Scope first. Reward second.

Start with a product you understand. Check that your target and testing method are permitted, read exclusions and safe-harbor terms, and plan how to demonstrate impact without accessing other people's data. The list is a research shortlist, not a payout ranking.

Match your skillsClear scope mattersRead rules first

Compare bug bounty rewards and AI research scope.

Use this table as a starting point, then click through to the official program page before testing. Reward ceilings are not guaranteed payouts.

Showing 13 programs in the table. Check individual eligibility before testing.

ProgramAdvertised reward ceilingBest fitOfficial source
Apple Security Bounty
Mobile / platform
Rewards reaching $2,000,000; potential maximum above $5,000,000 with bonusesAdvanced exploit chains, Apple platform research, Lockdown Mode, PCC, mobile securityApple Security Bounty categories

Last verified: September 5, 2026

Google Android and Devices VRP
Mobile / Android
Up to $1,500,000 for zero-click full-chain Pixel Titan M2 compromise with persistencePixel, Android, firmware, hardware-backed security, persistence, zero-click researchGoogle: Android and Chrome VRPs for the AI era

Last verified: September 5, 2026

Coinbase Bug Bounty
Crypto / fintech
Extreme-severity reports remain eligible for up to $1,000,000Crypto, fintech, account protection, high-impact Web2 and Web3 security researchCoinbase: bug bounty focus in the age of AI

Last verified: September 5, 2026

Google Chrome VRP
Browser
Up to $250,000 for full-chain browser-process exploits; additional MiraclePtr bypass rewards can applyBrowser exploitation, sandbox escapes, memory safety, MiraclePtr bypass researchGoogle Chrome VRP rules

Last verified: September 5, 2026

Meta Bug Bounty
Web / platform
Up to $300,000 for listed top mobile RCE category, before possible bonusesLarge-scale web, mobile, account security, platform abuse, and privacy-impact researchMeta Bug Bounty

Last verified: September 5, 2026

Microsoft Bug Bounty Programs
Cloud / enterprise
Up to $250,000 across program categoriesCloud, identity, enterprise products, endpoint, on-prem, and Microsoft platform researchMicrosoft Bug Bounty Program

Last verified: September 5, 2026

Shopify Bug Bounty
Commerce / platform
Maximum bounty of $200,000Commerce, SaaS, web security, API security, and platform-impact reportsShopify Bug Bounty

Last verified: September 5, 2026

OpenAI Bug Bounty
AI platform
Up to $100,000 for exceptional and differentiated critical findingsAI platform security, account integrity, agent security, infrastructure, and abuse pathsOpenAI: Security on the path to AGI

Last verified: September 5, 2026

Intel Bug Bounty
Hardware / firmware
$500 to $100,000, based on report quality, impact, severity, proof of concept, and vulnerability typeHardware, firmware, platform security, silicon-adjacent vulnerabilities, and PoC qualityIntel Bug Bounty Program

Last verified: September 5, 2026

Anthropic Model Safety Bug Bounty
AI safety / model security
Up to $35,000 per novel universal jailbreak in the model-safety programModel safety, universal jailbreak research, AI abuse testing, and policy bypass evidenceAnthropic Model Safety Bug Bounty Program

Last verified: September 5, 2026

Microsoft Copilot Bounty
AI product security
$250 to $30,000; higher discretionary awards may applyCopilot access controls, information disclosure and AI-specific security impact

Use a personal test account and follow MSRC eligibility and disclosure rules. Self-only prompt injection, system-prompt extraction and content-only issues are excluded.

Microsoft Copilot scope and reward rules

Last verified: September 22, 2026

Google AI Vulnerability Reward Program
AI security / abuse
Base rewards up to $20,000; report-quality adjustments and discretionary novelty bonuses applyUnauthorized agent actions, sensitive data exposure and cross-account context manipulation

Test only your own accounts. Participation is 18+ (an adult may submit for a minor), with geographic restrictions. Standard jailbreaks, hallucinations and non-sensitive prompt extraction do not qualify.

