Best places to find cleaning bids: 20 bid sites, checked and compared

LeadWharf publishes this guide. We are not a bid site and we are not ranked in it. Each entry gives what is listed, the cost, who it suits and one trade-off. Prices come from the provider's own page or an official source, linked in each entry, as of October 2026. Confirm before you pay.

The fastest path to public work is two or three free official portals, one paid aggregator your local buyers actually use, and alerts set on the right codes. This directory shows where cleaning bids are listed. For how to register and bid on public work, read our guide to government cleaning contracts, and for every route to a contract (bids, property managers, referrals, outbound), see cleaning contracts.

Quick comparison: cleaning bid sites at a glance

Where do you find federal cleaning bids?

You find federal cleaning bids on SAM.gov, and you work out which ones are coming up next on USAspending.gov. Federal buildings are a market of their own; see government building cleaning leads for how the work differs.

1. SAM.gov

What's listed. Federal contract opportunities: sources sought notices, presolicitations, solicitations and award notices. SAM.gov says anyone can search contract opportunities without an account, and that an account lets you save searches, follow changes to an opportunity and join interested vendor lists (SAM.gov).

Cost. Free.

Who it suits. Any company that can staff a federal building nearby.

Trade-off. High volume. Without a saved search filtered by code and place, you will scroll past a lot of noise.

2. USAspending.gov

What's listed. Federal awards, not open bids. A test search for janitorial contracts in Texas returned each award's holder, agency, start and end dates, set-aside type and number of offers received (USAspending).

Cost. Free.

Who it suits. Companies that want to prepare for a rebid early.

Trade-off. It shows awards, not open bids, so pair it with SAM.gov.

Which bid aggregators list janitorial RFPs from state and local buyers?

Aggregators pull bids from many local buyers into one feed. Several are also the system a buyer uses to receive bids, so you may need an account there to respond at all.

3. DemandStar

What's listed. Bids from the government agencies on its network, with email notifications matched to your offerings.

Cost. A free plan covers notifications from one agency. Paid plans start at $60 a year per county, $100 to $1,499 a year per state depending on how many agencies are on the network there, and $2,699 a year nationally. Non-subscribers pay a $5 service fee to download a bid package, waived inside your subscription area (DemandStar pricing).

Who it suits. Companies that serve one or two counties where local buyers use DemandStar.

Trade-off. Coverage varies by state, so confirm your buyers post there before buying a state plan.

4. BidNet Direct

What's listed. State and local government bids, with automatic notifications by category and location. Its home page says it has bids from over 90,000 government agencies and more than 25,000 open bids daily (BidNet Direct).

Cost. A free limited plan exists, and agencies such as Oklahoma City tell vendors to "select the Limited plan at no cost" to register and bid (City of Oklahoma City). Paid plan prices are not published on the public site.

Who it suits. Companies whose local buyers post through BidNet Direct.

Trade-off. Paid prices are not shown publicly, so check exactly what the free plan includes when you register before you upgrade.

5. Periscope S2G (formerly BidSync)

What's listed. Government bids from public bodies across North America. Periscope says S2G notifies customers of more than 100,000 government bids each month, and bidsync.com now redirects to it (Periscope S2G).

Cost. Free trial available. Price not published.

Who it suits. Companies bidding in several states.

Trade-off. A broad feed means more filtering. Set cleaning codes on day one.

6. GovSpend

What's listed. GovSpend's Bid Notifier pulls bids from over 28,000 sources, including agency websites, third-party bid hosting sites and state procurement sites, with daily, weekly or immediate alerts that include addenda and changes (GovSpend).

Cost. Not published. Demo on request.

Who it suits. Multi-state companies that bid often.

Trade-off. Built for teams working bids every week; a small owner-operator may pay for more than they use.

7. Deltek GovWin IQ

What's listed. US federal opportunities, state, local and education buyers (Deltek says it covers more than 100,000 state and local governments), and Canadian federal, provincial and municipal buyers (Deltek).

Cost. Not published. Contact sales.

Who it suits. Larger janitorial firms chasing big multi-year contracts.

Trade-off. More tool than most single-metro cleaning companies need.

8. Bonfire (now Euna Procurement)

What's listed. Bonfire is the e-procurement system many agencies use to post solicitations and receive bids. Bonfire now redirects to Euna Solutions, which says suppliers self-register, select commodity codes and submit bids through its portal (Euna Solutions).

