Tender alert services in the UK compared (Oct 2026)

If you are searching for the best tender alert service in the UK, the honest answer is that it depends on what you bid for, where, and how much time you have to read notices. This page compares the free government alerts with five paid services in detail, two more in brief, and TenderWorthy. Each price is dated and linked to the vendor’s own page, and where no price is published we say so.

TenderWorthy is one of the services compared. Read our entry with that in mind, and use the links to check everything yourself.

How we compared them

We looked at five things for each service: the price on the vendor’s own page, whether there is a free option, the sources the vendor says it covers, how it matches notices to you, and whether it checks a notice against your insurance, certifications or location (where we have not assessed a vendor, we say so).

Prices are as published on the date shown, with currency, period and VAT exactly as the vendor states them. Where a vendor publishes no price we write “price on request (not published)” and link the page. Where we captured only part of a price, we say what is missing (for TenderLake, the monthly price). Coverage and feature claims are the vendor’s own, and we attribute them rather than repeat them as fact. “Not assessed” means we have not checked this for that vendor, not that the feature is missing.

We follow the rules on comparing identifiable competitors: like-for-like needs, features a reader can verify, and no disparagement (Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008, regulation 4; ASA guidance). We are not an independent tester. We assign no ratings or rankings. If a price or claim is wrong, tell us and we will correct it.

Free government alerts (Find a Tender, Contracts Finder)

Find a Tender is the central digital platform, at find-tender.service.gov.uk, as described in gov.uk’s central digital platform guidance. gov.uk’s guide shows you can filter by notice type, by suitability for small and medium-sized enterprises and by contract location, save the search and choose how often you are emailed. gov.uk says notices are “designed to allow interested parties to look at them free of charge”.

Contracts Finder lets you create an account to get email updates and save searches. Since the Procurement Act 2023 took effect, PPN 019 says its rules apply only to procurements started under the old regulations, and new below-threshold opportunities must be advertised on Find a Tender. So you want both while the old-rules procurements run off.

Choose the free alerts if you bid occasionally, work in one narrow area, and have time to read each notice. Our free alerts versus paid comparison shows how to set them up.

Tracker Intelligence

Tracker says on its alerts page that its “tender and contract intelligence draws on 880+ sources across 195 countries” (a global figure, not a UK count). It offers a free tender search (Resources menu, “Free Tender Search”).

Its plans page publishes no prices: Price on request (not published). It lists four plans, Iconiq (1 licence), Logiq (3 licences), Dynamiq (5 licences) and Analytiq (5 licences, marked “limited-time offer”), all with UK and ROI coverage. Tracker’s own terms are a 3-day free trial, and the process is demo-led. All as published on trackerintelligence.com/plans, 11 Oct 2026.

Who should choose Tracker instead of TenderWorthy: firms that need to see tenders on portals we do not collect from, such as Public Contracts Scotland (see every UK tender portal). Tracker says its intelligence draws on 880+ sources across 195 countries, a global figure, so check whether the UK portals you need are included. Also firms that bid in the Republic of Ireland (Tracker’s plans page states UK and ROI coverage). If that is you, read our Tracker alternatives page for a longer comparison.

Supply2Gov

Supply2Gov’s pricing page shows from £25/month or £270/year (Country):

• Local Area: free (“Free Forever”). Choose a postcode and keywords and view contracts near you. Registration is free.
• Country: £25/month or £270/year. Choose regions and keywords.
• UK: £80/month or £499/year (marked Most Popular). All contracts across the UK.
• UK & Ireland: £95/month or £899/year. The UK and the Republic of Ireland.

VAT is not stated on the pricing cards. All as published on supply2govtenders.co.uk, 11 Oct 2026.

Who should choose it: a micro-business that wants keyword alerts across more than one area and wants to check insurance and certification requirements itself in each tender pack.

Stotles

Stotles says on its tenders page that its search “is free and open”, with no sign-up needed to look through notices, and that it draws on “100+ sources, aggregated and deduplicated” (alerts need an account). Its pricing page lists two products, Sales Studio and Bid Studio, each with a free plan. Prices, as published on stotles.com, 11 Oct 2026:

• Sales Studio: Free £0/mo; Basic from £75–£99/mo (page shows both); Growth from £475/mo; Expert custom.
• Bid Studio: Free £0 (3 lifetime AI bid/no-bid reports); Growth from £495/mo; Expert custom.

The pricing page states no per-user or annual terms.

Who should choose it: teams that want a free, open search across 100+ sources, or the paid Sales Studio and Bid Studio plans on its pricing page, rather than filtered alerts.

