Medium confidence | Epoch AI, Jan 2026 |
| Shut-down startup archive | $10,000 to $100,000 | per company, code and workspace | Medium confidence | Gizmodo, Apr 2026 |
| Operating company, 30+ staff, English records | $185,000 to $1M+ | per company | Medium confidence | Rightmark summary of public company data programs, 2026 |
| Large enterprise archive | $10M | per company, winning bid, pending court approval | Medium confidence | TIME, Aug 2026 |
| Unused creator footage | $1 to $4 | per minute | Medium confidence | The Decoder, Jan 2025 |
| Low-resource language speech | $60 to $150 | per hour | Medium confidence | SpeechData.ai, Jun 2026 |
| Nonfiction backlist | $5,000 | per title, for 3 years | High confidence | eWeek, Dec 2024 |
The Rightmark Price Index records what AI developers pay for data. In Q4 2026, private code licenses for an estimated $150 to $1,500 per repo per sale (Medium confidence, Rightmark summary of public code licensing programs, Q3 2026). Indicative estimate, not an offer. Final offers depend on the systems you connect, data size and quality, access terms and due diligence.
- Code repositories: an estimated $150 to $1,500 per repo per sale, Medium confidence, from the Rightmark summary of public code licensing programs, Q3 2026. Rightmark,
- Unused video footage: $1 to $4 per minute. The Decoder, (opens in a new tab)
- Nonfiction backlist: $5,000 per title for 3 years. eWeek, (opens in a new tab)
- A large company archive drew a $10M winning bid in a bankruptcy auction, pending court approval. TIME, (opens in a new tab)
Updated
Rightmark Price Index, Q4 2026: what AI developers pay for data, by data type and unit, with confidence and source
- High confidence
- Medium
- Low, inferred
- Midpoint of a sourced range
40 of 40 prices. Log scale, each price per its own unit. Pick one unit to compare rows directly.
| Range on a log scale, US dollars | Confidence and source | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Code and repositories3 prices, per repo, per taskExplore codeRequest data for code | ||||
| Private repo, standing-rate licenseTypical, per sale. Large repos up to about $10,000 per sale (indicative); history often carries more than half the price | $150 to $1,500per repo | Midpoint of a sourced range: $474 per repo. | Medium confidenceRightmark summary of public code licensing programs, Q3 2026 | |
What this price coversA non-exclusive license to one private repository with its full git history, priced per token of original code and, at a lower rate, per token of git history, per sale. Large repos with long histories reach about $10,000 per sale (indicative), and each further license pays again. Midpoint of a sourced range: $474 per repo. What moves it
SourceRightmark summary of public code licensing programs, Q3 2026 No public link: Rounded by Rightmark from pre-sale estimates shown in public code licensing programs in September 2026; no single public page states this range. Medium confidenceReported ranges, averages, winning bids, pre-sale estimates, listings or program terms. | ||||
| Premium or task-grade repositoryOur estimate for repos that build, pass their tests and carry real bug-fix history; no published per-repo price. Rightmark estimate, not a public price. Indicative estimate, not an offer. $10,000 to $100,000+ per repo, Low confidence | Our estimateper repo | No public per-unit price | Low confidenceRightmark estimate for task-grade code repositories, Q3 2026 | |
What this price coversRepositories that build, pass their tests and carry real bug-fix history, which buyers can turn into verifiable training tasks. No buyer publishes a per-repo price for these, so this range is our estimate. What moves it
SourceRightmark estimate for task-grade code repositories, Q3 2026 No public link: Our own estimate for repos that build, pass their tests and carry real bug-fix history; no published per-repo price exists. Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough. | ||||
| Training task built from real codeReported range per task; difficulty and fair, repeatable grading set the price | $200 to $2,000per task | Midpoint of a sourced range: $632 per task. | Medium confidenceEpoch AI (opens in a new tab) Jan 2026 | |
What this price coversOne training task built from real software work: a problem with a checkable answer, used to train or test a model. Midpoint of a sourced range: $632 per task. What moves it
SourceEpoch AI, Jan 2026 (opens in a new tab)An FAQ on Reinforcement Learning Environments Medium confidenceReported ranges, averages, winning bids, pre-sale estimates, listings or program terms. | ||||
| Company archives3 prices, per companyExplore company dataRequest data for company data | ||||
| Shut-down startup, code and workspaceReported sales of closed startups' data | $10,000 to $100,000per company | Midpoint of a sourced range: $31,600 per company. | Medium confidenceGizmodo (opens in a new tab) Apr 2026 | |
What this price coversCode plus workspace data, such as chat, email and docs, from a startup that has stopped trading, sold as one archive. Midpoint of a sourced range: $31,600 per company. What moves it
SourceGizmodo, Apr 2026 (opens in a new tab)Failed Companies Are Selling Old Slack Chats and Email Archives to Train AI Medium confidenceReported ranges, averages, winning bids, pre-sale estimates, listings or program terms. | ||||
| Operating company, 30+ staff, English records30 to 99 staff typically $185,000 to $720,000, depending on years and region; 100 to 499 staff reach the low millions. Lump sums are usually exclusive for a term | $185,000 to $1M+per company | Midpoint of a sourced range: $430,000 per company. | Medium confidenceRightmark summary of public company data programs, 2026 | |
