SAM.gov Hunter and FedScout both aim to make federal contracting affordable, but they sit at different points in the workflow. FedScout (launched January 2026) is a $25/month AI discovery tool that aggregates SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and 40+ state portals and adds SBIR/STTR. SAM.gov Hunter starts free and goes deeper on the win side — full AI solicitation analysis, a complete proposal writer, a compliance matrix, and a subcontractor roster with auto teaming agreements.
FedScout is a strong, genuinely low-cost entry point, and its grants/SBIR coverage is a real plus for research-driven small businesses. If pure, cheap discovery is all you need, it is hard to beat $25/month.
SAM.gov Hunter is for the contractor who has found the opportunity and now needs to win it: deeper analysis, a full editable proposal draft, an L/M/I compliance matrix, teaming-partner discovery with auto-generated agreements, and a Kanban bid tracker — with a free tier to start.
| Feature | SAM.gov Hunter | FedScout |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan (no credit card) | Yes | No |
| Federal (SAM.gov) opportunities | Yes | Yes |
| State & local (SLED) opportunities | Yes | Yes |
| AI opportunity fit-scoring | Yes | Yes |
| AI solicitation analysis | Yes | Limited |
| AI proposal writer (full draft) | Yes | Assist |
| Compliance matrix builder | Yes | No |
| Subcontractor / teaming finder | Yes | No |
| Auto-generated teaming agreements | Yes | No |
| Bid / pipeline tracker (Kanban) | Yes | Limited |
| Competitor & award intelligence | Yes | Limited |
| Self-serve signup (no sales call) | Yes | Yes |
| Public, transparent pricing | Yes | Yes |
Published at $25/mo (launched Jan 2026). Aggregates SAM.gov + Grants.gov + 40+ state portals; includes SBIR/STTR.
Pricing & features as of June 2026, compiled from publicly available sources. FedScout is a trademark of FedScout. SAM.gov Hunter is not affiliated with or endorsed by FedScout.
Contractors who need the full win workflow — deep analysis, a complete proposal draft, a compliance matrix, and teaming with auto agreements — plus a free way to start.
Budget-first small businesses and SBIR/STTR seekers who mainly need very cheap, broad opportunity discovery across contracts and grants.
FedScout is the budget discovery pick at $25/month and adds grants/SBIR that SAM.gov Hunter doesn’t cover. If you want to go beyond finding opportunities — into deep analysis, full proposal drafting, compliance, and teaming — SAM.gov Hunter is the more complete platform, and it’s free to start.
FedScout.AI is $25/month and launched in January 2026. SAM.gov Hunter is $0 (free forever), $99/month, or $169/month — so it’s free to start, then a higher paid tier that adds proposal writing, compliance, and teaming tools.
For the cheapest possible discovery (and for grants/SBIR coverage), FedScout is excellent. For the full bid-winning workflow — deep solicitation analysis, a complete AI proposal draft, a compliance matrix, and teaming with auto agreements — SAM.gov Hunter is more complete.
Not currently. SAM.gov Hunter focuses on federal and state/local contract opportunities. FedScout adds Grants.gov and SBIR/STTR, which is a plus if research funding is a priority for you.
SAM.gov Hunter offers a permanently free Casual Hunter tier (search plus one AI analysis per month). FedScout starts at $25/month.
Search federal & 50-state contracts, score fit with AI, and draft a proposal — no credit card required.
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