Google AI VRP scope and reward rules

Last verified: September 22, 2026

GitHub Bug Bounty
Developer platform / supply chain
Critical issues list $10,000 in the public program and $30,000+ in private programs; exceptional reports may receive moreDeveloper platform security, GitHub Actions, package integrity, identity, and supply chainGitHub Bug Bounty rewards

Last verified: September 5, 2026

Security vulnerabilities and model safety are different tracks.

A jailbreak, hallucination or extracted system prompt does not automatically earn a bounty. Google AI and Microsoft Copilot require qualifying impact; Anthropic's model-safety program has separate acceptance and participation rules. Read the linked policy before testing. The AI filter includes both security and safety programs, not a promise of open enrollment or payment.

Closed event: Microsoft 365 Copilot

The published Zero Day Quest program ran February 17 to March 18, 2026 and restricted eligibility to participating researchers. Its historical $250-$30,000 reward range is not an active offer on this page. Last verified September 22, 2026.

Read Microsoft 365 Copilot event terms

Use the bounty list as a weekly research queue.

Pick one official program, read scope first, then use the GitHub and AI security checklists to turn research into a reproducible report instead of noisy scanning.

Reward ceilings are signals, not promises.

Many programs advertise a maximum reward for exceptional severity, full exploit chains, or unusual impact. Actual payouts vary by scope, report quality, affected product, reproducibility, and prior disclosure status. Always verify live terms directly on the official program page before investing serious research time.

Check each program's verification dateOfficial sources onlyReward ceilings can change

Pick a program by scope quality, not only by maximum payout.

The highest paying bug bounty program is not always the best place to start. Researchers should compare scope clarity, response speed, safe-harbor language, duplicate risk, payout history, exploit complexity, and whether the target matches their skills. A $2M reward ceiling may be less practical than a smaller program with clear API scope and consistent triage.

Scope claritySafe harborTriage qualityReward historySkill fit

AI is pushing programs toward high-impact, reproducible reports.

Several programs are now explicitly reacting to AI-generated report volume. Coinbase removed low and medium issues from its public Web2 bounty path while preserving its $1M extreme-severity ceiling. Google updated Android and Chrome rewards to emphasize harder exploit chains. OpenAI increased exceptional critical payouts to $100K, and Anthropic's model-safety bounty highlights universal jailbreak research. The pattern is clear: quality, exploitability, and business impact matter more than noisy volume.

AI-era triage noiseHigher bar for proofAgent and model scopeExceptional impact wins

Major public programs worth tracking.

A research shortlist spanning AI, cloud, developer, mobile, browser, crypto and platform security. Display order is not a payout ranking.

Mobile / platformApple

Apple Security Bounty

Rewards reaching $2,000,000; potential maximum above $5,000,000 with bonuses

Apple continues to advertise one of the highest public ceilings, especially for exploit chains resembling sophisticated spyware attacks, Lockdown Mode bypasses, beta findings, and Private Cloud Compute research.

Last verified: September 5, 2026

Apple Security Bounty categories

Mobile / AndroidGoogle

Google Android and Devices VRP

Up to $1,500,000 for zero-click full-chain Pixel Titan M2 compromise with persistence

Google's 2026 Android and Chrome VRP update keeps the highest Android rewards focused on hard, high-impact exploit chains rather than commodity AI-generated findings.

Last verified: September 5, 2026

Google: Android and Chrome VRPs for the AI era

Crypto / fintechCoinbase

Coinbase Bug Bounty

Extreme-severity reports remain eligible for up to $1,000,000

Coinbase's July 2026 update is a useful AI-era signal: low and medium issues moved out of the public bounty path while the top extreme-severity reward stayed at seven figures.