What this price coversEmail, chat, documents, tickets, CRM records and code from a company with 30 or more staff and mostly English records, licensed as one archive. Lump sums are usually exclusive for a term; a non-exclusive revenue share is the alternative. Midpoint of a sourced range: $430,000 per company. What moves it
SourceRightmark summary of public company data programs, 2026 No public link: Rounded by Rightmark from published price calculators and stated ranges for exclusive lump-sum programs; no single public page states these bands. Medium confidenceReported ranges, averages, winning bids, pre-sale estimates, listings or program terms. | ||||
| Large enterprise archiveWinning bankruptcy-auction bid for Spirit Airlines' archive (about 100M emails, 500M Teams messages, 30M lines of code); the sale still needs court approval and a rival bidder later offered $12.5M | $10Mper company | Medium confidenceTIME (opens in a new tab) Aug 2026 | ||
What this price coversA whole company's archive, with its email, Teams chat and code, offered in a bankruptcy auction. Google's $10M bid won the auction, but the sale still needs court approval, so read it as a winning bid rather than a completed price. What moves it
SourceTIME, Aug 2026 (opens in a new tab)Why Google Bid $10 Million for a Failed Airline’s Data Medium confidenceReported ranges, averages, winning bids, pre-sale estimates, listings or program terms. | ||||
| Voice and audio5 prices, per hour, per track, per minuteExplore audioRequest data for audio | ||||
| Bulk call-center audioMarketplace asking price as archived August 2025, 1M-hour multilingual set; the live listing no longer shows a price | $6.30 to $7per hour | Midpoint of a sourced range: $6.64 per hour. | Medium confidenceDatarade via Internet Archive (opens in a new tab) Aug 2025 | |
What this price coversThe asking price for a 1M-hour multilingual set of call-center audio on a data marketplace. Transcribed, labeled and consented sets sell higher. Midpoint of a sourced range: $6.64 per hour. What moves it
SourceDatarade via Internet Archive, Aug 2025 (opens in a new tab)Global Call Center & Conversational Audio Dataset, Multilingual, Validated, with Demographics + Custom Collection Available Medium confidenceReported ranges, averages, winning bids, pre-sale estimates, listings or program terms. | ||||
| Ready-made speech datasetsCustom collection runs $150 to $400+ | $50 to $100per hour | Midpoint of a sourced range: $71 per hour. | Medium confidenceSpeechData.ai (opens in a new tab) Jun 2026 | |
What this price coversOff-the-shelf, transcribed speech in major languages, priced per hour of audio. Custom collection runs $150 to $400 or more per hour. Midpoint of a sourced range: $71 per hour. What moves it
SourceSpeechData.ai, Jun 2026 (opens in a new tab)How to Buy Speech Data: The Complete Buyer's Guide Medium confidenceReported ranges, averages, winning bids, pre-sale estimates, listings or program terms. | ||||
| Low-resource language speechPrice rises with language rarity | $60 to $150per hour | Midpoint of a sourced range: $95 per hour. | Medium confidenceSpeechData.ai (opens in a new tab) Jun 2026 | |
What this price coversReady-made, transcribed speech in low-resource languages, which sits at the top of the speech range. Midpoint of a sourced range: $95 per hour. What moves it
SourceSpeechData.ai, Jun 2026 (opens in a new tab)How to Buy Speech Data: The Complete Buyer's Guide Medium confidenceReported ranges, averages, winning bids, pre-sale estimates, listings or program terms. | ||||
| Music in an opt-in AI licensing programArtists share 25% of net licensing revenue, split by tracks | Revenue shareper track | No public per-unit price | Low confidenceDigital Music News (opens in a new tab) Jul 2026 | |
What this price coversOne music distributor's opt-in program that licenses artists' tracks to AI developers. Participating artists share 25% of the net licensing revenue, paid in proportion to the number of tracks each contributes. What moves it
SourceDigital Music News, Jul 2026 (opens in a new tab)Inside LANDR’s Fair Trade AI Program for Indie Artists Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough. | ||||
| Personal phone calls, one recording app's payout30 cents a minute for calls between two app users, about $18 an hour; the app was taken down after a security flaw | $0.30per minute | Low confidenceeWeek (opens in a new tab) Sep 2025 | ||
What this price coversWhat one app said in 2025 it paid users to record their phone calls, which it sold to AI companies for training: 30 cents a minute for calls between two app users, and up to $30 a day for other calls. The app's founder shut down its servers after a security flaw exposed users' calls. SourceeWeek, Sep 2025 (opens in a new tab)Neon Pays Users to Record Calls, Goes Dark After Security Flaw Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough. | ||||
| Video and imagery9 prices, per minute, per hour, per image, per videoExplore video and imagesRequest data for video and images | ||||
| Unused creator footage4K, drone and 3D at the top | $1 to $4per minute | Midpoint of a sourced range: $2 per minute. | Medium confidenceThe Decoder (opens in a new tab) Jan 2025 | |
What this price coversFootage that creators shot but never published, licensed to video model labs by the minute. Standard 1080p sits around $1 to $2 a minute; 4K, drone and 3D reach $4. Midpoint of a sourced range: $2 per minute. What moves it
