Source: https://tendernation.io/compare/bidstats-alternative

Comparison

# TenderNation vs BidStats: a BidStats alternative with AI built in

BidStats is a popular, low-cost UK tender search and alert service. Here's how it compares with TenderNation on price, coverage and AI.

Updated 9 Oct 2026

BidStats is one of the best-known tender search tools in the UK. It has a large user base, a free tier and low-cost paid plans, and it has done a great job of making public contract data easy to find. If you are weighing it up against TenderNation, this page sets out the differences as fairly as we can.

> **Pricing note:** prices below were checked in **October 2026** on each company's own pricing page. Prices are shown as each vendor publishes them and may differ in whether VAT is included. Prices and plans change, so check the vendor's site before you buy.

## The short answer

- **Choose BidStats** if you mainly want low-cost UK tender alerts, expiring contracts and a long archive of historic contract data, and you are happy to read and qualify every tender yourself.
- **Choose TenderNation** if you want discovery plus **help deciding and bidding**: plain-English summaries, a fit score and bid/no-bid call, a document copilot, a bid library with AI answer drafts and a pipeline, at a price aimed at SMEs.

## Pricing (as of October 2026)

BidStatsTenderNation**Free plan**Yes, 5 tender views a dayYes, £0, unlimited search**Entry paid plan**Standard: £350/yearProfessional: £49/month or £490/year**Team plan**Pro: £800/year, 3 seatsBusiness: £149/month or £1,490/year, 5 seats**Intelligence tier**Insights: from £5,000/yearIncluded in Business**Free trial**Free plan14-day free trial of Professional, no card neededFor bid consultants, the Consultant plan is £249/month or £2,490/year: everything in Business plus up to 10 client workspaces, each with its own business profile, pipeline, bid library and alerts.

BidStats is cheaper at the entry level, and its Standard plan is good value for alerts and expiring contracts. TenderNation's Professional plan costs more and pays for the AI and bid-writing features below. BidStats keeps spend data, frameworks, pre-procurement leads and decision-maker contacts in Insights (from £5,000/year). TenderNation's equivalents are on Professional or Business.

## Feature comparison

BidStatsTenderNationUK tenders (Contracts Finder, Find a Tender)YesYesEU tenders (TED) and World BankCheck current coverageYesSaved searches and email alertsYes, from StandardYes, 1 free, 25 on ProfessionalHistoric tenders and contract awardsYes, 2 to 10 years depending on planAward data on [buyer profiles](/buyers), [supplier profiles](/suppliers) and tender pagesExpiring contractsYes, from StandardYes, Business, with a re-tender date forecast for each contractPre-procurement leadsInsightsYes, Business: pre-market notices plus incumbent-at-risk alerts and a weekly emailSpend dataInsightsSpending on buyer pages: central government and NHS over £25,000, councils over £500, plus some fire and rescue services and police forces. Council spend leads on BusinessFrameworksInsightsYes: which frameworks and DPSs a buyer uses and which are open to joinDecision-maker contactsInsightsFrom Professional: contacts from the buyer's own notices, plus senior officials from central government organogramsData export and APIPro and InsightsCSV export from Professional. Read-only REST API for tenders and awards on BusinessAI summaries of each tenderNot listed on its pricing pageYesFit score and bid/no-bid adviceNot listed on its pricing pageYes, freeUpload the tender pack: page-cited requirements checklist and document Q&ANot listed on its pricing pageYes, from ProfessionalBid library, requirements checklist and AI answer draftsNot listed on its pricing pageYes, from ProfessionalBid pipelineSaved tenders and foldersKanban pipeline from bid decision to resultBuyer payment performance ("pays on time?")Not listed on its pricing pageYes, free on buyer pages## Where BidStats is strong

- **Price.** For a sole trader who just wants alerts, it's hard to beat.
- **Data depth.** Up to ten years of historic notices and awards on its top tier, which is useful for market research.
- **Familiarity.** Lots of UK suppliers already use it, so there are plenty of colleagues who know it.

