APIs and MCP
Government tender data APIs and MCP servers
Four official portals publish a free API: TED (EU), SAM.gov (US), Find a Tender (UK) and PNCP (Brazil). Each covers one jurisdiction and has its own format. Commercial APIs join many sources: Sell to State, OpenOpps, HigherGov, GovSpend, BidPrime and others. On 4 November 2026, 7 services listed an MCP server for AI agents.
Facts checked on from the vendors' public pages.
Free official APIs
Free to use. One jurisdiction each, and one format each. TED search needs no key; SAM.gov needs an API key; Find a Tender returns OCDS JSON.
| Source | Coverage | API | MCP server | Price from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAM.gov | US federal | Yes (API key) | Not stated | Free |
| TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) | EU and EEA notices | Yes (no key to search) | Not stated | Free |
| Find a Tender | UK | Yes (OCDS) | Not stated | Free |
| PNCP | Brazil, all levels | Yes (query API) | Not stated | Free |
Commercial APIs
One API over many sources. The table shows what each vendor's public pages state.
| Source | Coverage | API | MCP server | Price from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sell to State | 73 live markets, 120 more in the backlog | REST API, 120 requests a minute per key | Yes, in the official MCP Registry | US$19/3 days; US$49/month |
| HigherGov | US federal, SLED, grants | Yes | Yes | $500/yr |
| GovTribe | US federal, SLED | Not stated | Yes | $1,900/seat/yr |
| GovSpend | US SLED + federal spend | Yes | Yes | Quote |
| BidPrime | US + Canada SLED, federal | Yes (module) | Yes (module) | Quote by geography |
| GovDash | US federal, SLED | Not stated | Yes | Not published |
| SamSearch | US federal, SLED, Canada, grants | Yes (on request) | Not stated | Quote |
| OpenOpps | 180+ countries, 1,050+ sources | Yes (prepaid) | Not stated | $160/user/month |
| TendersInfo | 100+ countries | By demo | Not stated | Not published |
| Stotles | UK public sector | Not stated | Yes (Basic plan and up) | Free; Basic from £99/month |
| Tussell | UK public sector | Add-on | Not stated | Quote (annual) |
MCP servers for AI agents
An MCP server lets Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or another agent call the data directly. These vendors list one on their public pages:
Questions
Which government tender APIs are free?
TED (EU), SAM.gov (US, API key), Find a Tender (UK, OCDS) and PNCP (Brazil). Each covers one jurisdiction.
Which tender data services have an MCP server?
Sell to State, HigherGov, GovTribe, GovSpend, BidPrime, GovDash and Stotles, on 4 November 2026. BidPrime sells it in its Integrations Module.
Is there one API for tenders in many countries?
Yes. Sell to State (73 live markets: tenders, awards, buyers, suppliers) and OpenOpps (180+ countries, open tenders, prepaid from £100).
How do I connect the Sell to State MCP server?
Point the MCP client at https://app.selltostate.com/api/mcp. Clients with a browser (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor) sign in with OAuth; other clients send an API key.
The sources of each row are on its comparison page. All comparisons · Sell to State API docs