SourceThe Decoder, Jan 2025 (opens in a new tab)OpenAI and Google are buying YouTubers' unpublished videos for up to $4 per minute Medium confidenceReported ranges, averages, winning bids, pre-sale estimates, listings or program terms. | ||||
| Stock footage bought by a major platformReported purchase program | $2.60 avg, up to $7.25per minute | Medium confidencePetaPixel (opens in a new tab) Apr 2024 | ||
What this price coversA major platform's reported program to buy videos for AI training, which paid about $2.60 a minute on average and up to $7.25. What moves it
SourcePetaPixel, Apr 2024 (opens in a new tab)Adobe Will Buy Your Videos for Up to $7.25 Per Minute to Train AI: Report Medium confidenceReported ranges, averages, winning bids, pre-sale estimates, listings or program terms. | ||||
| One creator's back catalog, licensed by the hour$33,000 in a year for 1,000 hours of old videos | About $33per hour | Low confidenceSemafor (opens in a new tab) Oct 2025 | ||
What this price coversOne creator's earnings from licensing old videos for AI training: $33,000 in a year for 1,000 hours, more than $33 an hour. Each hour can be licensed again to other companies. What moves it
SourceSemafor, Oct 2025 (opens in a new tab)The AI boom is turning old content into cash cows for creators Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough. | ||||
| First-person task videoLabels, hands in frame and sensors raise it | $15 to $50per hour | Midpoint of a sourced range: $27 per hour. | Medium confidenceStellaris VC (opens in a new tab) Apr 2026 | |
What this price coversVideo of real tasks filmed from the worker's point of view, used to train robotics foundation models. Unlabeled footage sits at the low end. Midpoint of a sourced range: $27 per hour. What moves it
SourceStellaris VC, Apr 2026 (opens in a new tab)Physical AI Has a Massive Data Problem Medium confidenceReported ranges, averages, winning bids, pre-sale estimates, listings or program terms. | ||||
| Stock imagesCaptions and releases set the price | $0.02 to $2per image | Midpoint of a sourced range: $0.20 per image. | Medium confidenceReuters via Rappler (opens in a new tab) Apr 2024 | |
What this price coversReported license prices for images in AI training deals, from 2 cents to about $2 per image. Midpoint of a sourced range: $0.20 per image. What moves it
SourceReuters via Rappler, Apr 2024 (opens in a new tab)Inside Big Tech's underground race to buy AI training data Medium confidenceReported ranges, averages, winning bids, pre-sale estimates, listings or program terms. | ||||
| Short-form video, one data vendor's market rate$2,000 to $4,000 per 1,000 clips; owners receive a share of it | $2 to $4per video | Midpoint of a sourced range: $2.83 per video. | Low confidenceReuters (opens in a new tab) Apr 2024 | |
What this price coversWhat one data vendor said in 2024 that companies are generally willing to pay for a short-form video: $2 to $4 per clip. The vendor splits its earnings with the content owners, so an owner receives a share of this figure. Midpoint of a sourced range: $2.83 per video. SourceReuters, Apr 2024 (opens in a new tab)Inside Big Tech’s underground race to buy AI training data Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough. | ||||
| Longer films, one data vendor's market rateAbout $1.67 to $5 a minute; owners receive a share of it | $100 to $300per hour | Midpoint of a sourced range: $173 per hour. | Low confidenceReuters (opens in a new tab) Apr 2024 | |
What this price coversWhat one data vendor said in 2024 that companies are generally willing to pay for longer films: $100 to $300 per hour. The vendor splits its earnings with the content owners, so an owner receives a share of this figure. Midpoint of a sourced range: $173 per hour. SourceReuters, Apr 2024 (opens in a new tab)Inside Big Tech’s underground race to buy AI training data Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough. | ||||
| Film and TV content, one licensor's list priceHD content in 2024, with a premium for 4K or 3D; the company was in deal talks, so this is a list price, not a sale | $6.25per minute | Low confidenceVariety (opens in a new tab) Aug 2024 | ||
What this price coversWhat one company aggregating film and TV content for AI developers set as its list price in 2024: $6.25 a minute for HD content, with an additional premium for 4K or 3D content. Its catalog then held over 17,000 hours from more than 10,000 titles, and the company was in deal talks with several AI companies rather than reporting a completed sale. What moves it
SourceVariety, Aug 2024 (opens in a new tab)Training AI With TV & Film Content: How Licensing Deals Look Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough. | ||||
| First-person video, undifferentiated bulk footageOne data company's estimate; it puts creation cost at $5 to $20 an hour | $2 to $5per hourin bulk | Midpoint of a sourced range: $3.16 per hour. | Low confidenceFlikforge (opens in a new tab) Jul 2026 | |
What this price coversOne data company's estimate of what undifferentiated first-person footage trades for in bulk: as little as $2 to $5 an hour, below its estimated creation cost of $5 to $20 an hour. It says footage selected, enriched and packaged for a defined skill is worth on the order of 100 times more. Midpoint of a sourced range: $3.16 per hour. What moves it
SourceFlikforge, Jul 2026 (opens in a new tab)The Great Robot Data Glut: Millions of Hours of Egocentric Video, and Most of it is Worthless Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough. | ||||