TenderLake

TenderLake Monitor says on its product page that it matches notices to a plain-language description of what you sell, rather than keywords or CPV codes, and explains each match. It says it covers the UK, EU and EEA (EU coverage is listed with the Europe/UK/INT+ plan). TenderLake’s pricing page shows from £249/mo (paid annually); monthly price not captured:

• UK+IE: £249/mo (paid annually). 2 Primary/Admin and 5 Pro user licences. Lower and higher value contracts (including OJEU) for the UK and Ireland, frameworks and DPS (the vendor’s wording), and daily email alerts.
• Europe/UK/INT+: £396/mo (paid annually). 2 Primary/Admin and 7 Pro licences. UK, EU, Norway, Switzerland, World Bank and more, below-threshold and national tenders in EU countries, and 10+ years of history.
• Trial: a 7-day free trial on online payment is listed with the Europe/UK/INT+ plan, on the vendor’s terms. Check which plans it covers.
• Tenderlake Analyst: pay as you go, price on request.

VAT is not stated. All as published on tenderlake.com, 11 Oct 2026.

Who should choose it: firms that struggle to describe their work in keywords, or that bid across the UK and EU.

Tenders Direct

Tenders Direct says on its tender alert service page that “We scan over 500 tender sources each day, and review every notice to verify the requirements”, with alerts “across the UK and Ireland”. Its pricing page shows from £1,359 (billing term not stated on page):

• Basic £1,359, Core £2,044 (marked “most popular”), Premium £2,319.
• All three plans have unlimited users. Saved searches are 1, 5 and 100 respectively.
• The page has a 1/2/3-year billing selector but does not state whether a price covers one year or the whole term chosen, and says nothing on VAT. Ask before you compare it with a monthly price.
• Tenders Direct states a 7-day free trial at £0, with 1 user and 1 saved search.

All as published on tendersdirect.co.uk, 11 Oct 2026.

Who should choose it: firms that want a broad alert service across the UK and Ireland, or teams that want unlimited users on one plan.

Other options

• Mercell: price on request (not published). Mercell’s suppliers page states a 14-day free trial with no card required, on the vendor’s terms. As published on info.mercell.com, 11 Oct 2026.
• BidStats: a tender search and alert service. Its pricing page lists Free £0 (5 tender views a day, 3 portals, last 90 days); Standard £350/yr (annual, 1 alert); Pro £800/yr (3 seats, unlimited alerts); and Insights from £5k/yr (demo). VAT is not stated for the plans (extra users are £150 + VAT), and monthly options are mentioned but their prices are not listed. As published on alpha-app.bidstats.uk, 11 Oct 2026.

TenderWorthy

TenderWorthy collects notices from Find a Tender and Contracts Finder every night, removes duplicates, and, on Pro, emails a digest each morning on days with new matches. On Pro, notices that fit your trade and area are compared with your insurance levels, certifications, turnover, postcode and travel radius, using only what the notice states.

What we do not do matters as much. We cover Find a Tender and Contracts Finder only. We do not collect from Sell2Wales, Public Contracts Scotland, eTendersNI or buyers’ own portals (see every UK tender portal). We do not offer award data, competitor research or bid writing. And we cannot see the tender pack: in the week to 10 Oct 2026, about 6% of live notices (29 of 470) stated insurance requirements in the notice itself, so for most notices the insurance level has to be checked in the tender pack. See how we check.

Prices: Free (weekly list, starting soon, one sector, no fit check), Pro £49/month or £490/year (a checked morning digest on days with new matches, one profile), Team: coming soon. See pricing.

Who should choose another service instead: anyone who needs notices from portals we do not cover, or tools beyond alerts.

Which is the best tender alert service in the UK for you?

• You bid occasionally in one area. Start with the free Find a Tender and Contracts Finder alerts.
• You run a trade or services firm and lose hours on tenders you cannot qualify for. Add a check against your insurance and certifications. That is what TenderWorthy’s Pro plan is for, within the limits above.
• You need more than alerts. Stotles lists Sales Studio and Bid Studio plans on its pricing page, and Bid Studio Free includes 3 lifetime AI bid/no-bid reports. We send alerts only.
• You bid in the EU as well. TenderLake says it covers the UK, EU and EEA (EU on its Europe/UK/INT+ plan, as published on tenderlake.com, 11 Oct 2026).
• You are in Northern Ireland. Check eTendersNI.
• Most of your work is Scottish. Check Public Contracts Scotland.

You can use more than one. The free alerts cost nothing to run alongside a paid service.