## Where TenderNation is different

- **AI that saves reading time.** Every tender gets a plain-English summary, so you can rule most of them out in seconds rather than opening a 60-page specification.
- **Decisions, not just discovery.** The fit score and bid/no-bid call check each tender against your company profile, and get sharper as you record wins and losses.
- **Help writing the bid.** Keep case studies and policies in a bid library, get a requirements checklist for each tender, and draft answers grounded only in your own evidence.
- **Intelligence without the enterprise price.** Re-tender forecasts, incumbent-at-risk alerts, competitor data and spend leads are on the £149/month Business plan.
- **Honest billing.** Monthly plans, a reminder before every renewal and cancellation in two clicks.

## Who should pick which?

**BidStats** suits budget-conscious suppliers who bid occasionally, have time to qualify tenders by hand, or mainly need historic data for research.

**TenderNation** suits SMEs who bid regularly and want to spend their time writing good bids rather than sifting notices, with discovery, qualification, bid writing and pipeline in one tool.

Also looking at low-cost alert services? Read [Supply2Gov vs TenderNation](/compare/supply2gov-alternative), or see [the best tender alert services in the UK](/compare/best-tender-alert-services-uk) side by side.

## Try it yourself

The fairest test is your own sector. [Browse live tenders](/opportunities) or look at a [sector hub](/sectors) to see the data, then [start a 14-day free trial](/register) of Professional. No card needed.

*BidStats is a trademark of its owner. This comparison is based on BidStats' published pricing and plan details as of October 2026 and is intended to be accurate and fair. If you spot something out of date, tell us and we'll correct it.*

See TenderNation with your own tenders

Search UK, EU and World Bank tenders in one place, get AI summaries and a fit score for each one, and track bids in a pipeline. Professional comes with a 14-day free trial, no card needed.

[Browse live tenders](/opportunities)[Start free trial ](/register)

14-day free trial, no card required

Browse by sector

- [Construction work](https://tendernation.io/sectors/construction-work)6891
- [Architecture, engineering & surveying](https://tendernation.io/sectors/architecture-engineering-surveying)3954
- [IT services](https://tendernation.io/sectors/it-services)1724
- [Business services](https://tendernation.io/sectors/business-services)2428
- [Health and social work](https://tendernation.io/sectors/health-social-work)1047
- [Sewage, refuse, cleaning & environmental](https://tendernation.io/sectors/sewage-refuse-cleaning-environmental)3336

[All sectors ](/sectors)

## More comparisons

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- [vs![BidScout logo](/images/competitors/bidscout.svg)TenderNation vsBidScoutsame price, earlier signalsBidScout and TenderNation charge the same. Here's what each gives you for it, so you can pick the one that fits how you bid.See the comparison11 Oct 2026](https://tendernation.io/compare/bidscout-alternative)
- [vs![Tussell logo](/images/competitors/tussell.webp)TenderNation vsTussella Tussell alternative for SMEsTussell is a deep UK public sector market intelligence platform sold on annual contracts. Here's what it costs, what it says it isn't for, and when a smaller tool fits better.See the comparison14 Oct 2026](https://tendernation.io/compare/tussell-alternative)
- [![Stotles logo](/images/competitors/stotles.webp)vs![Tussell logo](/images/competitors/tussell.webp)Head to headStotles vs Tussellwhich UK public sector intelligence tool fits?Stotles and Tussell both sell UK public sector market intelligence, but one leans towards sales and bid workflow and the other towards deep market data. A fair side-by-side.See the comparison14 Oct 2026](https://tendernation.io/compare/stotles-vs-tussell)
- [vs![Supply2Gov logo](/images/competitors/supply2gov.webp)TenderNation vsSupply2Gova Supply2Gov alternative for SMEsSupply2Gov gives you free tender alerts for one local area and paid plans by country. Here's how it compares with TenderNation on price, terms, coverage and bid help.See the comparison14 Oct 2026](https://tendernation.io/compare/supply2gov-alternative)
- [![Supply2Gov logo](/images/competitors/supply2gov.webp)![BidStats logo](/images/competitors/bidstats.svg)![Tenders Direct logo](/images/competitors/tenders-direct.webp)![Stotles logo](/images/competitors/stotles.webp)![Tracker logo](/images/competitors/tracker.webp)+Round-upBest tender alert services in the UK (2026): 10 comparedFrom the free government portals to market intelligence platforms, here's who each UK tender alert service suits, what it costs and where it falls short.See the comparison14 Oct 2026](https://tendernation.io/compare/best-tender-alert-services-uk)
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