SAM.gov API Alternative and Scraper: Federal Contract Opportunities by NAICS, Set-Aside and Agency

Get US federal contract opportunities from SAM.gov as clean JSON, CSV or Excel: no SAM.gov API key, no 10-requests-a-day cap, about $3 per 1,000 results. Filter government bids by NAICS, PSC, set-aside (small business, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB), agency, state and response deadline, or run it on a schedule in monitor mode to get only new or changed notices (amendments, deadline changes, cancellations, awards). Every row includes the contracting-officer contact, a days_until_deadline countdown and links to the bid documents.

No SAM.gov account, no start fee, no subscription. Failed rows are never charged.

Built and maintained by Clean Data Labs.

Ready-made examples (one click to run)

Example	What it finds
IT services bids, small business	NAICS 541511/541512 with a Total Small Business set-aside
Construction bids (NAICS 236, 238)	Open building and specialty-trade solicitations
Janitorial contracts (NAICS 561720)	Custodial and cleaning work
Engineering services (NAICS 541330)	Federal engineering opportunities
Veterans Affairs opportunities	Open VA solicitations
New in the last 7 days	Solicitations posted or updated this week

Why teams use it

• Daily bid alerts without a $500 to $2,500 a year seat. Schedule a monitor for your NAICS codes, PSCs, agencies and set-asides. Unchanged notices are skipped and never billed, so a quiet day costs almost nothing.
• Never miss an amendment. SAM.gov posts each amendment as a new notice. The monitor ties every version back to the original solicitation and tells you what changed: amended, deadline_changed, canceled, awarded, notice_type_changed or updated, with the previous deadline and previous notice ID.
• Bid-ready rows. days_until_deadline, primary_contact_name/email/phone, attachment_links, set_aside_description: drop them straight into a sheet, CRM or Slack message.
• Filters SAM.gov's own search makes hard: NAICS and PSC prefixes, agency by plain name (Department of Veterans Affairs, DHS, NAVFAC), a response-deadline window, place-of-performance state, set-asides including "no set-aside", and strict keyword matching.
• Fair billing. One flat price per saved notice, including details, contacts and attachment links. Rows whose details SAM.gov failed to return are saved with an error field and free; empty rows are never saved.

Who it's for

• Small businesses and GovCon firms watching for solicitations they can bid on.
• Capture and business development teams that need a daily change feed in their NAICS codes.
• Proposal consultants building lead lists and deadline calendars for clients.
• Analysts tracking federal demand by agency, NAICS, PSC or region.
• AI agents and automations that need clean, typed federal-opportunity data (see For AI agents).

Quick start

1. Search (one-off): open small-business construction work in the Southwest.

{
  "naicsCodes": ["236220", "238210"],
  "setAsides": ["SBA", "SDVOSB", "8(a)", "HUBZone"],
  "states": ["CO", "UT", "AZ", "NM", "TX"],
  "updatedWithinDays": 30,
  "openForResponseOnly": true,
  "maxResults": 20
}

2. Monitor (scheduled): new or changed IT notices from the VA and DHS that are due in the next 60 days.

{
  "monitorMode": true,
  "monitorId": "it-va-dhs",
  "naicsCodes": ["5415"],
  "pscCodes": ["DA", "R4"],
  "agencies": ["Department of Veterans Affairs", "DHS"],
  "deadlineWithinDays": 60,
  "updatedWithinDays": 7,
  "maxResults": 1000
}

The first monitor run returns current matches from the lookback window (or nothing, if you set "monitorFirstRun": "baseline"). Every later run returns only notices that are new or changed since the previous run.

