How to buy tender alert services
With so many providers claiming “global coverage” or “AI-powered alerts,” how can you tell which one truly delivers?
Understanding what a tender alert service is
Data at a glance
Why subscribe
How to buy
At a glance: Key features for buying tender alert services in 2025
| Feature | Importance | Ideal scenario | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coverage | High | Detailed coverage for your market | ★★★★★ |
| Economic coverage | High | Focus on profitable economies | ★★★★☆ |
| Search | Very high | Relevant, fast, precise | ★★★★★ |
| Alerts | High | Customisable, accurate | ★★★★☆ |
| Data enrichment | High | Rich, universal filtering | ★★★★★ |
| Pricing model | High | Transparent, flexible | ★★★★★ |
| Attachments | Very high | Documents included | ★★★★★ |
| Confidence signals | High | Refunds & guarantees | ★★★★★ |
How to evaluate a service
Test the capabilities of rival services to get precisely what you need.
Market alignment
You need to test whether or not the service you’re buying has the coverage you need for your market. There’s a good way to check this: search for some historic tenders from key sources and see if you can find them in the archive of the service you’re using.
Search
When you test coverage you’re also testing the service’s search engine. If your provider has the results but you can’t find them that’s a massive issue. That search will form the basis of your alerts, so if your search can’t find opportunities, you will miss opportunities.
Understanding coverage
Google maps covers more places than you'll ever visit, tender alert services will cover more opportunities than you will ever bid on. What you need is good data for your specific market.
- Are the key national sources there?
- Are the local sources there?
- Are the international sources there?
Noisy search
If you know your search is working the next challenge is how noisy is the search? If you’re having to pick one opportunity out of dozens of irrelevant opportunities you’re not only experiencing more work than you need, you’re also more likely to miss opportunities.
Ease of use
Data enrichment, attachments and the right alert services are all features you’re going to need in your hunt for new opportunities. Can you confidently navigate your way around the system to take advantage of these tools, for instance can you set up new searches and new alerts?
Good data & bad search
If a product has the data but a terrible search engine, it may as well not have the data in the first place. The product you choose needs to be able to present information to you as you request it. If you search for 'mobile phone' and get 'mobile home' there's a problem.
- Can you control your search?
- Can you rank results?
- Can add a search to an alert?
What to look out for
When you're looking to buy a service there are certain features that need to be in place, check them before you make a buying decision.
Updates & archives
How frequently does your alert service update their data? Do they run every source daily or even more frequently? Do they refresh their data to pick up changes to notices? Do they maintain archives of data so that you can look at the contracting history of different buyers?
Business model
How does your provider charge? What do they charge for? Is it by the user or for the whole firm? What restrictions do they apply? Can you only buy an annual contract? Are you required to buy a minimum number of seats?Pricing
Is the pricing clear and transparent? Can you predict what you will pay and do you have the flexibility to pay month by month if you need. Are you getting a good discount for annual commitments? Can you cancel if you decide that the service doesn’t work for you?Easy to buy
Is the product easy to buy? Money orders, contracts, invoices? That’s what happens when the costs are too high and the business doesn’t want to deal with chargebacks. You should be able to buy the service in 2 minutes.Downloads and integrations
Can you move the data from your service into other channels in your organisation? Can you download data and share it with other members of your team? Can you use the data in your CRM?Guarantees
Does your provider offer a money back guarantee if you decide that their service isn't right for you? Can you be confident that they have the opportunities that they say they have? If they don't, what happens?How to spot red flags
What are the signs that the tender alert service you're buying might not give you the best value?
Mandatory demos
Short trials
Annual deals only
No self service
They want you to take the risk
No industry involvement
Thousands of companies
use our data every day.
Our API already powers some great business opportunity sites. You've probably already used our data without knowing it.
Pricing and commercials
Why Open Opportunities is #1
Pricing isn't just about making sure that you're paying a low price, the right price is about getting the best tool for the best price.
- Clear, transparent pricing plans.
- Trial & refund policy: 7-day free trial and 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Flexible monthly plans or a discounted annual price. Cancel any time.
- Fair value: Unlimited saved searches, full history, competitive per-user cost.
- Easy payment: Pay by card or invoice, manage your own subscription.
Coverage
Why Open Opportunities is #1
Coverage isn’t just about listing the most tenders. You need the winnable opportunities that carry the most value.
- Global reach: 850+ sources across 180+ countries, updated daily.
- We gather federal, state and city tenders across the world.
- Growth commitment: at least 4 new sources added every month.
- Deep enrichment that means you can always find what you need.
- Trusted by governments, NGOs, and enterprises worldwide.
Search quality
Why Open Opportunities is #1
Finding the right tender is about more than keywords — powerful search ensures you never miss an opportunity.
- Powerful keyword search with excludes for precision searching.
- Advanced filters: Country, continent, language, buyer, currency, CPV, dates.
- Intent search: Queries across global opportunities regardless of language.
- Unlimited saved searches and a full search history.
- Fast, intuitive interface built for high-performing bid teams.
Data enrichment
Why Open Opportunities is #1
Good data becomes great intelligence when it’s enriched, structured, and easy to use. We don't just add country names, we enhance with categories, languages, currencies and regional groupings.
- Attachments and associated documents.
- Detailed CPV classification for every document.
- Filter by continent, country, language or groups of countries.
- Every record's currency converted to USD, EUR and GBP.
- Downloadable records for structured analysis.