Cost. Free to register. Mountain Line in Arizona, for example, tells vendors "Registration is free" on its Bonfire portal (Mountain Line).

Who it suits. Anyone bidding to an agency that uses it.

Trade-off. A place to respond more than to discover. You still need to know which buyers to follow.

9. Bid Express

What's listed. Electronic bidding for agencies that use Infotech's Bid Express service, with personalized bid notifications.

Cost. $50 per solicitation, or $60 a month for unlimited bids, per Infotech's fee schedule updated January 1, 2025. Some agencies sponsor the fee so vendors bid at no charge (Infotech).

Who it suits. Companies bidding to agencies that require Bid Express submissions.

Trade-off. Mainly a submission system, not a discovery feed.

Which state procurement portals list cleaning bids?

Every state posts its own solicitations on an official portal, and most are free to search. Eight examples:

10. State procurement portals

Who it suits. Every cleaning company that wants public work. Register in your own state first, even if you never pay for an aggregator.

Trade-off. Many cities, counties and school districts post elsewhere, so a state account alone misses local bids. For your state's buyers and building mix, see our US locations.

11. School districts, universities, cities and housing authorities

What's listed. Custodial contracts for schools, campuses, city halls, libraries, transit facilities and public housing. Most of these buyers post on their own purchasing page, or on one of the aggregators above.

Cost. Free.

Who it suits. Local companies that want recurring work close to home. For schools, see school cleaning leads for that market.

Trade-off. It is manual. List the public buyers inside your service area, find each one's purchasing page, and register as a vendor with each. That list is worth more than most paid feeds.

Where do Canadian cleaning companies find tenders?

12. CanadaBuys

What's listed. Government of Canada tender and award notices, plus some provincial, territorial and municipal opportunities. CanadaBuys states that federal notices, solicitation documents and attachments are available free of charge without registering (CanadaBuys), and you can sign up for notifications (CanadaBuys).

Cost. Free.

Who it suits. Canadian cleaning companies near federal buildings, bases and offices.

Trade-off. Some notices link to third-party sites that may need an account or fee.

13. MERX

What's listed. Canadian tenders, US tenders and private construction projects (MERX).

Cost. A free Basic plan gives access to solicitations from buyers that pay for supplier access. Premium Canadian tender plans are listed at $50 a month billed annually for one province ($199 billed monthly), up to $167 a month billed annually for national coverage.

Who it suits. Canadian companies that want public tenders and private construction projects in one place.

Trade-off. The free tier only covers buyers that have paid for your access, so most cleaning tenders sit behind a plan.

14. bids&tenders

What's listed. Municipal, education and public sector bids in Canada and the US, from agencies that run their procurement on the platform.

Cost. Free to view and search open opportunities. Paid supplier plans are $549 a year for up to 10 agencies, $999 a year for up to 20, and $1,999 a year for all agencies, plus a pay-per-bid option. Opportunities from agencies that are currently free to access stay free (bids&tenders).

Who it suits. Companies bidding to the municipalities and school boards that use it.

Trade-off. If you bid to more than ten agencies, the cheapest plan stops covering you.

15. BC Bid

What's listed. British Columbia government and broader public sector opportunities, contract awards and unverified bid results.

Cost. Free supplier account. Submitting through e-Bidding needs a subscription (BC Bid guide).

Who it suits. Cleaning companies in Vancouver, Victoria and the rest of BC.

Trade-off. Plan ahead: you need a Business BCeID before you can register a supplier account.

16. Alberta Purchasing Connection

What's listed. Opportunities from the Government of Alberta and public sector bodies such as municipalities, school boards and health entities. Registration is not required to view opportunities, but it lets you download documents and get notifications (Government of Alberta).

Cost. Free to view.

Who it suits. Cleaning companies in Calgary, Edmonton and across Alberta.

Trade-off. Federal work in Alberta is posted on CanadaBuys, so pair the two. For province-by-province detail, see our Canada locations.

Where do you find post-construction cleaning bids?

Post-construction cleaning bids come from general contractors, who invite trades, including final clean, through construction bid boards. More on that market at post-construction cleaning leads.

17. BuildingConnected

What's listed. Bid invitations from general contractors and owners. Autodesk describes it as a network of over 1.5 million construction professionals, with Bid Board Pro as the subcontractor product for tracking invites and finding projects in an online plan room (Autodesk).

Cost. Not published on the product page.