Monitor mode: alerts, scheduling and webhooks

How it works

1. Each monitor keeps its memory in a named key-value store, samgov-monitor-state, in your own Apify account: one record per monitorId (STATE-<monitorId>). Named stores do not expire.
2. Each run asks SAM.gov for everything modified since the previous run (with a 2-hour overlap, so nothing slips through), oldest first.
3. Notices whose version, modified date, deadline, type and status are unchanged are skipped before any detail request and are never saved or charged.
4. Everything else is compared field by field with what the monitor last saw and labeled:

change_type	Meaning
new	First time this solicitation family is seen
amended	A new version (amendment) of a notice you already saw
deadline_changed	The response deadline moved (previous_response_deadline shows the old one)
canceled	The notice was canceled
awarded	The notice became an award notice
notice_type_changed	e.g. Sources Sought became a Solicitation
updated	Same version, but title, set-aside, attachments or awardee changed

changed_fields lists exactly what differs (notice_version, response_deadline, set_aside, attachments, ...), and previous_notice_id, previous_notice_type_code and first_seen_at give you the history.

If a run is cut short (by maxResults, a cost limit or a SAM.gov outage), the next run continues where it stopped, and notices whose details failed are re-checked. RUN_SUMMARY.caught_up tells you whether the monitor is up to date.

Leave monitorId empty and an ID is derived from your filters, so changing a filter starts a fresh monitor. Set resetMonitor: true to start over.

Schedule it

1. In Apify Console open Schedules → Create new, pick a cron such as 0 13 * * 1-5 (weekdays 13:00 UTC) or 0 */4 * * * (every 4 hours).
2. Add this actor with your monitor input. Keep the same monitorId in every scheduled run.

Get notified: webhook or integration

On the actor's Integrations tab you can connect Slack, email, Google Sheets, Zapier, Make or n8n, or add an HTTP webhook for the event Run succeeded. A useful payload template:

{
  "runId": {{resource.id}},
  "status": {{resource.status}},
  "datasetId": {{resource.defaultDatasetId}},
  "keyValueStoreId": {{resource.defaultKeyValueStoreId}},
  "chargedEventCounts": {{resource.chargedEventCounts}}
}

• chargedEventCounts.opportunity is the number of new or changed notices saved (0 means nothing changed).
• Fetch the rows with GET https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/<datasetId>/items?view=monitor (or without view for every field).
• Fetch GET https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/<keyValueStoreId>/records/RUN_SUMMARY for counts per change_type, has_changes, caught_up and next_check_from.
• The run's status message also reads like an alert, e.g. Monitor: 2 amended, 1 deadline_changed, 5 new (230 scanned, 222 unchanged).

Input

Input	What it does
keywords	Free text, same as the SAM.gov search box
keywordMatch	sam (default, SAM.gov's broad relevance search) or all: every word and every "quoted phrase" must appear in the title, description or solicitation number
naicsCodes	Exact or prefix: 541512, 5415 (all 5415xx), 23 (all construction)
pscCodes	Product Service Codes, exact or prefix: DA01, R4, Z2
agencies	Department or agency names, acronyms or SAM.gov organization IDs: Department of Veterans Affairs, DHS, Air Force, GSA, 100006688. Sub-commands like NAVFAC are matched against the office hierarchy
noticeTypes	Solicitation, Combined Synopsis/Solicitation, Presolicitation, Sources Sought, Special Notice, Award Notice and more
setAsides	SBA, SBP, 8A, 8AN, HZC, SDVOSBC, WOSB, EDWOSB, VSA, ISBEE, IEE, LAS, NONE; friendly names like SDVOSB, HUBZone, 8(a) also work
states	Place-of-performance states, e.g. CO, TX
updatedWithinDays	Lookback: posted or modified in the last N days (default 7; 0 = no limit). In monitor mode, the first run's lookback
deadlineWithinDays	Response due between now and N days from now
deadlineFrom / deadlineTo	Response deadline window, YYYY-MM-DD
openForResponseOnly	Skip notices whose response deadline has passed
activeOnly	Skip archived or inactive notices (default true)
monitorMode	Return only new or changed notices since the previous run (default false)
monitorId	Name of the monitor's memory, e.g. cyber-va-daily
monitorFirstRun	emit (default) returns current matches on the first run; baseline only remembers them, free
resetMonitor	Forget this monitor's memory and start over
includeDetails / includeContacts / includeAttachments	Full record, points of contact and bid-document links (default on)
maxResults	Maximum notices to save; you are charged per saved notice (default 100)

Every input from earlier versions works unchanged and returns the same fields; the new fields are additions.