| Health and life sciences4 prices, per record, per slide, per studyRightmark does not take health data yet (patient records, medical imaging or veterinary records), until a HIPAA program and vendor agreements are in place.Explore health | ||||
| De-identified EHR, imaging, pathologyOne imaging program pays providers a revenue share | Revenue shareper record | No public per-unit price | Low confidenceImaging Technology News (opens in a new tab) Nov 2025 | |
What this price coversDe-identified records, imaging and pathology from hospitals and clinics, licensed to health AI developers. One public imaging program pays providers a revenue share. Per-record prices are rare: see the neurology records row for one published in an SEC filing. What moves it
SourceImaging Technology News, Nov 2025 (opens in a new tab)Gradient Health, DataFirst Team Up to Expand Access for AI Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough. | ||||
| Pathology slides (acquisition-implied)Implied by a 2025 acquisition that also bought products and models | About $11.60per slideImplied by the reported deal in its source, not a price for this data alone | Low confidenceBusinessWire (opens in a new tab) Aug 2025 | ||
What this price coversA per-slide figure implied by a 2025 acquisition that cited about 7M annotated slides. The deal also bought products and models, so it is not a price for slides alone. What moves it
SourceBusinessWire, Aug 2025 (opens in a new tab)Tempus Announces the Acquisition of Paige Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough. | ||||
| De-identified patient records, neurologyPer-record fee in an SEC filing; the buyer is a related party of the seller and fees depend on records delivered | $100per record | Medium confidenceTempus AI via SEC EDGAR (opens in a new tab) Oct 2026 | ||
What this price coversPathos AI pays Tempus $100 per delivered record for a license to 500,000 de-identified records of patients with Alzheimer's disease or other neurological conditions, 100,000 records a year for five years. Pathos shares leadership and owners with Tempus, so a board committee of disinterested directors approved it as a related-party deal. What moves it
SourceTempus AI via SEC EDGAR, Oct 2026 (opens in a new tab)Tempus AI, Inc. Form 8-K, Item 8.01 (Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pathos agreements) Medium confidenceReported ranges, averages, winning bids, pre-sale estimates, listings or program terms. | ||||
| Medical imaging studies (marketplace asking price)Implied by one asking price, $90M for 45M studies, mostly X-ray; the live listing address now redirects to the seller profile | About $2per studyImplied by the reported deal in its source, not a price for this data alone | Low confidenceDatarade via Internet Archive (opens in a new tab) Feb 2026 | ||
What this price coversA per-study figure implied by one data marketplace asking price: $90,000,000 for 45 million de-identified imaging studies, offered for pre-training radiology foundation models. 68% of the studies are X-ray; CT and MRI are 20%. It is an asking price, not a sale, and the listing address now redirects to the seller's profile, which shows no price. What moves it
SourceDatarade via Internet Archive, Feb 2026 (opens in a new tab)Radiology Medical Dataset, 45 M Studies, 10 M Patients, 7 Modalities, Diagnostic AI Data Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough. | ||||
| Books, documents and expert work13 prices, per title, per book, per question, per million words, per year, per site, per subscriptionExplore documentsRequest data for documents | ||||
| Nonfiction backlist licenseSplit 50/50 with authors who opt in | $5,000per titlefor 3 years | High confidenceeWeek (opens in a new tab) Dec 2024 | ||
What this price coversHarperCollins' three-year license of nonfiction backlist titles for AI training, split 50/50 with authors who opt in. What moves it
SourceeWeek, Dec 2024 (opens in a new tab)HarperCollins Book Catalog To Train Microsoft AI Models For The Next 3 Years High confidenceA completed deal or settlement disclosed with its price. | ||||
| Book settlement benchmarkA court settlement, not a license price | About $3,000per book | High confidenceTechCrunch (opens in a new tab) Jul 2026 | ||
What this price coversWhat a $1.5B settlement with authors, approved in July 2026, worked out to per book. It is a court settlement, listed as a benchmark, not a license price. What moves it
SourceTechCrunch, Jul 2026 (opens in a new tab)Anthropic's landmark $1.5B copyright settlement is approved High confidenceA completed deal or settlement disclosed with its price. | ||||
| Expert exam questionsBenchmark prizes for the hardest questions | $500 to $5,000per question | Midpoint of a sourced range: $1,580 per question. | Medium confidenceScale AI (opens in a new tab) Sep 2024 | |
What this price coversPrizes a benchmark program paid for the hardest expert-written questions: $5,000 each for the top 50 and $500 for the next 500. Midpoint of a sourced range: $1,580 per question. What moves it
SourceScale AI, Sep 2024 (opens in a new tab)Submit Your Toughest Questions for Humanity's Last Exam Medium confidenceReported ranges, averages, winning bids, pre-sale estimates, listings or program terms. | ||||
| Translation memoriesSpecialist and rare pairs hold value | €1,500 to €2,500per million wordsthen cut 97%+ | Midpoint of a sourced range: $2,170 per million words, in US dollars at EUR 1 = $1.1193. | Low confidenceMultiLingual (opens in a new tab) Apr 2024 | |
