Questions · GovCon
SAM.gov API alternative — opportunities, awards, and recompetes
SAM.gov's own API is real and free — the limits are what it covers, not what it costs. Notices only, aggressive rate limits, and nothing about the contracts that will be re-competed next year.
What SAM.gov's API gives you — and doesn't
The official Get Opportunities API returns live notices: solicitations, presolicitations, award notices. It's the right source for "what's posted right now", and the GovCon Monitor uses it directly (bring a free key). But by the time a notice posts, the incumbent has been positioning for a year. The API also says nothing about expiring contracts — the future RFPs.
The three-mode alternative
- Opportunities mode — SAM.gov notices matching your NAICS, agency, set-aside and keyword filters, as clean JSON rows you can pipe into a CRM (email alerts can't).
- Awards mode — recently signed awards from USAspending (free, no key): who just won what, at what value.
- Recompete mode — the mode SAM.gov can't offer: contracts whose period of performance ends within your horizon, from USAspending award history — with incumbent, value, end date, days_until_expiry, and (with a SAM.gov key) a join showing whether a recompete notice already exists. Find the RFP 6–12 months before it drops.
All three bill at $0.003 per record — a 200-record recompete sweep is $0.60, against GovCon SaaS subscriptions at $500+/month built on the same public data.
Questions
Frequently asked
Is the SAM.gov API free?
Yes — registration gets you a free key, which this actor uses for opportunities mode and the recompete-notice join. Awards and recompete modes work with no key at all via USAspending.
What is recompete mode exactly?
It scans USAspending for contracts ending within your horizon and returns each with incumbent, agency, NAICS, value, end date and an expiry bucket — plus whether a matching live SAM.gov notice already exists.
Can I filter by set-aside status?
Yes — 8(a), SDVOSB, WOSB, HUBZone and other set-asides are first-class filters in opportunities mode, alongside NAICS, agency and keywords.
GovCon Monitor
A 200-record recompete sweep costs $0.60. GovCon SaaS tools charging $500+/month are built on the same public data.