Skip to content
AI Data Payout

Updated November 2026

Mode vs Replay: which should pay for your company's data?

Independent and sourced. We feature companies that pay us a referral fee. Our scores and reviews don't change for it. How we earn

Mode buys an agreed copy of your records and resells it, with a stated range of $100K-$5M and no broker fee. Replay typically pays upfront cash plus a perpetual revenue share, and its bands start lower, at $10K-$100K for 20-50 employees. Replay aims at 20 or more people and Mode at 30 or more, though law, accounting, finance and medical businesses can qualify for Mode with fewer.1,2,3,4,5,6

Match my companyWhat is it worth?

Side by side

Mode and Replay, row by row

Mode

7.3/10

#9 in our seller ranking

Visit Mode

We're in Mode's referral program, so we may earn a fee if you work with them. It doesn't change our score or review. How we earn

Read our Mode review

Replay

7.1/10

#11 in our seller ranking

Read our Replay review

Most cells are what each company says about itself. The numbers link to the sources.

Mode compared with Replay
TopicModeReplay
What it takesEmail, documents, chat, calls, CRM and billing, from tools such as Gmail, Slack, Salesforce, QuickBooks and ServiceTitan7Code, decision threads, financial records, support history, product logs, CRM, sales calls and internal docs8
Who qualifies30+ employees; accounting, finance and medical 10+, and law firms 6+520+ full-time on its referral page, though its valuation form accepts 1 to 9 people6
Stated price$100K-$5M, indicative only2$10K-$100K at 20-50 staff, $100K-$1M at 50-250, $1,000,000+ at 250+4
How you are paidThe amount and schedule are set in the written agreement1Typically upfront cash plus a perpetual share, at a rate not published3
Sale or licenseMode buys an agreed copy; you keep your originals1"A license, not a sale", yet it tells buyers it holds "the full rights and titles to license it onward"9,10
TimingPayment expected within about 60 days; its FAQ says about three months overall11Not published as a number of days
Your timeA few hours from your team, Mode says12120 minutes, Replay says13
Who you are dealing withMode.Inc, led by CEO Dan Novaes; program launched in October 2026; its sites give two different totals raised14Replay Data, linked to Sunset, with three company names across its documents15,16

The real gap

A set amount, or cash plus a share for as long as it earns

Mode's model is easy to picture. You sign a 14-day nonbinding letter that holds the estimate while it reviews your data, then it collects and scrubs the records over 15 to 30 days, and the agreement fixes what you get. We found no deal record yet, and the program only launched in October 2026.11,14

Replay typically pays in two parts and says new data can keep paying. A perpetual share could be worth more than a larger upfront amount, or nearly nothing, and since the rate is not published you can't tell which until you see it in writing. Replay says it has paid "millions" to businesses, with no exact figure.3,17

Watch the wording

Who ends up holding what

Replay tells owners "This is a license, not a sale", and that ownership stays with you. On its AI buyers page it says it holds the full rights and titles to license the data onward, and its sample buyer license runs forever. Those two can both be true, but ask which rights you actually keep.9,10,18

Mode says it buys a filtered copy and resells it for AI research and training, with scope and any exclusivity set out before export. Ask how many times it can resell that copy, to whom, and what limits go in the agreement. Your staff sign in to approved systems and hand over no passwords. Replay does the export itself and removes identifiers across 60+ categories in an isolated environment for each job.1,19,13

Choosing

Which fits which company

Under 30 people, Mode is mainly for law, accounting, finance and medical businesses, while Replay's form will at least take your details. Between 20 and 50 people, Replay's band tops out at $100K, which is where Mode's stated range starts, but Mode's range is not tied to headcount, so get each number in writing.5,6,2,4

FAQ

Questions, answered with sources

  • Yes. Mode.Inc is a consumer app company led by co-founder and CEO Dan Novaes, whose apps pay users for activity. It launched this program for company data as BizBuyData.com on October 13, 2026.14

  • Its own footer and founder letter link the two. Every replay.ai footer reads Sunsets HQ Corp., and the letter says the founder started Sunset and then built Replay.16

  • Mode says $100K-$5M. Replay's bands run from $10K-$100K for 20-50 staff up to $1,000,000+ for 250+, plus a share of later earnings. Both are their own numbers, and Mode's calculator is indicative only.2,4,3

  • It depends on the rate, which Replay does not publish. Ask for the rate, how often it pays, and what counts as revenue, then hold the upfront cash alone against Mode's written offer.3

  • Mode says a few hours from your team, to describe the business, approve scope and sign in to approved systems. Replay says 120 minutes of your time and does the export.12,13

  • Every business is different, so this one is best talked through with the buyer you're working with. Their team goes over it with you before anything is signed.

Before you sign

Questions to talk through with your buyer

Every business is different, so these are best talked through with the buyer you're working with. Their team goes over them with you before anything is signed.

Questions for this kind of business

  • How is a perpetual revenue share treated compared with one payment?
  • How is the payment taxed?

Questions for any buyer

  • Is the license exclusive, and for how long?
  • Can you sublicense the data, and to whom?
  • Which AI labs will receive it, and will you tell us?
  • How long do you keep it, and how is it deleted?
  • What is your liability cap, and who indemnifies whom?
  • Will the contract ban re-identification of people in the data?
  • Who removes personal data, by what method, and do we approve it first?

How this page was made

Figures come from the published sources listed below, and what a buyer says about itself is its own claim. Anything marked as our estimate is ours, not a buyer quote. Drafted with AI help from our research, then checked against each source. Updated October 2026.

We feature companies that pay us a referral fee. Our scores and reviews don't change for it. See how we earn and how we rank. This site does not give legal, tax or financial advice.

Sources (19)

  1. 1.Mode company data site. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  2. 2.Mode company data site. Accessed 30 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  3. 3.Replay homepage. Accessed 30 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  4. 4.Replay homepage. Accessed 30 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  5. 5.Mode company data site. Accessed 30 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  6. 6.Replay referral page. Accessed 30 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  7. 7.Mode company data site. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  8. 8.Replay homepage. Accessed 30 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  9. 9.Replay data privacy page. Accessed 30 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  10. 10.Replay AI buyers page. Accessed 30 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  11. 11.Mode press release (Business Wire, via Yahoo Finance), published 13 Oct 2026. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  12. 12.Mode company data site. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  13. 13.Replay homepage. Accessed 30 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  14. 14.Mode.Inc website. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  15. 15.Replay terms. Accessed 30 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  16. 16.Replay about page. Accessed 30 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  17. 17.Replay homepage. Accessed 30 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  18. 18.Replay AI buyers page. Accessed 30 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  19. 19.Mode company data site. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.