# USAspending Contracts Scraper | Federal Award Data (`parseforge/usaspending-contracts-scraper`) Actor

Pull federal contract awards from USAspending.gov with recipient name, awarding agency, NAICS code, obligation amount, and award dates. Filter by agency, NAICS code, and period. Great for government contractors, market researchers, and analysts tracking US federal spending.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/usaspending-contracts-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** Other, Lead generation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $19.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md):

```bash
npm install apify-client
```

In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md):

```bash
pip install apify-client
```

In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):

````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash

In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md).

If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).


# README

![ParseForge Banner](https://github.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/blob/ad35ccc13ddd068b9d6cba33f323962e39aed5b2/banner.jpg?raw=true)

## 🏛 USAspending Contracts Scraper

> 🚀 **Export federal contracts in seconds.** Recipients, agencies, amounts, dates, and award descriptions from USAspending.gov — straight to CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML.

> 🕒 **Last updated:** 2026-05-25 · **📊 11 fields** per record · **Federal scale** · **All US agencies & award types**

USAspending.gov is the official source of accountability data on the United States federal government's contract, grant, and loan awards. This actor turns that data into a clean dataset, with one row per award and 11 fields covering recipient, agency, amount, and timing.

Coverage spans every US federal agency, every fiscal year from 2008 onwards, contracts, grants, loans, direct payments, other financial assistance, and IDVs, with full recipient and sub-agency attribution.

| 🎯 Target Audience | 💡 Primary Use Cases |
|---|---|
| Government contractors | Find competitor awards |
| Journalists & researchers | Track federal spending trends |
| Compliance & policy teams | Audit recipient activity |
| Sales & BD teams | Identify federal buyers |

### 📋 What the USAspending Contracts Scraper does

- Pulls awards from the official USAspending search API
- Filters by award type group, recipient keyword, and fiscal year
- Returns recipient, awarding agency and sub-agency, amount, outlays, and description
- Provides a direct link to each award page on USAspending.gov

> 💡 **Why it matters:** Federal spending is public record. This scraper makes it usable.

### 🎬 Full Demo (_🚧 Coming soon_)

### ⚙️ Input

<table>
<thead><tr><th>Field</th><th>Type</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr><td>maxItems</td><td>integer</td><td>Cap on rows (free plan: 10)</td></tr>
<tr><td>awardTypeGroup</td><td>enum</td><td>contracts, grants, loans, direct_payments, other_financial_assistance, idvs</td></tr>
<tr><td>recipientSearch</td><td>string</td><td>Optional recipient keyword filter</td></tr>
<tr><td>fiscalYear</td><td>integer</td><td>Fiscal year (2008-2030)</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>

