BidStats alternative
The BidStats alternative that scores every GB tender to your business
BidStats is a genuinely useful free tender search, with fast browsing and a deep historical contracts database. But a search tool cannot tell you which live tenders are worth bidding for, whether you qualify, or how to win. BidSquirrel is the intelligence layer on top - not more data, better use of the data.
Who BidSquirrel is for
For firms that already browse BidStats - and want less morning triage.
- Free search is useful; keyword alerts still need a human filter
- You want live tenders scored to your business, not just listed
- Qualify and win help after you find the notice
Stay with BidStats if broad free browsing is enough, and you already decide fit and write bids yourself.
Why a free search alone is hard work for an SME
- 01
A great search is not the same as knowing what to bid for
BidStats is fast and free, and its historical database is deep. But it returns keyword results across the national feeds. It does not know your capabilities, scale, location or growth goals, so it cannot tell you which live tenders are a strong fit, which are a stretch, or which you are simply not eligible for.
- 02
Alerts by keyword still leave you triaging
Keyword alerts are only as good as the terms you pick: too broad and the inbox floods, too narrow and you miss winnable work filed under language you did not think of. You are still the one reading every notice to decide if it is worth a day of your time.
- 03
No help to actually win
A search tool lists the notice and the documents. There is no eligibility check, no read of the scoresheet, no guidance on what the evaluator rewards, and no way to pressure-test your draft before you submit.
- 04
The low-value council work is hard to see
A lot of winnable, lower-competition council work sits below the publication threshold on local quote portals, such as ProContract, that never reach the aggregated national feeds a search tool indexes.
BidStats vs BidSquirrel
| Capability | BidStats | BidSquirrel |
|---|---|---|
| Free to use | Free (no card) · top matches scored + can-you-bid · Pro £49.99/mo (30-day no-card trial) | |
| Deep historical contracts database | Live-first | |
| Search across national feeds | ||
| Low-value council portals (ProContract) | ||
| AI fit-scoring to your business | ||
| Pass/fail eligibility check | ||
| Procurement-regime classification | ||
| "How to win" guidance | ||
| Guided bid writing + panel-style scoring | ||
| Price-to-win: costed breakdown + value-for-money case | ||
| Expert procurement AI (regime-aware, evaluator-calibrated) | ||
| Daily alerts ranked to you | Keyword only |
Free tools like BidStats remain a useful way to browse the market. Always verify an opportunity against its official notice before bidding.
Questions, answered
Is BidStats free?
Yes. BidStats is a free UK tender search and alert service, and its historical contracts database is genuinely useful for browsing the market. BidSquirrel does not try to out-aggregate it: it sits on top, scoring each live tender to your business and adding the eligibility checks, how-to-win guidance and price-to-win that a search tool does not provide.
What is the difference between BidStats and BidSquirrel?
BidStats is a search-and-alert aggregator - it helps you find and browse notices from the national feeds, and holds a deep archive of historical contracts. BidSquirrel is the intelligence layer on top of the data: it pulls major GB public-sector sources into one place, scores each live tender to your business, tells you pass or fail on eligibility, and helps you write and price the bid. Not more data - better use of the data.
Which UK tender sources should I be watching now?
Since the Procurement Act 2023 went live in February 2025, new procurements publish on the enhanced Find a Tender service through the government's Central Digital Platform. Contracts Finder remains live for procurements begun under the previous rules, Scotland uses Public Contracts Scotland, and a lot of lower-value council work runs on separate quote portals such as ProContract. BidSquirrel scans these together and scores what it finds to you.
Do I still need BidStats if I use BidSquirrel?
You can keep using free tools like BidStats as much as you like, and you should always verify an opportunity against its official notice before bidding. BidSquirrel is the layer that saves you trawling and triaging: it surfaces the right live tenders for you, tells you whether you qualify, and helps you win them - it is about better use of the data, not a bigger pile of it.
What is the best tender alert service for a small business?
For SMEs the deciding factors are coverage (major GB public-sector sources, including the low-value local-authority council portals), relevance (tenders scored to your business, not keyword noise), and help to win (eligibility and bid guidance), at a price a small business can pay. That combination is exactly what BidSquirrel is built for, at £49.99/mo.
Compare with the others
Stop triaging alerts. Start winning.
Every major GB source, scored to your business, with eligibility checks and how-to-win guidance. £49.99/mo.
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