Output fields

Field	Description
notice_id / solicitation_number	SAM.gov notice ID and solicitation number
original_notice_id	ID of the first version of this solicitation (amendments share it)
title	Opportunity title
notice_type / notice_type_code	e.g. Solicitation (o), Sources Sought (r)
department / agency / office	Buying organization
office_city / office_state	Contracting office location
posted_date / modified_date	When this version was posted and last changed
response_deadline / response_timezone	When responses are due
days_until_deadline	Whole days left until the deadline (negative once passed, null if none)
is_active / is_canceled	Notice status
naics / psc_code	NAICS codes and product/service code
set_aside / set_aside_description	e.g. SBA / Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)
pop_city / pop_state / pop_zip / pop_country	Place of performance
award_amount / award_date / awardee_name / awardee_uei	Award details, when published
description	Notice description (up to 5,000 characters)
contacts	Points of contact: type, name, title, email, phone
primary_contact_name/title/email/phone, secondary_contact_*	The same contacts as flat columns
attachments	Bid documents and links: name, type, url, size_bytes, posted_date, access
attachment_links / attachment_count	Direct download URLs and how many there are
change_type / changed_fields	Monitor mode only: what changed (see above)
previous_response_deadline / previous_notice_type_code / previous_notice_id / first_seen_at	Monitor mode only: the state before this change
error	Only on rows SAM.gov failed to return in full; those rows are free
url	Link to the notice on SAM.gov
scraped_at	When the row was collected (UTC)

Dataset views: Overview, Monitor changes, Contacts and Attachments. Attachment download URLs redirect to a short-lived file link on SAM.gov.

Sample output

Search row, from a live run on November 3, 2026 (description shortened, contacts list and extra attachments omitted for display):

{
  "notice_id": "fa88edcad10d4663952477e2761cb534",
  "title": "Install Generator- FCI Bastrop",
  "solicitation_number": "15BBNF27Q50100001",
  "notice_type": "Combined Synopsis/Solicitation",
  "notice_type_code": "k",
  "department": "JUSTICE, DEPARTMENT OF",
  "agency": "FEDERAL PRISON SYSTEM / BUREAU OF PRISONS",
  "office": "FAO",
  "office_city": "GRAND PRAIRIE",
  "office_state": "TX",
  "posted_date": "2026-11-02T20:29:10+00:00",
  "modified_date": "2026-11-02T20:29:10+00:00",
  "response_deadline": "2026-12-02T11:00:00-08:00",
  "response_timezone": "America/Los_Angeles",
  "days_until_deadline": 28,
  "is_active": true,
  "is_canceled": false,
  "description": "Amendment 0001- Correct Set Aside error in the Instruction to Offerors\n\nSolicitation \n\nThe Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) is issuing solicitation …",
  "original_notice_id": "4050e6eff13e474fbafda0642129140e",
  "url": "https://sam.gov/opp/fa88edcad10d4663952477e2761cb534/view",
  "naics": ["238210"],
  "psc_code": "Z2FF",
  "set_aside": "SBA",
  "set_aside_description": "Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)",
  "pop_city": "Bastrop",
  "pop_state": "TX",
  "pop_zip": "78602",
  "pop_country": "USA",
  "primary_contact_name": "Patrick Ford",
  "primary_contact_email": "pford@bop.gov",
  "primary_contact_phone": null,
  "attachments": [
    {
      "name": "Instructions to Offerors.pdf",
      "type": "file",
      "url": "https://sam.gov/api/prod/opps/v3/opportunities/resources/files/aaec49922277423da58924cdf2ee4c16/download",
      "size_bytes": 1142350,
      "posted_date": "2026-10-23T18:19:07.399+00:00",
      "access": "public"
    }
  ],
  "attachment_count": 8,
  "scraped_at": "2026-11-03T23:41:23.044310+00:00"
}

