# Mercor vs SourceX data referrals | SourceX

Canonical: https://refer.sourcex.si/guides/mercor-vs-sourcex-data-referral
Last updated: 2026-11-04

Mercor and SourceX both describe a route for introducing companies whose workflow data could be licensed for AI work. SourceX publishes its default formula: the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout, with no cap, with a USD 100,000 Minimum Transaction and written payment conditions. Mercor's data page describes a refer-a-company flow and a bonus paid once the company starts earning, but the page excerpts reviewed on 2026-10-18 state no amount. Ask for written terms before comparing expected earnings.

## How do Mercor and SourceX company-data referral programs compare?

On process, they look similar: you introduce a company, the platform handles the agreement, and you are paid after the company is paid. On disclosure, they differ: SourceX publishes the base, rate, floor, minimum, trigger and deadline, while the Mercor page reviewed publishes the steps without the numbers.

That difference matters to an introducer because you cannot compare a published formula with an unpublished one. A blank is not a zero, and it is not a high number either. It is a question to put to the program in writing.

## The disclosure table: what each public page says

Checked on 2026-10-18. Where a public page does not answer a field, the cell says "Not published" rather than guessing.

| Field | SourceX (refer.sourcex.si/terms) | Mercor (mercor.com/data, company referrals) |
|---|---|---|
| Who can be referred | Companies that license their own business data | Businesses that could be a good fit for Mercor's data work |
| What the referrer does | Introduces an authorized contact; no data handling | Submits an introduction |
| Who runs the deal | SourceX: agreement, rights review, data preparation, delivery and payout | Mercor: outreach, agreement and data pipeline |
| Reward amount | No cap; a USD 50,000 floor on a company's first qualifying transaction (USD 100,000 Minimum Transaction) | Not published in the excerpts reviewed |
| Calculation base | the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout, with no cap | Not published |
| Repeat transactions | 15% of Actual Supplier Payout on further qualifying transactions first agreed within 12 months of the first Closing; the floor applies once per company | Not published |
| Payment trigger | A reward becomes payable after SourceX has paid the referred company under its signed agreement and the payout conditions in the program terms are met, including finance approval and your tax and payment details.| Bonus once the referred company starts earning |
| Payment deadline | 60 days after the later of the Acquisition Partner’s final written acceptance and completed handoff | Not published |
| Company eligibility | 50+ full-time employees at peak, operating history, rights, authorized contact | Not published |
| Attribution | First valid introduction within 90 days; one partner per company | Not published |

Two cautions on reading the right-hand column. First, Mercor runs a separate, well-documented expert referral program that pays 20% of a referred expert's earnings up to an earnings cap. That program covers individual contributors, so its rate says nothing about company referrals. Second, third-party sites have reported other headline figures for Mercor's company referrals; we could not confirm them on Mercor's own pages, so they are left out of the table.

## What should you ask Mercor, and SourceX, in writing?

Send both programs the same six questions and compare the written answers, not the marketing pages.

1. What exactly is the reward calculated on: what the company is paid, the platform's revenue, or a fixed amount?
2. Is there a cap, and does it apply per referral, per agreement or per company for life?
3. Which event makes the reward payable, and is there a deadline after that event?
4. What happens to the reward if the company's payment is reduced, refunded or reversed?
5. How is attribution decided if two people introduce the same company?
6. Does the reward come out of the company's compensation?

SourceX's answers are already on the [terms page](/terms): the reward is funded separately and never deducted from the company's payout, a reduction in supplier payout reduces the reward proportionately, and the first valid introduction within the 90-day window is credited when the company submits a verified application. The [payable-reward explainer](/questions/when-does-a-potential-reward-become-payable) walks through each payment condition in order.

## A worked example with one side left blank

Illustrative only. A 310-person construction services firm licenses project close-out records and receives $120,000 for the qualifying completed handoff. This is not a quote or a completed deal.

| Step | SourceX | Mercor |
|---|---|---|
| Company compensation | $120,000 | $120,000 |
| Formula applied | the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout, with no cap | Not published |
| Illustrative referrer amount | $56,000 (USD 50,000 plus 5% of $120,000, which beats 15%) | Cannot be calculated |
| Paid when | A reward becomes payable after SourceX has paid the referred company under its signed agreement and the payout conditions in the program terms are met, including finance approval and your tax and payment details.| After the company starts earning |

The blank cell is the finding. Until Mercor states its formula, the only defensible comparison is on process and conditions, and an introducer who wants to compare money needs Mercor's written terms. If the same company's compensation were $400,000, the SourceX amount would be $70,000; at $800,000 it would be $120,000, because 15% then exceeds USD 50,000 plus 5% and there is no cap.

## Does the company qualify, and what can you share before it applies?

For SourceX, the introduced company needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history, rights to license the records, and an authorized contact who can discuss a license. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 70% of the data is in English.

Keep the conversation at metadata level whichever program you approach:

| Ask about | Fine to note | Do not collect |
|---|---|---|
| Record type | "Resolved service tickets with outcomes" | Ticket exports or screenshots |
| Volume and span | "Roughly 80,000 tickets over seven years" | Sample files |
| System | A plain-text tool name such as Zendesk or Jira | Logins or API keys |
| Ownership | Whether client contracts restrict reuse | Client contracts themselves |
| Authority | Which executive can open a licensing discussion | Personal contact data beyond a business email |

The guide on [whether to upload company documents](/questions/should-i-upload-company-documents-when-making-an-introduction) explains why partners never need to handle raw records. What stays unknown until SourceX reviews the opportunity: dataset demand for those records, the rights review result, the company's offer and any reward. The [FAQ](/faq) covers common follow-ups, and the [micro1 comparison](/compare/sourcex-vs-micro1-company-referral) applies the same method to a program that does publish a headline figure.

## Next step

> **Refer a company. No cap on rewards.** Default reward on a company's first qualifying transaction: the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout, with no cap; further qualifying transactions first agreed within 12 months of the first Closing pay 15%. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, including the USD 100,000 Minimum Transaction, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.

If you would rather compare against terms you can read today, [register as a partner](/register), check the company against [who qualifies](/who-qualifies), and keep the [program terms](/terms) beside Mercor's written answers when they arrive.

## Sources

- https://refer.sourcex.si/terms
- https://www.mercor.com/data/
- https://talent.docs.mercor.com/policies/referrals
- https://refer.sourcex.si/rewards