What this price coversList prices for translation memories on a data marketplace, before it cut its prices by more than 97%. Specialist and rare language pairs hold value. Midpoint of a sourced range: $2,170 per million words, in US dollars at EUR 1 = $1.1193. What moves it
SourceMultiLingual, Apr 2024 (opens in a new tab)TAUS Data Sale to Boost Multilingual LLMs Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough. | ||||
| Translation memories in common pairs, after the 2024 cutOur estimate; specialist and rare pairs are priced after review | €45 to €125per million words | Midpoint of a sourced range: $84 per million words, in US dollars at EUR 1 = $1.1193. | Low confidenceTAUS (opens in a new tab) Mar 2024 | |
What this price coversA Rightmark estimate for translation memories in common language pairs, from one marketplace's 2024 sale: its list price of EUR 1,500 to 2,500 per million words less a discount of more than 95% (up to 97% in a trade report). EUR 1,500 less 97% is 45 and EUR 2,500 less 95% is 125. Specialist domains and rare language pairs are priced after review. Midpoint of a sourced range: $84 per million words, in US dollars at EUR 1 = $1.1193. What moves it
SourceTAUS, Mar 2024 (opens in a new tab)TAUS Data Sale to Boost Multilingual LLMs Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough. | ||||
| News licensing, large publishersOne analyst's average of the 16 deals with value estimates, out of 34 tracked | About $24Mper yearaverageImplied by the reported deal in its source, not a price for this data alone | Medium confidenceMedia and the Machine (opens in a new tab) Jan 2025 | ||
What this price coversA newsletter analyst's estimate of the average yearly value of AI licensing deals with the first wave of large news and content publishers, based on the 16 of the first 34 tracked deals that had revenue estimates (earnings calls, CFO quotes and press reports). He expects smaller publishers to be next. What moves it
SourceMedia and the Machine, Jan 2025 (opens in a new tab)5 Takeaways from the AI Content Licensing Deals I'm Tracking (size of avg. deal , market, etc.) Medium confidenceReported ranges, averages, winning bids, pre-sale estimates, listings or program terms. | ||||
| Community Q&A (forum archive)One platform's license with Google | About $60Mper year | Medium confidenceColumbia Journalism Review (opens in a new tab) Oct 2025 | ||
What this price coversOne large community platform's yearly license with Google for its posts and answers. What moves it
SourceColumbia Journalism Review, Oct 2025 (opens in a new tab)Reddit Is Winning the AI Game Medium confidenceReported ranges, averages, winning bids, pre-sale estimates, listings or program terms. | ||||
| Licensed text, one data vendor's market rate$0.001 a word; owners receive a share of it | $1,000per million words | Low confidenceReuters (opens in a new tab) Apr 2024 | ||
What this price coversThe market rate for licensed text that one data vendor quoted in 2024: $0.001 a word, or $1,000 per million words. The vendor splits its earnings with the content owners, so an owner receives a share of this figure. SourceReuters, Apr 2024 (opens in a new tab)Inside Big Tech’s underground race to buy AI training data Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough. | ||||
| Small sites' payments over several months in one AI answer pilotOne early participant earns more than $1M a year | $1,000per siteor less | Low confidenceSearch Engine Journal (opens in a new tab) Oct 2026 | ||
What this price coversWhat one search company's AI contribution pilot pays the sites whose content shapes its AI answers: some smaller sites earned less than $1,000 over several months, while one early participant earns more than $1M a year. SourceSearch Engine Journal, Oct 2026 (opens in a new tab)Google AI Pilot Pays Some Sites Under 0.1% Of Ad Revenue Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough. | ||||
| News licensing, one large publisher's 2026 dealUp to this a year for at least three years; reported, not disclosed by the parties | $50Mper yearor less | Medium confidenceNew York Post via Yahoo Finance (opens in a new tab) Mar 2026 | ||
What this price coversA multiyear AI content licensing deal with Meta, reported in March 2026, that will pay one large news publisher up to $50M a year for content from its US and UK titles. The figure comes from people familiar with the deal; Meta confirmed the agreement but shared no terms. What moves it
SourceNew York Post via Yahoo Finance, Mar 2026 (opens in a new tab)News Corp. strikes $50M-per-year AI licensing deal with Meta Medium confidenceReported ranges, averages, winning bids, pre-sale estimates, listings or program terms. | ||||
| News licensing, two national publishers in IndiaEstimates from sources familiar with the talks; no party disclosed the value | $3M to $5Mper year | Midpoint of a sourced range: $3.9M per year. | Low confidenceexchange4media (opens in a new tab) Sep 2026 | |
What this price coversWhat two Indian newspaper groups' 2026 deals with OpenAI are estimated to be worth each year: around $5M for the publisher of The Times of India and The Economic Times, and about $3M for the Indian Express Group. The estimates come from sources familiar with the talks; none of the parties disclosed the value. Midpoint of a sourced range: $3.9M per year. Sourceexchange4media, Sep 2026 (opens in a new tab)OpenAI’s TOI & IE deals spark wider interest among news publishers Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough. | ||||
