SamSearch, and what a federal contractor actually needs from a tool like it.
SamSearch covers a lot of ground, from finding the opportunity to drafting the proposal. This page explains what it does, what is known about its pricing, and where a mobile Go/No-Go tool fits differently.
GoNoGo is a different kind of tool. It is a mobile-first federal contracting workflow app, built by ContractIQ, that helps a contractor build a business entity profile in seconds, get curated SAM.gov results and editable saved searches, and decide Go, Hold, or No-Go on the opportunities already in front of them. When a pursuit needs a human, ContractIQ can plug in behind the app.
Free to start, with daily usage credits.
Built by ContractIQ, backed by experienced federal contracting professionals.
SamSearch vs GoNoGo at a glance
- What it is
- AI platform covering search, analysis and proposal generation
- Sources searched
- Federal, state and local, DIBBS, GSA eBuy, subcontracting
- Pricing
- Three tiers (Starter, Pro, Enterprise). Amounts not published, demo required
- Free entry
- No free tier or trial stated on the site
- Mobile
- No mobile app mentioned on the site
- Also offers
- A done-for-you service handling registration and proposals
- Built for
- Government contractors of various sizes, from small businesses to enterprises
- What it is
- Mobile workflow for SAM.gov opportunity triage: entity profile, curated results, saved searches, Go, Hold, and No-Go decisions and pipeline
- Sources searched
- Launching with SAM.gov federal opportunities first, then expanding into additional sources as GoNoGo grows
- Pricing
- Free to start, with daily usage credits
- Free entry
- Yes
- Mobile
- Mobile-first, built for web and mobile use
- Also offers
- ContractIQ, the professional support layer behind the app
- Built for
- New, small, growing and established contractors who own the pursuit decision
What is SamSearch?
SamSearch is an AI platform for government contracting that goes wider than opportunity search. It searches federal, state and local, DIBBS and GSA eBuy sources, matches partners across a database it describes as 400,000 contractors (their figure, from samsearch.co), surfaces procurement forecasts, reads RFP documents to pull out requirements, and helps draft the proposal itself. Its site states that it is SOC 2 Type II compliant and names customers including KPMG.
That range is the point of the product. It is trying to cover the path from "there is an opportunity" to "the proposal is written", for teams that work that whole path.
SamSearch and GoNoGo are aimed at different moments
SamSearch is built around producing the bid. Most of what it adds sits after you have decided to go: analysing the solicitation, matching partners, drafting.
GoNoGo is built around the decision before that. Whether this one is worth your week at all, decided from a phone, in the time you have between other things.
Both matter. They are just not the same job, and for most contractors the second one happens far more often than the first. You review a lot more opportunities than you pursue.
Why starting with SAM.gov is a strength
GoNoGo is launching with SAM.gov because federal contractors need a better way to work the official federal opportunity universe before adding more noise to it. SAM.gov is not the only place opportunity signals exist, but it is the right first place to build the habit: build your entity profile, see curated federal opportunities, edit saved searches, decide Go, Hold, or No-Go, and learn from every click. From there, GoNoGo expands into additional sources as the platform grows.
How much does SamSearch cost?
SamSearch does not publish prices. The site shows three tiers, Starter, Pro and Enterprise, with features listed for each, and directs you to book a demo to talk about numbers. There is no free tier or trial stated.
That is a normal way to sell software and it is not a criticism. It is worth knowing before you start, because it means you cannot size it against your budget without a sales conversation first. Some software directories publish a monthly figure for SamSearch; it does not appear anywhere on SamSearch's own site, so this page does not treat it as a price. What is verifiable is what their pricing page shows right now: three plans, no amounts, and a "Book Demo" button on each one.
GoNoGo is free to start, with daily usage credits, so you can build your entity profile and see your own curated results before you talk to anyone.
Where GoNoGo fits
GoNoGo is a workflow, not a filter. You build an entity profile, and that profile turns into saved searches and curated SAM.gov results you can edit at any time. From there you review each notice against how your company actually works, mark it Go, Hold, or No-Go, and keep the reasoning attached to the opportunity so the pipeline holds together.
The part that matters over time is that it learns. Your searches, the notices you open, the decisions you make and what moves through your pipeline build a clearer picture of what your company should see next.
If the bottleneck is that you already know what to pursue and cannot write the proposals fast enough, that is a different problem and a platform like SamSearch is aimed at it.
Not just for contractors starting out
GoNoGo can be a starting point for a company entering federal work, but it is also a scale-back option for teams that have used heavier tools or outsourced services and want more autonomy and day-to-day control. Use the software for the work your team can handle in-house. Put the savings back into the business, or into targeted ContractIQ support only where you actually need it.
Do more on your own, bring in ContractIQ where it is needed
GoNoGo helps you handle more of the opportunity review yourself. ContractIQ is the professional support layer behind it, for the work that is too technical, too time-consuming or too high-risk to guess on: solicitation review, Go/No-Go decisions on a specific pursuit, compliance matrix development, pricing strategy, proposal review, teaming questions, and fractional contracting office support.
The point is not to push every contractor into a large engagement. It is to plug in where help is actually needed, from a one-time review to ongoing monthly support. The judgment stays with your team.
What SamSearch does well
Searching beyond federal into state, local, DIBBS and GSA eBuy is more coverage than most tools in this category offer, and the partner database covers teaming, which contractors use more than the tooling usually reflects.
When SamSearch is the right tool
When you bid often enough that proposal production is the constraint, when you sell into state and local as well as federal, and when you have someone whose job includes running the tool.
When GoNoGo fits better
When you are on site more than at a desk. When the question is which of this week's postings deserve attention. When you want to see your own pipeline before committing to a sales process.
Other SamSearch alternatives, and where GoNoGo sits
Most "SamSearch alternatives" lists are written by one of the alternatives. So is this one, and you should read it that way. Here is the category split by the job you are actually hiring for.
The free baseline.
SAM.gov, the governmentwide entry point for federal contract opportunities, and it costs nothing. If you do not yet know what exists, start here before paying anyone. Worth knowing: not everything runs through it, since task orders under an IDIQ or a BPA are often competed among holders.
Databases,
like GovWin IQ and HigherGov. Built for coverage and research depth. You pay for the breadth of what they see and for forecasting. Heavy if one person owns the pursuit decision, right for a capture team.
Proposal platforms.
Built for producing the bid: analysing the solicitation, drafting, compliance. SamSearch has moved into this space, which is why it is broader than a search tool.
Decision tools.
Built for triage: which of these is worth your week. See the full category breakdown if you want the six jobs these tools cover. This is the smallest group and the one most small contractors reach for first without knowing it has a name. GoNoGo is here.
The useful question is not which tool is best. It is which of those four is your actual bottleneck this quarter, because the answer changes as you grow.
We reviewed the rest of this group one by one: Gov Contract Finder, GovDash, Procurement Sciences, Sweetspot and Federal Compass.
FAQ
Closing
A clearer way for federal contractors to decide what to bid on.
Free to start, with daily usage credits.
Built by ContractIQ, backed by experienced federal contracting professionals.