Monitor row: a real amendment (Amendment 4 to a Department of Energy RFP, posted November 3, 2026) as reported by a monitor that had last seen Amendment 3. Shortened for display:

{
  "notice_id": "585a560fb4b84fa690b1d5281ce51779",
  "title": "Building America Subject Matter Expert Technical Support",
  "solicitation_number": "RFP-2026-10245()",
  "notice_type": "Solicitation",
  "agency": "ENERGY, DEPARTMENT OF",
  "response_deadline": "2026-11-16T18:00:00-07:00",
  "days_until_deadline": 13,
  "original_notice_id": "1f4fdf5909e44f5ba721860b49a509b4",
  "naics": ["541715"],
  "psc_code": "AG41",
  "pop_state": "CO",
  "primary_contact_email": "Kim.Tangler@nlr.gov",
  "attachment_count": 7,
  "change_type": "amended",
  "changed_fields": ["notice_version"],
  "previous_response_deadline": "2026-11-16T18:00:00-07:00",
  "previous_notice_type_code": "o",
  "previous_notice_id": "3085955966cb496f803ed0b0e1fcef1e",
  "url": "https://sam.gov/opp/585a560fb4b84fa690b1d5281ce51779/view"
}

How it compares

Facts below were checked on November 3, 2026 on each product's public pricing page or Apify Store listing. Prices change, so check the linked pages before you decide.

vs. GovCon platforms and the official API

	This actor	HigherGov	GovTribe	SAM.gov official API
Price	$3.00 per 1,000 notices (down to $2.40), no start fee, no subscription	Starter $500/year (1 user); Standard $2,500/year (up to 10 users)	$1,900 per seat/year (Pro $2,100)	Free
Federal opportunities	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Saved searches / alerts	Monitor mode with typed change_type	Unlimited searches, alerts and pipelines	Unlimited saved searches and pursuits	Build it yourself
Export limits	Every row lands in an Apify dataset (CSV, Excel, JSON, API)	1,000 records per search on Starter (20,000 and 100,000 on higher tiers)	Up to 3,000 records per export (25,000 on Enterprise)	Paged API
Access	Apify API, webhooks, Zapier, Make, n8n, MCP	API access, Zapier	Zapier, Unanet, AI/MCP	Needs a personal API key; 10 requests/day for a non-federal user with no SAM.gov role
Beyond federal opportunities	No	Forecasts, state and local, vendor and people database, AI tools, labor pricing	State and local, contact search, AI credits	Separate APIs

HigherGov and GovTribe are full GovCon platforms; if you need forecasts, award analytics or pipeline management, they do far more. This actor is the "lite" option: the federal opportunity feed, alerts and contacts, billed per notice.

vs. other SAM.gov actors on Apify

Actor	Price (Free plan)	Start fee	Monitor (new or changed)	Notes from the listing
This actor	$0.003/notice	None	Yes: typed change_type, previous deadline, amendment tracking	Agency by name, PSC/NAICS prefixes, deadline window, strict keywords, flat contacts, attachment links, failed rows free
fortuitous_pirate/sam-gov-scraper	$0.003/result	$0.005 per run	Yes (new or updated; webhook URL)	PSC, agency, posted and due dates, attachment URLs and downloads
scrapesage/sam-gov-scraper	$0.0025/opportunity (to $0.00138 on Gold+)	$0.001 per run	No built-in monitor	Attachment downloads $0.002 each
jungle_synthesizer/samgov-scraper	$0.001/record	Not listed	No	518 of 847 runs failed in the last 30 days
automation-lab/samgov-government-contracts-scraper	$0.000115/item	$0.005 per run	No	Filters: notice type, set-aside, NAICS, PSC
parseforge/us-gov-contract-watch-scraper	$0.0135/result; attachments $0.005	Not listed	Yes (new or changed)	Also covers CanadaBuys and UK Contracts Finder

For AI agents

This actor is built to be called by LLM agents and automations.

