SAM.gov is the free, official federal contracting portal operated by the GSA. SamSearch layers AI search, SLED coverage, capture tooling, and proposal generation on top of the same federal data — and much more.
SAM.gov is the U.S. federal government's official System for Award Management, operated by the GSA. It consolidates entity registration, contract opportunities (consolidated from FBO.gov/FedBizOpps in November 2019), wage determinations, exclusions, and award data. It is completely free to use. SAM.gov is not a SaaS product — it is a public records portal. (Information based on publicly available sources as of May 2026.)
SamSearch is a GovCon AI platform that surfaces federal opportunities (including SAM.gov data), 50,000+ SLED portals, grants, SBIR/STTR, and subcontracting in one AI-powered workspace — with alerts, Journey Hub pipeline, forecasts, and proposal generation built in.
Side-by-side view of capabilities that matter for capture, proposals, and market coverage—SamSearch versus SAM.gov.
| Capability | SamSearch | SAM.gov |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Opportunity Access | SAM.gov data + additional federal agency feeds | Official source for all federal contract opportunities |
| SLED Coverage | 50,000+ state and local portals monitored in real-time | Federal only — no state/local coverage |
| Grants & SBIR | Grants, SBIR/STTR, subcontracts in one feed | Federal contracts and entity registration only |
| AI Search & Summarization | Natural language search, AI summaries, smart filtering | Keyword search; no AI summarization |
| Real-Time Alerts | Customizable alerts for new and updated opportunities | No built-in alert or notification system |
| Pipeline Management | Journey Hub with Kanban boards and contact management | No pipeline or capture workflow tools |
| Procurement Forecasts | 6-18 month advance intelligence with agency contacts | No forecasting; shows only posted solicitations |
| AI Proposal Generation | RFP/Grant responses, outline builder, inline editing | No proposal generation tools |
| Cost | Paid subscription — see samsearch.co for current pricing | 100% free — government-operated public portal |
Practical considerations teams raise when evaluating these two platforms side by side.
SAM.gov is the authoritative, free federal portal that every contractor should register on. SamSearch uses SAM.gov data as one input — then adds 50,000+ SLED portals, grants, SBIR, AI search, pipeline tools, and proposal generation.
What this means for your team
Most contractors use SAM.gov AND a discovery/capture tool together — SamSearch is designed to be that second layer
SAM.gov covers federal contract opportunities only. State, local, grants, and SBIR opportunities are entirely outside SAM.gov's scope. SamSearch covers all of these in one workspace.
What this means for your team
Contractors not monitoring SLED plus grants plus SAM.gov are leaving a large portion of the addressable market uncovered
SAM.gov has no pipeline management, no alerts, no capture CRM, and no AI tooling. SamSearch adds all of these on top of the same underlying federal data.
What this means for your team
Teams managing active pursuits need a tool beyond SAM.gov regardless of budget
Federal awards plus 50,000+ monitored SLED portals give you more active U.S. government contracts in one workspace—then AI-native capture tooling keeps your team out of spreadsheet sprawl.
SAM.gov covers federal only. SamSearch adds 50,000+ state and local portals — dramatically expanding your opportunity footprint.
Grants, SBIR/STTR, and subcontracting opportunities that don't appear on SAM.gov are all included in SamSearch.
AI search, smart alerts, Journey Hub pipeline, procurement forecasts, and proposal generation — none of which exist on SAM.gov.
Available on AWS Marketplace. Recognized on Gartner Peer Insights.
Competitor information is based on publicly available sources as of May 2026. Features, pricing, and company details may have changed. SamSearch makes no warranties about the accuracy of third-party information. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.
Bring your workflows and we'll show you how SamSearch compares in practice.
50,000+ SLED portals · Federal + grants · AI capture & proposals