Common questions about government contract monitoring

ContractRadar (sometimes searched as Contract Radar) is a government contract monitoring tool built for small businesses. It monitors SAM.gov, the SBA subcontracting portal, and state and local procurement portals. Create a free account and start searching contracts immediately using semantic search — describe what you're looking for in plain language and find results even when the government uses different terminology. Upgrade to get matching contracts emailed to you daily with AI-powered scoring. No manual portal checking, no training needed.

ContractRadar pulls new contract postings from SAM.gov, the SBA subcontracting portal, and state and local procurement portals daily. Each posting is matched against your business profile using your NAICS codes, state, and certifications, then scored for fit. When a match meets your criteria, you get an email with the details and a link to the original posting so you can act on it right away. Read our complete guide to SAM.gov contract monitoring for small businesses.

Yes. ContractRadar is designed so that no training is required. Fill in your business profile in about five minutes — your industry codes, the states you work in, and your certifications — and that's it. You'll start receiving matching contract alerts by email the next day. There's nothing to configure after setup.

No. ContractRadar is built specifically for small businesses that are new to government contracting. You don’t need to understand procurement jargon or navigate complex government systems. Set up your profile in plain language, receive matching contract opportunities by email, and click through to the original posting when something looks promising. Our guide to SAM.gov contracting for small businesses covers the basics — no experience needed.

ContractRadar monitors federal solicitations on SAM.gov, subcontracting opportunities on the SBA portal, and state and local government procurement postings — including services, supplies, construction, and professional services contracts. Every listing is filtered by your NAICS codes and state, then scored for compatibility with your business profile. You only see contracts you’re plausibly eligible to bid on.

Yes. In addition to prime federal contracts from SAM.gov, ContractRadar monitors subcontracting opportunities posted by prime contractors on the SBA subcontracting portal. Prime contractors are required by law to seek qualified small business subcontractors, and those opportunities are listed publicly on the SBA website. ContractRadar matches them against your business profile the same way it matches prime contracts — by NAICS code, state, and certifications — and delivers them to your inbox alongside your contract alerts.

ContractRadar filters by all major federal set-aside types: Small Business (SBA), 8(a) Business Development, HUBZone, Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB), and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). Select your certifications in your profile and we'll filter to contracts you're eligible for.

ContractRadar has a free tier — create an account and get 5 semantic searches per day with full contract details, no credit card required. For unlimited search, daily email alerts, AI match scoring, and past award intelligence, it's $30 per month. Cancel any time from your profile page in two clicks.

A free ContractRadar account gives you 5 semantic searches per day across all federal, state, and local contract sources. You get full contract details, points of contact, and the same AI-powered search that paid subscribers use. The daily limit resets at midnight UTC. No credit card is required to sign up.

Create an account and fill in your business profile: your NAICS codes, the states you operate in, and any set-aside certifications. The whole setup takes less than five minutes. ContractRadar will start monitoring government procurement portals immediately and email you matching contracts when they post.

Federal contracts come from SAM.gov, the official U.S. government procurement database. Subcontracting opportunities come from the SBA subcontracting portal. State and local contracts come from public procurement portals operated by state and local governments. ContractRadar is an independent private service and is not affiliated with the government. We pull publicly available data from these sources daily and deliver matched results to your inbox. See our full coverage map.

Contract data on ContractRadar comes from government sources — SAM.gov for prime contracts and the SBA subcontracting portal for subcontracting opportunities. Occasionally, a contracting officer may enter an incorrect NAICS code, wrong Place of Performance, or leave a field blank in the original system. We automatically detect and correct many of these issues, but some inaccuracies may still appear. If you spot something that looks wrong, it's almost certainly a data entry error at the source. You can verify by checking the original listing on SAM.gov or the SBA portal.

Matching happens in three steps. First, rule-based filters check your NAICS codes, operating states, and set-aside certifications against each new contract posting. Second, AI reads the full contract text and scores how closely it matches your business profile — catching relevant contracts even when they're posted under the wrong NAICS code or have incomplete descriptions. Third, your ratings feed back into the system. When you rate a match as good or bad, ContractRadar adjusts future scoring to reflect what you actually want. The more you rate, the more accurate your matches become. Each match gets a compatibility score so you can prioritize the best opportunities first. This process runs across all sources — federal, state, local, and subcontracting.

No. ContractRadar works from day one based on your NAICS codes, location, certifications, and AI text analysis. Ratings are optional — but if you do rate matches, the system uses that feedback to fine-tune what it shows you. Think of it as training a filter that already works, to work even better for your specific business.

Yes. Anyone with a free account can search all contract opportunities across federal, state, and local sources using semantic search — describe what you're looking for in plain language and ContractRadar finds relevant contracts even when the posting uses different words. Free accounts get 5 semantic searches per day; subscribers get unlimited.

Just the ones that match your business. ContractRadar filters out contracts that don't fit your NAICS codes, state, or certifications, so your inbox isn't flooded with irrelevant opportunities. Every email you receive has already been scored for fit. You can also sort and filter your saved matches by compatibility score in your account.

No. You don't need a SAM.gov registration to create a ContractRadar account and receive contract alerts. However, if you decide to submit a bid on an opportunity, the government requires SAM.gov registration before you can submit. ContractRadar helps you find the opportunities — the application process happens directly with the issuing agency.

Every match is saved to your account. Log in at any time to browse all your matched contracts, including ones from previous days. You can also turn email alerts off and check your account manually if you prefer — your matches will still be there.

Yes, cancel any time from your profile page in two clicks. Your subscription stays active until the end of the current billing period, so you keep access until then. There are no cancellation fees, no forms to fill out, and no customer service calls required.

For every matched opportunity, ContractRadar automatically searches USASpending.gov for previously awarded contracts from the same agency with matching NAICS codes and set-asides. You'll see who won similar contracts, how much they were awarded, and the performance period — so you can understand pricing, spot incumbents, and decide whether the opportunity is worth pursuing. All of this happens automatically, without leaving ContractRadar.

Yes. Authentication is handled by AWS Cognito — your password is never stored by ContractRadar. All data is transmitted over encrypted connections (TLS). We do not sell or share your business information with third parties. See our Privacy Policy for full details.