| University press titles, author's share per titleWhat one university press told authors to expect; authors could opt out | $100per titleor less, per license | Low confidenceInside Higher Ed (opens in a new tab) Jul 2025 | ||
What this price coversWhat one university press told its authors to expect from licensing its books for AI training: modest returns of less than $100 per title per license. The press did not name the AI company or disclose the total value, and authors could opt out. SourceInside Higher Ed, Jul 2025 (opens in a new tab)Johns Hopkins Press Plans to License Books to Train AI Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough. | ||||
| Publisher share of an AI browser subscriptionPublishers get 80% of a $5 a month subscription; 20% goes to compute | Revenue shareper subscription | No public per-unit price | Medium confidenceEngadget (opens in a new tab) Aug 2025 | |
What this price coversOne AI search company's program that pays publishers when its browser and assistants use their articles: publishers get 80% of the revenue of a $5 a month subscription, with 20% kept for compute, paid at first from a reported $42.5M pool. No per-article price is published. SourceEngadget, Aug 2025 (opens in a new tab)Perplexity has cooked up a new way to pay publishers for their content Medium confidenceReported ranges, averages, winning bids, pre-sale estimates, listings or program terms. | ||||
| Robotics and sensors3 prices, per hour, per dataset, per demonstrationExplore roboticsRequest data for robotics | ||||
| Robot teleoperation logsEstimates; force and touch data raise it | $50 to $200per hour | Midpoint of a sourced range: $100 per hour. | Low confidenceDreamVu (opens in a new tab) Aug 2026 | |
What this price coversLogs of robots driven by human operators, with their camera and sensor streams, priced per hour of robot data. These are industry estimates, so the row is marked Low. Midpoint of a sourced range: $100 per hour. What moves it
SourceDreamVu, Aug 2026 (opens in a new tab)Robot Training Data Companies: The 2026 Landscape Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough. | ||||
| Industrial sensor dataNo public rate card; labeled faults matter most | Priced after reviewper dataset | No public per-unit price | Low confidencearXiv (opens in a new tab) Jun 2026 | |
What this price coversMachine and factory sensor logs. There is no public rate card, so each dataset is priced after review. What moves it
SourcearXiv, Jun 2026 (opens in a new tab)FactoryNet: A Large-Scale Dataset toward Industrial Time-Series Foundation Models Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough. | ||||
| Robot demonstrations, simple single-armEstimate across vendor rate cards; per-hour quotes vary far more | $1 to $15per demonstration | Midpoint of a sourced range: $3.87 per demonstration. | Low confidenceTeahose (opens in a new tab) Aug 2026 | |
What this price coversWhat one usable, simple single-arm robot demonstration costs, per a 2026 survey of public vendor and trade-press figures. It is an estimate, so the row is marked Low. Per collected hour, the same survey puts real-robot teleoperation at about $90 to $150 fully loaded in the US. Midpoint of a sourced range: $3.87 per demonstration. What moves it
SourceTeahose, Aug 2026 (opens in a new tab)Robotics Training Data: The Companies Feeding Physical AI (2026) Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough. | ||||
What changed since Q3 2026
Every difference between the Q3 2026 and Q4 2026 editions, matched row by row from the two published edition files, with the source and date behind each one.
Q3 2026 had 28 prices and Q4 2026 has 40.
No price left the index.
A changed row means newer or better evidence for that data type, or a new reading of the same source. On its own it does not show that the market rose or fell.
Prices that changed
Same data type, new evidence or a new reading of it. The Q3 2026 value stays readable in the Q3 2026 edition.
| Data type | Q3 2026 | Q4 2026 | What changed | Source | Your data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| De-identified EHR, imaging, pathology | Revenue share No public per-unit priceper recordLow confidenceNo buyer publishes per-record pricesRow in Q3 2026, De-identified EHR, imaging, pathology | Revenue share No public per-unit priceper recordLow confidenceOne imaging program pays providers a revenue share | Note, What the price covers | Imaging Technology News, Nov 2025 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026 | Rightmark does not take health data yet. |
| News licensing, large publishers | About $24Mper year, averageMedium confidenceAverage of 34 disclosed dealsRow in Q3 2026, News licensing, large publishers | About $24Mper year, averageMedium confidenceOne analyst's average of the 16 deals with value estimates, out of 34 tracked | Figure type: reported figure to estimate, Note, What the price covers | Media and the Machine, Jan 2025 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026 | Get your quote, News licensing, large publishers |
| Community Q&A (forum archive) | About $60Mper yearHigh confidenceOne platform's license with GoogleRow in Q3 2026, Community Q&A (forum archive) | About $60Mper yearMedium confidenceOne platform's license with Google | Confidence: High to Medium | Columbia Journalism Review, Oct 2025 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026 | Get your quote, Community Q&A (forum archive) |
New prices in Q4 2026
Data types the index did not price before. If you hold data like one of these, get a quote for yours.