• MCP: add it to any MCP client through Apify's MCP server: https://mcp.apify.com?tools=cleandatalabs/samgov-opportunities (sign in with OAuth or an Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_TOKEN> header).
• One HTTP call: POST https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/cleandatalabs~samgov-opportunities/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<APIFY_TOKEN> with the input JSON as the body returns the rows directly (keep maxResults modest so it finishes within the sync timeout).
• Typed, stable output: snake_case fields, ISO-8601 dates with offsets, null for missing values, lists for naics, contacts, attachments and attachment_links. days_until_deadline is an integer, so "due in the next 10 days" is a simple filter.
• Mapping user requests to input:
  • "IT bids for small businesses due this month": {"naicsCodes": ["5415"], "setAsides": ["SBA"], "deadlineWithinDays": 30}
  • "What did the VA post or change since yesterday?": {"agencies": ["Department of Veterans Affairs"], "monitorMode": true, "monitorId": "va"}
  • "Zero-trust work at DHS": {"keywords": "\"zero trust\"", "keywordMatch": "all", "agencies": ["DHS"]}
• Cheap polling: in monitor mode an agent can poll often; unchanged notices cost nothing, and RUN_SUMMARY.has_changes says whether anything happened.
• Grounding: every row has a url to the official SAM.gov notice, and attachment_links point to the official documents.

Pricing

Pay per notice saved, including details, contacts and attachment links. No start fee.

Apify plan	Price per notice	Per 1,000 notices
Free	$0.003	$3.00
Bronze	$0.0028	$2.80
Silver	$0.0026	$2.60
Gold and above	$0.0024	$2.40

Not charged: unchanged notices skipped by a monitor, baseline runs, notices removed by filters, and rows with an error field.

Free credit

Apify's free plan includes $5 of usage credit every month, no credit card required. At the Free-plan price that covers up to about 1,600 notices a month, plenty for a daily monitor on a few NAICS codes.

FAQ and troubleshooting

Why did I get zero results?

Your filters may be too narrow. Widen updatedWithinDays (or set it to 0), remove states, setAsides or agencies, or turn off openForResponseOnly. In monitor mode, zero rows simply means nothing changed.

My keyword search returns unrelated notices.

SAM.gov's keyword search is broad: a multi-word query matches notices containing any of the words, and it also searches long descriptions. Set keywordMatch: "all" and quote phrases ("zero trust") for precise results.

How do I filter by agency?

Use the department or agency name, its acronym or its SAM.gov organization ID. The log shows what each name resolved to. Names that are not a department or agency (for example NAVFAC) are matched against the full office hierarchy, which scans more notices but is still accurate.

Do set-aside and state filters work with includeDetails off?

NONE set-aside and state filters rely on full notice details, so the actor switches includeDetails on automatically when you use them.

Why are award fields empty?

Award amount, date and awardee are filled only on award notices that publish them.

Is there a limit per run?

SAM.gov's search returns at most 10,000 notices per query. Monitor mode walks past this automatically; for one-off searches, narrow your filters.

Do I need a SAM.gov account or API key?

No. All data is public US Government information from SAM.gov. You only need an Apify account; the free plan includes $5 of credit a month.

Is this a replacement for the official SAM.gov API?

For reading contract opportunities, yes. The official Get Opportunities API is free, but it needs a personal API key and allows 10 requests a day for a non-federal user with no SAM.gov role. If you have a higher-limit key and want to build your own pipeline, the official API is a good choice; this actor saves you the key management, paging, filtering and contact flattening.

How do I find small-business set-aside bids for my NAICS code?

Put your codes in naicsCodes (prefixes like 5415 work) and add SBA, 8A, HZC, SDVOSBC or WOSB to setAsides. See the IT services example.

Can I get results into Google Sheets, Excel or my CRM?

Yes. Export the dataset as CSV, Excel or JSON, or use Apify integrations (Google Sheets, Zapier, Make, n8n) or the API.

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Support

Questions, bugs or feature requests? Email clean-data-labs@mail.grokbot.com or open an issue on the actor's Issues tab.

Clean Data Labs: clean, structured public data, ready to use.