SAM.gov API vs SecFeed API: Contract Opportunities Without the 10 Calls a Day Limit
The SAM.gov Opportunities API is free and official, but a personal key without an entity role gets 10 requests a day and expires every 90 days. When to use it, when SecFeed fits better, and the other options.
The SAM.gov Opportunities API is the official, free source for federal contract notices, and if your account has a role at a registered entity it is a fine choice. Most people searching for it hit the same wall first: a personal key without that role gets 10 requests a day. SecFeed serves the same notices without that ration.
The short answer
- Choose the SAM.gov API if your SAM.gov account has an entity role (1,000 requests a day), you need attachments, entity registrations or archived notices from before October 2026, or you want the official source with no middle layer. It is free.
- Choose SecFeed if you have no entity role yet, want keyword search over descriptions, a NAICS prefix filter, daily alerts to a webhook, or federal awards and company data from the same API key.
At a glance
| SAM.gov Opportunities API | SecFeed API | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free 25 calls with no card (125 with a card), then $19 or $79 a month |
| Key | SAM.gov account key, valid 90 days | SecFeed key, no expiry |
| Daily limit | 10 a day without an entity role, 1,000 with one | Calls per month (20,000 or 250,000), no daily cap |
| Required parameters | postedFrom and postedTo in MM/dd/yyyy, at most one year apart | None; every filter is optional |
| Description text | A link that costs another call per notice | Included in each row, or left out with description=false |
| Keyword search | A title parameter; nothing searches the description | Title and description, all words, prefixes with word* |
| NAICS filter | One code of up to 6 digits | One code or a prefix such as 5415 |
| Alerts | None in the API; you poll | Webhook POST of new matches after each daily refresh |
| Archived notices | Yes | Kept from October 2026 onward |
| Attachments, entity registrations | Attachment links; entities through the separate Entity API | No |
| Federal awards and spending | Separate APIs | Same key: USAspending awards, recipients and awards by ticker |
| MCP server for AI agents | No | Yes |
Where SAM.gov's own API wins
It is the source. Nothing is newer than SAM.gov itself, and it carries what SecFeed does not: the full archive, attachment links, and entity registration data through the separate Entity API. If you work for a company that is registered in SAM.gov, ask your entity administrator for a role. That lifts your key to 1,000 requests a day at no cost, which is plenty for most monitoring jobs.
Where SecFeed fits better
No daily ration. A search for small business IT notices in Virginia with descriptions can take dozens of calls on the official API: one per page, plus one per description. On a 10 a day key that is a day's budget gone in one query. SecFeed answers the same question in one call.
Search that reads the text. Agencies often bury what they want in the description. SecFeed indexes the full description, so a search for cyber* assessment also finds notices whose title never mentions either word.
Alerts that reach your systems. Save filters once with POST /v1/sam/alerts and SecFeed POSTs new matching notices to your https endpoint every morning, 100 per request.
Contracts after the award. The same key returns USAspending awards, the companies behind them and, for listed companies, their awards by ticker with subsidiaries rolled up.
curl -s "https://secfeedapi.com/v1/sam/opportunities?naics=5415&setAside=SBA&state=VA&size=5" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY"Other options
These products also serve SAM.gov data through an API. Facts are from their own pages, checked 2026-10-28.
- Tango by MakeGov covers about 22 procurement sources (SAM.gov, USAspending, FPDS, protests, Grants.gov and more) with REST, MCP and client libraries. Its free plan allows 100 requests a day; paid plans run $100, $250 and $500 a month with 1,500 to 25,000 requests a day. A strong pick if procurement data is your whole product.
- Edgrapi bundles SEC filings with SAM.gov opportunities, USAspending awards, Grants.gov and congressional trades on credits: 50 free, then $10, $29 or $99 a month. Its awards endpoint filters by recipient name rather than by ticker or CIK.
- HigherGov is a contracting research platform with an API over contracts, grants, opportunities, awardees and documents. Its API page mentions a free tier but does not list API prices.
When SecFeed is the wrong choice
If you need attachments, entity registrations, protests, forecasts or the archive before October 2026, SecFeed does not have them. Use SAM.gov directly, or a procurement specialist such as Tango. If your account already has an entity role and you only poll a few searches a day, the free official API is enough.
Facts about SAM.gov API were taken from its public website and docs on 2026-10-28. Plans and prices change, so check their site before you decide. SAM.gov API is a trademark of its owner; SecFeed is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by it. Spotted something wrong or out of date? Email support@secfeedapi.com and we will fix it.