# Which federal contracting data APIs exist, and how do they compare in 2026? Two free official sources hold the record: SAM.gov's APIs (entities, opportunities, exclusions, awards; 10 to 1,000 calls a day) and USAspending (awards from FY2001, no key). Around them: GovCon API ($19 to $39 a month, FY2025+), samgovapi.io (free plan, then $49 to $499), HigherGov and GovTribe (search products with API or MCP access), and Govly for vehicle-only bids.Checked on 2026-11-15.Official source: [open.gsa.gov API catalog](https://open.gsa.gov/api/) | Free official sources | SAM.gov, USAspending, CALC+ | | --- | --- | | Cheapest paid API | GovCon API, $19 a month | | Longest free history | USAspending, FY2001 | | Checked | 15 Nov 2026 | ## The answer in detail Start from the job. Live, authoritative checks: SAM.gov. Award history and analysis: USAspending. Bulk current entities: the SAM.gov extract or an API over it. Private vehicle opportunities that SAM.gov never shows: Govly. A full BD workspace: HigherGov, GovTribe or GovWin.For a product or an AI agent, the API-first providers compete on price, limits and joins. GovCon API leads on history and dataset breadth; this site on a permanent free plan, keyless MCP tools and public lookup pages for every record.Open-source MCP servers such as sam-gov-mcp wrap the official APIs directly, which keeps data live but inherits SAM.gov's daily limits. ## How the options compare | Option | Price | Access and limits | Coverage and history | Best for | Checked | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [SAM.gov APIs (official)](https://open.gsa.gov/api/entity-api/) | Free | 10 requests a day with no SAM.gov role, 1,000 with a role or a non-federal system account; keys expire every 90 days | The live, authoritative record: entities, opportunities, exclusions, contract awards, hierarchy, subawards | Anyone who needs the official record itself, at low volume | 2026-11-12 | | [USAspending API (official)](https://api.usaspending.gov/docs/endpoints) | Free, no key | No key and no published daily cap | Prime awards and subawards back to FY2001; no SAM.gov registration status or expiry | Award and spending history | 2026-11-12 | | [GovCon API (govconapi.com)](https://govconapi.com/pricing) | Developer $19/mo, Pro $39/mo; 14-day trial | 1,000 requests an hour (50 a minute burst); trial 50 a day | 12,265,150 contracts and 758,552 opportunities from FY2025; 904,090 entities, monthly | Developers who want the lowest entry price and FY2025+ history | 2026-11-15 | | [HigherGov](https://www.highergov.com/pricing/) | Starter $500/yr, Standard $2,500/yr, Enterprise custom | API on paid plans; 10,000 records a month as its API page stated on 12 Nov 2026 | Opportunities, awards, awardees, IDVs and forecasts in a search UI with exports | Small BD teams who want a polished search UI | 2026-11-15 | | [GovTribe](https://govtribe.com/pricing) | $1,900 per seat a year ($1,200 at 6+ seats); Pro $2,100 | AI and MCP included with 5,000 credits per seat (10,000 on Pro); no self-serve REST API on its pricing page | Vendors, awards, opportunities, grants and IDVs in a seat-based workspace | Capture teams that work inside one shared workspace | 2026-11-15 | | [Govly](https://www.govly.com/pricing) | Always Free tier (last 30 days of solicitations); paid tiers quote only | Enterprise API, 300 requests a minute per key | Private contract-vehicle opportunities from 40+ GWACs and IDIQs | Resellers chasing vehicle-only opportunities | 2026-11-12 | | [sam-gov-mcp (open source, PyPI)](https://pypi.org/project/sam-gov-mcp/) | Free | Hosted edition: no key, 6 tools; local edition: 20 tools on your own SAM.gov key, so SAM.gov's daily limits apply | Wraps the official SAM.gov REST APIs live (version 1.0.18, released 27 Oct 2026) | Agents that need a few live SAM.gov calls a day | 2026-11-15 | | [samgovapi.io](https://samgovapi.io/pricing) | Free (100 credits a month, no card); Developer $49/mo, Pro $149/mo, Scale $499/mo | 20 to 180 requests a minute by plan, no daily cap; REST, MCP and keyless MCP search | 881,370 entities (1 Nov 2026 extract), 74,420 notices, 169,191 exclusions, 114,954 awards since 1 Oct 2026 | Developers and AI agents who want entities, bids and exclusions joined in one API | 2026-11-15 | ## Where samgovapi.io is the weaker choice - Award history is short: 114,954 prime awards with action dates from 1 Oct 2026 to 10 Nov 2026 (fiscal year 2027 so far). USAspending goes back to FY2001 and GovCon API serves 12.27 million contracts from FY2025. - GovCon API is cheaper: $19 a month for its Developer plan and $39 for Pro, against $49 and $149 here. ## Try it Every dataset's source date, refresh time and row count, so you can check coverage before you buy. ``` curl "https://samgovapi.io/api/v1/datasets/status" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $SAMGOVAPI_API_KEY" ``` ## Questions Which is best for an AI agent?One with an MCP server and limits an agent will not exhaust in a single task: a loaded-copy API, or a live-API server with a role-level SAM.gov key.Which has state and local bids?None of the federal APIs here; GovSpend, GovWin and BidPrime cover state and local. ## Related - [Comparisons](https://samgovapi.io/compare) - [SAM.gov API](https://samgovapi.io/sam-gov-api) - [API docs](https://samgovapi.io/docs) - [Pricing](https://samgovapi.io/pricing) - [Answers](https://samgovapi.io/answers)Updated 2026-11-15. Sources checked 2026-11-15.Independent. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by GSA, SAM.gov or any U.S. government agency. Registering in SAM.gov is free at sam.gov.

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