Tender alert services for construction businesses: what you pay and what you still do
A tender alert service tells you a tender exists. It doesn't tell you whether the job suits a business your size, whether you're ready to bid, or what to fix first. If you run a building, groundworks or maintenance business and your alert subscription is coming up for renewal, this guide sets out what the free government alerts give you, what paid services cost, and the questions to ask before you pay for another year.
What a tender alert service does (and doesn't do)
An alert service watches the notice sites and emails you notices that match your search: a trade, a region, a value band. Some add extra search tools, buyer details or bid writing tools on top.
What an alert can't do on its own:
- tell you whether a contract is the right size for your turnover and team
- check your policies, accreditations and past contracts against what the buyer asks for
- tell you which gaps to close before you bid
That work still sits with you, whichever service sends the emails. Our bid or no-bid guide sets out how to decide quickly.
The free government alerts: Find a Tender and Contracts Finder
You can set up email alerts on both government services for free.
- Find a Tender is the government's service for higher-value public procurement notices. With an account (you sign in with GOV.UK One Login) you can register a supplier organisation, save search criteria and sign up for notifications by email.
- Contracts Finder lets you search for contract opportunities, see what's coming up and look up previous tenders and contracts. GOV.UK says you can create an account to get email updates and save your searches, and you can still search and apply without an account.
Notices for procurements still under the 2015 rules move off Contracts Finder from 1 May 2027 (SI 2026/746). Under the Procurement Act there are several notice types, from pipeline notices to tender notices, and it helps to know which ones are worth an alert: see our guide to tender notice types for suppliers. For a step-by-step set-up, see free tender alerts in the UK.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own procurement sites, so a builder working across borders needs alerts there too.
What paid alert services cost (our comparison, checked 29–30 Oct 2026)
On our /tender comparison, checked 29–30 Oct 2026, the prices on public pages were:
| Option | What it costs | What you still do |
|---|---|---|
| Free fit-scored alerts | £0 | Read each notice, judge fit, get ready to bid |
| Alert service | £30 a month | Judge fit and readiness for each alert |
| Writing tool | £20–30 a month | Find the tenders, judge fit, check and send |
| Freelance bid review | £90–115 for one tender | Find the tender and write the bid |
| Per-bid writer | From £600 a bid, plus 5% on a win | Find the tender and decide it's worth it |
| Bid writer | £450–750 a day | Find the tender and decide it's worth it |
If you're weighing up a named service, we've compared UK Tender Desk with Tenders Direct, Tracker, Stotles and BidStats. For every type of tool across all trades, see which tender tool do I need?
How many construction tenders there are, and how many suit a small builder (our figures)
From our own count of the public data:
- Find a Tender carried 449 construction works tender notices from 1 September to 28 October 2026. 183 of them had a stated value under £500,000.
- Contracts Finder recorded 1,315 construction works contract awards from 1 July to 28 October 2026. 603 of them (46%) went to SMEs.
- On Find a Tender award notices for construction works published from 1 September to 28 October 2026 that reported a bid count (139 lots), the median was 2 bids.
So there's plenty of volume, but most of it won't fit any one business. Value, location, the work type and the buyer's minimum requirements all cut the list down. A lot of local building work is also let through frameworks: see construction frameworks in the UK and how to find construction tenders.
Before you renew: five questions to ask about last year's alerts
Pull up last year's alert emails and count:
- How many alerts did you open? If most went unread, the search is too wide or the timing is wrong.
- How many were the right size? Compare each contract's value and scope with your turnover, team and insurance.
- How many did you bid on? And for the ones you skipped, why: wrong size, missing accreditation, no time?
- How many did you win? Look at the buyer's feedback on the ones you lost.
- What would you have missed without the paid service? If the free Find a Tender and Contracts Finder alerts would have shown you the same notices, you're paying for the extras, so check you use them.
When a one-off check makes more sense than another year of alerts
If your answers show plenty of alerts but few bids, the problem usually isn't finding tenders. It's knowing which ones fit and what to fix first. A one-off check against live tenders tests that before you commit to another year of alerts. The free alerts keep running in the background either way. Our guide to free tender alerts vs a done-for-you shortlist compares the two in general.
Questions
Is there a free tender alert service in the UK?
Yes. Find a Tender and Contracts Finder both let you save searches and sign up for email alerts for free. Find a Tender needs a GOV.UK One Login account. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own procurement sites.
What is the best tender alert service for builders?
It depends on what you'll do with the alerts. Count last year's alerts, bids and wins before you renew. If the free government alerts would have shown you the same notices, you're paying for the extras, so check you use them.
How much does a tender alert service cost?
On our /tender comparison, checked 29–30 Oct 2026, an alert service cost £30 a month and free fit-scored alerts cost £0. The government's own alerts are free.
Do I still need a tender alert service after the Procurement Act?
The Act didn't stop the free government alerts. Find a Tender still lets you save searches and sign up for email notifications. Notices for procurements still under the 2015 rules move off Contracts Finder from 1 May 2027 (SI 2026/746).
Can an alert service tell me if I'm ready to bid?
Not on its own. An alert tells you a tender exists. You still need to check the contract's size and the buyer's requirements against your business, and fix any gaps before you bid.
Want to know which tenders are worth your week?
UK Tender Desk, from Your Evenings Ltd (that's us), is a done-for-you tender shortlist for small businesses in construction trades, training, transport, care, cleaning and catering. For £149 once, you get a readiness check, up to 5 live tenders that fit a business your size with our verdict on each, and the three things to fix before your next bid. It comes by email within 5 working days of your answers to a short form. One payment, no subscription, no call. If no live tender fits, we say so and why. Late? You don't pay. Full refund if it's not with you within 5 working days of your form. Get my diagnostic · £149
Not ready for that? Try the free readiness score on our UK Tender Desk page: 17 questions.
Sources
- Find a Tender service (read 31 October 2026), for accounts, GOV.UK One Login, saved searches and email notifications
- GOV.UK: Contracts Finder (read 31 October 2026), for what Contracts Finder does, email updates and the other UK nations' sites
- The Procurement (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/746 (read 31 October 2026), for the Contracts Finder date
- Find a Tender: notice types (read 31 October 2026)
- Your Evenings Ltd, UK Tender Desk comparison table (prices from public pages, checked 29–30 October 2026)
- Your Evenings Ltd analysis of Find a Tender notices (1 September to 28 October 2026) and Contracts Finder awards (1 July to 28 October 2026), from the services' public data
This guide summarises the official sources above. It isn't legal advice. Check the notice and tender documents for each contract.
Written with AI assistance by the Your Evenings team at Your Evenings Ltd. Last updated 31 October 2026.