| Data type | Price | Confidence | Source | Your data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal phone calls, one recording app's payoutper minute | $0.30 | Low confidence | eWeek, Sep 2025 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026 | Get your quote, Personal phone calls, one recording app's payout |
| Data type | Price | Confidence | Source | Your data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short-form video, one data vendor's market rateper video | $2 to $4 | Low confidence | Reuters, Apr 2024 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026 | Get your quote, Short-form video, one data vendor's market rate |
| Longer films, one data vendor's market rateper hour | $100 to $300 | Low confidence | Reuters, Apr 2024 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026 | Get your quote, Longer films, one data vendor's market rate |
| Film and TV content, one licensor's list priceper minute | $6.25 | Low confidence | Variety, Aug 2024 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026 | Get your quote, Film and TV content, one licensor's list price |
| First-person video, undifferentiated bulk footageper hour, in bulk | $2 to $5estimate | Low confidence | Flikforge, Jul 2026 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026 | Get your quote, First-person video, undifferentiated bulk footage |
| Data type | Price | Confidence | Source | Your data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| De-identified patient records, neurologyper record | $100 | Medium confidence | Tempus AI via SEC EDGAR, Oct 2026 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026 | Rightmark does not take health data yet. |
| Medical imaging studies (marketplace asking price)per study | About $2estimate | Low confidence | Datarade via Internet Archive, Feb 2026 (opens in a new tab) | Rightmark does not take health data yet. |
| Data type | Price | Confidence | Source | Your data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| News licensing, one large publisher's 2026 dealper year, or less | $50M | Medium confidence | New York Post via Yahoo Finance, Mar 2026 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026 | Get your quote, News licensing, one large publisher's 2026 deal |
| News licensing, two national publishers in Indiaper year | $3M to $5Mestimate | Low confidence | exchange4media, Sep 2026 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026 | Get your quote, News licensing, two national publishers in India |
| University press titles, author's share per titleper title, or less, per license | $100 | Low confidence | Inside Higher Ed, Jul 2025 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026 | Get your quote, University press titles, author's share per title |
| Publisher share of an AI browser subscriptionper subscription | Revenue share No public per-unit price | Medium confidence | Engadget, Aug 2025 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026 | Get your quote, Publisher share of an AI browser subscription |
| Data type | Price | Confidence | Source | Your data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robot demonstrations, simple single-armper demonstration | $1 to $15estimate | Low confidence | Teahose, Aug 2026 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026 | Get your quote, Robot demonstrations, simple single-arm |
17 prices kept their value after their source was re-checked
- Training task built from real code: Epoch AI, Jan 2026 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026
- Shut-down startup, code and workspace: Gizmodo, Apr 2026 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026
- Bulk call-center audio: Datarade via Internet Archive, Aug 2025 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026
- Music in an opt-in AI licensing program: Digital Music News, Jul 2026 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026
- Unused creator footage: The Decoder, Jan 2025 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026
- One creator's back catalog, licensed by the hour: Semafor, Oct 2025 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026
- First-person task video: Stellaris VC, Apr 2026 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026
- Stock images: Reuters via Rappler, Apr 2024 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026
- Nonfiction backlist license: eWeek, Dec 2024 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026
- Book settlement benchmark: TechCrunch, Jul 2026 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026
- Expert exam questions: Scale AI, Sep 2024 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026
- Translation memories: MultiLingual, Apr 2024 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026
- Translation memories in common pairs, after the 2024 cut: TAUS, Mar 2024 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026
- Licensed text, one data vendor's market rate: Reuters, Apr 2024 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026
- Small sites' payments over several months in one AI answer pilot: Search Engine Journal, Oct 2026 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026
- Robot teleoperation logs: DreamVu, Aug 2026 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026
- Industrial sensor data: arXiv, Jun 2026 (opens in a new tab), re-checked 26 Oct 2026
8 prices carry over exactly as published in Q3 2026: Private repo, standing-rate license, Premium or task-grade repository, Operating company, 30+ staff, English records, Large enterprise archive, Ready-made speech datasets, Low-resource language speech, Stock footage bought by a major platform, Pathology slides (acquisition-implied).
Prices in euros are plotted at EUR 1 = $1.1193, the reference rate for 23 Oct 2026. Q3 2026 plotted them at EUR 1 = $1.1355, the rate for 29 Sep 2026.
How this comparison works
Rows are matched by their id across the two edition files, not by name. A row counts as changed when its price, unit, confidence, figure type, wording or source differs, and as re-checked when only the date its source was last opened moved. Missing and undisclosed values stay missing.
What this report does not say
It does not say current rates increased or decreased. It does not estimate demand, claim an average, or convert one edition into a quote. It does not establish that a family is eligible for intake.
How the index works
- What a row is
- One kind of data at one price, in one unit, from one dated source: a disclosed deal or settlement, a winning bid, a pre-sale estimate, a reported range or program term or, where nothing is public, our own estimate. Sources are press reports, company disclosures, published buyer programs and industry research.
- Units
- Each price is per its own unit: per repo, per company, per hour and so on. Rows compare directly only when they share a unit, so pick one in the unit menu and the axis rescales to it.
- Confidence
- High confidenceA completed deal or settlement disclosed with its price.
- Medium confidenceReported ranges, averages, winning bids, pre-sale estimates, listings or program terms.
- Low confidenceInferred, implied or estimated, so read it as rough.
- Bars and midpoints
- A bar spans each range on a log scale. The dot is the midpoint of a sourced range: the geometric mean of its two ends, which is the visual center of a bar on a log axis, or the reported average where a row gives one. A single reported price is a dot, and a bar with an open top fades out.
- Currency
- US dollars unless a row says otherwise. Rows priced in euros keep their currency and are plotted at EUR 1 = $1.1193, the reference rate for 23 Oct 2026. European Central Bank, (opens in a new tab)
- Updates
- A new edition each quarter; the next is due in April 2027. This edition was published on 26 Oct 2026 and updated on 26 Oct 2026.