```json
{ "maxItems": 50, "awardTypeGroup": "contracts" }
````

```json
{ "maxItems": 100, "awardTypeGroup": "grants", "recipientSearch": "university", "fiscalYear": 2024 }
```

> ⚠️ **Good to Know:** The USAspending API serves data with a delay of up to several days. Awards may also be modified retroactively.

### 📊 Output

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 📌 awardId | string | USAspending award identifier |
| 🏢 recipientName | string | Award recipient |
| 🏛 awardingAgency | string | Top-level federal agency |
| awardingSubAgency | string | Sub-agency |
| awardType | string | Type code/description |
| 💲 awardAmount | number | Award total |
| totalOutlays | number | Outlays paid to date |
| description | string | Award description |
| startDate | string | Period of performance start |
| endDate | string | Period of performance end |
| 🔗 url | string | Award detail page |
| 🕒 scrapedAt | string | ISO timestamp |

### ✨ Why choose this Actor

- Direct USAspending API: no scraping fragility
- Real-time data, no cached responses
- Works with Make, Zapier, Airbyte, GitHub Actions, Google Sheets

### 📈 How it compares to alternatives

| Approach | Cost | Maintenance | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| This actor | Pay per result | None | Full |
| Manual USAspending download | Free | High | Limited UI |
| GovWin / FedConnect | $$$ | None | Curated |

### 🚀 How to use

1. [Create a free account w/ $5 credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp)
2. Open the actor page
3. Set `awardTypeGroup`, `maxItems`, optional filters
4. Run
5. Download dataset as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML

### 💼 Business use cases

#### Competitor monitoring

Watch which contractors are winning awards in your sector.

#### Pipeline expansion

Identify federal agencies actively buying related goods or services.

#### Compliance

Validate that vendors received federal funds before due diligence.

#### Market sizing

Aggregate spend per sub-agency or fiscal year for TAM analysis.

### 🔌 Automating USAspending Contracts Scraper

Connects with Make, Zapier, Slack, Airbyte, GitHub Actions, and Google Drive via Apify's standard integrations.

### 🌟 Beyond business use cases

#### Research

Academic studies on federal procurement patterns.

#### Personal

Curious citizens tracking how tax dollars are awarded.

#### Non-profit

Watchdog organizations auditing recipient categories.

#### Experimentation

Train models on labelled federal spending data.

### 🤖 Ask an AI assistant about this scraper

ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, or Copilot can explain inputs, sample outputs, and integration patterns.

### ❓ Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Is the data real-time?** A: USAspending publishes with a several-day lag.
**Q: Can I get prime + sub awards?** A: This actor returns prime awards. Sub-awards are a future enhancement.
**Q: How far back does data go?** A: FY2008.
**Q: Is recipient name standardized?** A: It is the recipient name as reported.
**Q: Can I filter by NAICS?** A: Not yet in this actor.
**Q: Are dollar amounts inflation-adjusted?** A: No, nominal dollars.
**Q: Does this include classified contracts?** A: No, only publicly disclosed records.
**Q: What is an IDV?** A: Indefinite Delivery Vehicle, parent contract with task orders.
**Q: How accurate is the data?** A: As accurate as the USAspending source data.
**Q: Are loans separated from grants?** A: Yes, via `awardTypeGroup`.

### 🔌 Integrate with any app

Make, Zapier, Slack, Airbyte, GitHub Actions, Google Sheets, Webhooks.

### 🔗 Recommended Actors

| Actor | Description |
|---|---|
| [FDIC Bank Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/fdic-bank-scraper) | FDIC institution data |
| [FINRA BrokerCheck Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/finra-brokercheck-scraper) | FINRA broker records |
| [SEC EDGAR Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/sec-edgar-scraper) | SEC company filings |

> 💡 **Pro Tip:** browse the complete [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge).

**🆘 Need Help?** [Open our contact form](https://tally.so/r/BzdKgA)

> **⚠️ Disclaimer:** independent tool, not affiliated with USAspending.gov or the US Government. Only publicly available data collected.

# Actor input Schema

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Free users: Limited to 10 items (preview). Paid users: Optional, max 1,000,000

## `awardTypeGroup` (type: `string`):

Select award type group

## `recipientSearch` (type: `string`):

Filter by recipient name keyword

## `fiscalYear` (type: `integer`):

Fiscal year (e.g. 2024). Leave empty for current fiscal year.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "awardTypeGroup": "contracts"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "maxItems": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/usaspending-contracts-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "maxItems": 10 }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/usaspending-contracts-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call parseforge/usaspending-contracts-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=parseforge/usaspending-contracts-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

```json
{
    "openapi": "3.0.1",
    "info": {
        "title": "USAspending Contracts Scraper | Federal Award Data",
        "description": "Pull federal contract awards from USAspending.gov with recipient name, awarding agency, NAICS code, obligation amount, and award dates. Filter by agency, NAICS code, and period. Great for government contractors, market researchers, and analysts tracking US federal spending.",
        "version": "0.1",
        "x-build-id": "bxdgehbDHLKW3jlbk"
    },
    "servers": [
        {
            "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
        }
    ],
    "paths": {
        "/acts/parseforge~usaspending-contracts-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-parseforge-usaspending-contracts-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/parseforge~usaspending-contracts-scraper/runs": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "runs-sync-parseforge-usaspending-contracts-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK",
                        "content": {
                            "application/json": {
                                "schema": {
                                    "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/parseforge~usaspending-contracts-scraper/run-sync": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-parseforge-usaspending-contracts-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    },
    "components": {
        "schemas": {
            "inputSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "maxItems": {
                        "title": "Max Items",
                        "minimum": 1,
                        "maximum": 1000000,
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "Free users: Limited to 10 items (preview). Paid users: Optional, max 1,000,000"
                    },
                    "awardTypeGroup": {
                        "title": "Award Type Group",
                        "enum": [
                            "contracts",
                            "grants",
                            "loans",
                            "direct_payments",
                            "other_financial_assistance",
                            "idvs"
                        ],
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Select award type group",
                        "default": "contracts"
                    },
                    "recipientSearch": {
                        "title": "Recipient Search (optional)",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Filter by recipient name keyword"
                    },
                    "fiscalYear": {
                        "title": "Fiscal Year",
                        "minimum": 2008,
                        "maximum": 2030,
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "Fiscal year (e.g. 2024). Leave empty for current fiscal year."
                    }
                }
            },
            "runsResponseSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "data": {
                        "type": "object",
                        "properties": {
                            "id": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "actId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "userId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "startedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "finishedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "status": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "READY"
                            },
                            "meta": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "origin": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "API"
                                    },
                                    "userAgent": {
                                        "type": "string"
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "stats": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "inputBodyLen": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2000
                                    },
                                    "rebootCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "restartCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "resurrectCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "computeUnits": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "options": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "build": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "latest"
                                    },
                                    "timeoutSecs": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 300
                                    },
                                    "memoryMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1024
                                    },
                                    "diskMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2048
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "buildId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultDatasetId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultRequestQueueId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "buildNumber": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "1.0.0"
                            },
                            "containerUrl": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "usage": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "usageTotalUsd": {
                                "type": "number",
                                "example": 0.00005
                            },
                            "usageUsd": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "number",
                                        "example": 0.00005
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```