Last verified: September 5, 2026

Coinbase: bug bounty focus in the age of AI

BrowserGoogle

Google Chrome VRP

Up to $250,000 for full-chain browser-process exploits; additional MiraclePtr bypass rewards can apply

Chrome remains a top-tier browser target, but Google's April 2026 rules update changed exploit-bonus limits, reproduction requirements, and reward structure.

Last verified: September 5, 2026

Google Chrome VRP rules

Web / platformMeta

Meta Bug Bounty

Up to $300,000 for listed top mobile RCE category, before possible bonuses

Meta remains one of the biggest-name public programs and explicitly advertises six-figure payouts, plus possible Hacker Plus and other bonuses.

Last verified: September 5, 2026

Meta Bug Bounty

Cloud / enterpriseMicrosoft

Microsoft Bug Bounty Programs

Up to $250,000 across program categories

Microsoft's bug bounty portfolio spans cloud, identity, AI, and enterprise products, and its separate research events can make the total opportunity much larger.

Last verified: September 5, 2026

Microsoft Bug Bounty Program

Commerce / platformShopify

Shopify Bug Bounty

Maximum bounty of $200,000

Shopify is a strong practical target for web, commerce, and platform researchers, with live program statistics and a clearly advertised maximum bounty.

Last verified: September 5, 2026

Shopify Bug Bounty

AI platformOpenAI

OpenAI Bug Bounty

Up to $100,000 for exceptional and differentiated critical findings

OpenAI's expanded maximum reward is an important signal for AI platform security research, especially high-impact infrastructure and product-security findings.

Last verified: September 5, 2026

OpenAI: Security on the path to AGI

Hardware / firmwareIntel

Intel Bug Bounty

$500 to $100,000, based on report quality, impact, severity, proof of concept, and vulnerability type

Intel is worth tracking for researchers focused on hardware, firmware, platform security, and product-security vulnerability handling.

Last verified: September 5, 2026

Intel Bug Bounty Program

AI safety / model securityAnthropic

Anthropic Model Safety Bug Bounty

Up to $35,000 per novel universal jailbreak in the model-safety program

Anthropic's program is a useful AI-specific watch item because it focuses on universal jailbreaks against deployed safeguards, not only traditional web vulnerabilities.

Last verified: September 5, 2026

Anthropic Model Safety Bug Bounty Program

AI product securityMicrosoft

Microsoft Copilot Bounty

$250 to $30,000; higher discretionary awards may apply

Covers specified consumer Copilot experiences, including web, Edge, mobile and Windows. Reports need demonstrable security impact, not merely unusual model output.

Use a personal test account and follow MSRC eligibility and disclosure rules. Self-only prompt injection, system-prompt extraction and content-only issues are excluded.

Last verified: September 22, 2026

Microsoft Copilot scope and reward rules

AI security / abuseGoogle

Google AI Vulnerability Reward Program

Base rewards up to $20,000; report-quality adjustments and discretionary novelty bonuses apply

A dedicated program for AI-related vulnerabilities in eligible Google products, including Gemini, Search and Workspace. Google Cloud issues generally follow the separate Cloud VRP.

Test only your own accounts. Participation is 18+ (an adult may submit for a minor), with geographic restrictions. Standard jailbreaks, hallucinations and non-sensitive prompt extraction do not qualify.

Last verified: September 22, 2026

Google AI VRP scope and reward rules

Developer platform / supply chainGitHub

GitHub Bug Bounty

Critical issues list $10,000 in the public program and $30,000+ in private programs; exceptional reports may receive more

GitHub is strategically important because its scope touches source control, Actions, packages, developer identity, and software supply-chain risk.

Last verified: September 5, 2026

GitHub Bug Bounty rewards

How to use this list without wasting research time.

Start by reading each official scope, then choose one product area and build repeatable test notes. Avoid noisy scanning, customer-data access, denial-of-service testing, social engineering, and anything outside the program rules. The reports that earn rewards usually include clear reproduction steps, impact, affected assets, and a minimal proof of concept.