- Not an offer
- These are market reference points, not offers. Your data is priced on its own scarcity, structure and rights, which is what the appraisal measures, and every range it shows reads: Indicative estimate, not an offer. Final offers depend on the systems you connect, data size and quality, access terms and due diligence.
- Corrections
- Found a better source or a newer deal? Email hello@rightmark.ai and we review it for the next edition.
Edition notes
Q4 2026 edition, published 26 Oct 2026
New1
This edition lists 40 prices in 7 data families. Every price added or changed since the previous edition is listed under What changed, with its source and date.
Context4
A $10M winning bid in a bankruptcy auction for one company archive still needs court approval, and a rival bidder later offered more, so the row carries Medium confidence. TIME, (opens in a new tab); Fortune, (opens in a new tab)
The book settlement benchmark of about $3,000 per book comes from a court settlement with authors, not from a license. TechCrunch, (opens in a new tab)
Translation memories were listed at EUR 1,500 to 2,500 per million words, then cut 97%+, so the row carries Low confidence. MultiLingual, (opens in a new tab)
The premium repository range is our own estimate, because no buyer publishes a per-repo price for task-grade code. Rightmark,
How to read the Rightmark Price Index
The index is useful when a reader keeps three things together: what the unit measures, when the source was reported, and how much of the value is directly disclosed versus inferred. A row without those labels is harder to compare safely.
Confidence labels describe the evidence behind a row. The current Price Index does not certify title, quality, demand, or the price of a new collection. Do not blend units or currencies and call the result a comparison.
Edition state
Read the edition and updated date displayed with the current index. Keep them with any citation you save. An updated source or corrected classification can change a row without establishing a change in the wider market. Compare like-for-like edition records before describing a trend.
How to cite a row
Use this pattern in research notes:
Rightmark Price Index, [edition], [data kind], [unit], source [publisher or record], reported [date], confidence [label].Keep the source link and source date beside the row. If the source is an estimate, retain that label. If the unit is missing, do not create a comparison.
Indicative estimate, not an offer. Final offers depend on the systems you connect, data size and quality, access terms and due diligence.
The disclaimer belongs near any estimate or appraisal handoff. An appraisal request is a separate review, not a result implied by the index.
Before comparing an archive with a published row, use the data valuation guide to record the unit, source date and confidence beside your note. A published range is context, not an offer.
Questions about the index
How much do AI companies pay for data?
It depends on the type and unit. In Q4 2026: an estimated $150 to $1,500 per repo per sale for a private code repository at standing rates (Medium confidence, from the Rightmark summary of public code licensing programs, Q3 2026), $1 to $4 per minute of unused video, $50 to $150 per hour of speech, up to $5,000 per book title, $10,000 to $100,000 for a shut-down startup archive and, for an operating company archive, an estimated $185,000 to $1M+ per company (Medium confidence, from the Rightmark summary of public company data programs, 2026).
Sources: Rightmark, ; The Decoder, (opens in a new tab); SpeechData.ai, (opens in a new tab); eWeek, (opens in a new tab); Gizmodo, (opens in a new tab); Rightmark,
Where do the prices come from?
From press reports, company disclosures, published buyer programs, pre-sale estimates and industry research. Each row records its unit, date and source. Where no public price exists we say so, or show our own estimate marked Low confidence.
How often is the Price Index updated?
Every quarter. The current edition is Q4 2026, published 26 Oct 2026, and the next is due in April 2027. Past editions stay online at their own addresses, so citations do not break.
What do the confidence levels mean?
High means a completed deal or settlement disclosed with its price. Medium means reported ranges, winning bids, pre-sale estimates or program terms. Low means the price is inferred or estimated and should be read as rough. Revenue-share rows have no public per-unit price.
How much is an hour of speech data worth?
Ready-made speech datasets are reported at $50 to $100 per hour, and low-resource languages at $60 to $150. Bulk call-center audio lists at $6.30 to $7 per hour, and custom collection runs $150 to $400 or more per hour.
Sources: SpeechData.ai, (opens in a new tab); Datarade via Internet Archive, (opens in a new tab)
How much do AI companies pay for books?
Reported book figures run $3,000 to $5,000: a nonfiction backlist was licensed at $5,000 per title for 3 years, split 50/50 with authors who opt in, and a court settlement with authors worked out to about $3,000 per book, a benchmark rather than a license price.
Sources: eWeek, (opens in a new tab); TechCrunch, (opens in a new tab)
Can I cite or reuse the Price Index?
Yes. Cite it as Rightmark Price Index, Q4 2026, Rightmark, with a link. The tables are free to reuse with attribution under CC BY 4.0, and a CSV download sits on the page.
Cite this edition
Rightmark Price Index, Q4 2026. Rightmark. Published 26 Oct 2026, updated 26 Oct 2026. https://rightmark.ai/price-index/
Free to reuse with attribution under CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab). The CSV holds every row with its unit, confidence, source and source link.
To keep these exact figures after the next edition, link to rightmark.ai/price-index/2026-q4/.
Put your data on the board
Answer a few questions to see an indicative range for your data, the routes it fits and what would raise the price. Where the index has a matching price, you can then see your range marked on the board. About a minute, no files.