Who it suits. Post-construction cleaners building GC bidder lists.

Trade-off. Invites come from GCs who know you, so build those relationships first.

18. PlanHub

What's listed. Construction projects from general contractors on its network.

Cost. Free account. The Premier plan for subcontractors is $1,999 a year for a 50-mile radius, $2,349 for 100 miles and $3,299 for 200 miles (PlanHub).

Who it suits. Final-clean and rough-clean companies in active construction markets.

Trade-off. GCs often choose on price and pay on their own schedule. Check payment terms.

19. ConstructConnect

What's listed. Construction project leads and bid documents, public and private.

Cost. Project Intelligence Starter is $129 a month per market, month to month. Professional starts at $199 a month per market billed annually, on an annual contract. Mid-term cancellations are not refunded (ConstructConnect).

Who it suits. Post-construction cleaners who want to reach the GC before final-clean invites go out.

Trade-off. Project data, not a cleaning bid feed. You contact the GC yourself.

What about free private-sector listings?

20. Craigslist gigs

What's listed. Small one-off jobs, including cleaning, posted by individuals and small businesses in the gigs section. Posting a gig costs the poster $3 to $10 in the US and selected Canadian areas (craigslist).

Cost. Free to browse.

Who it suits. New companies filling gaps in the schedule.

Trade-off. Mostly one-off work that rarely becomes a recurring contract. Never pay to get a job.

How do you set up bid alerts that actually catch cleaning work?

Set alerts on industry codes, not just keywords, because buyers call the same work custodial, janitorial or housekeeping. Use these codes:

The PSC codes come from the federal PSC Manual, the NAICS titles from USAspending, and the NIGP codes from Washington State's janitorial contracts guidance, which also lists 958-63 (Janitorial Management Services) and 962-21 (Steam and Pressure Cleaning Services).

Then tighten each alert:

1. Filter by place of performance. Only the states, counties or ZIP codes you can staff at night.
2. Include early notice types. On SAM.gov, keep sources sought and presolicitation notices in your search. They arrive weeks or months before the solicitation.
3. Add keywords as a backstop. "Custodial", "janitorial", "housekeeping", "floor care", "window cleaning", "final clean".
4. Pick every fitting commodity code when you register. On state portals and Bonfire, those codes decide which emails you get.
5. Review weekly. Drop noisy alerts and add buyers you keep seeing.

How do you tell a cleaning bid worth chasing from one that isn't?

A bid is worth chasing when you can staff it profitably, meet every mandatory requirement, and have a real chance against the incumbent. Check:

• Location. Can your crews reach it every night without overtime?
• Size and scope. Square footage, frequency and services match what you already do well.
• Mandatory site visit. Is there a pre-bid walk-through, and can you attend? Missing a mandatory one usually disqualifies you.
• Requirements. Insurance limits, bonding, licenses, background checks and wage rules (federal service contracts often carry wage determinations).
• Set-aside. Is it set aside for small business or a certification you hold?
• Evaluation method. Lowest price, or best value with points for experience? Best value favors strong references.
• Incumbent. Who holds it now, and for how long? Look them up on USAspending or ask for the last bid tabulation.
• Payment terms. Net 30, net 45, or longer? Price your cash flow, not just labor.
• Time to prepare. Do you have enough days to walk, price and write a proper proposal?

If three or more answers are a problem, pass. For the pricing and proposal itself, read how to bid a janitorial job and the janitorial bidding mistakes that cost companies the award. After you submit, follow up on the bid the right way.

How to use USAspending to see when current cleaning contracts expire

USAspending shows each federal award's holder, value and end dates, so you can spot a rebid months ahead:

1. Go to USAspending.gov and open Advanced Search.
2. Under award type, select contracts.
3. Under industry codes, enter NAICS 561720, or PSC S201 for custodial janitorial.
4. Under location, set the place of performance to your state or county.
5. Run the search and sort by end date or amount.
6. Open an award. The award page shows the recipient (the incumbent), the awarding agency, the obligated value and the period of performance, including the potential end date if every option is used. It also shows how the contract was competed, any set-aside, and how many offers were received.
7. Put the end dates in a calendar. Start watching SAM.gov for a sources sought notice or presolicitation six to twelve months before each one.

A contract that drew few offers suggests the buyer struggled to find bidders, so answer the next sources sought notice. An incumbent holding several nearby contracts will take a sharper offer to move.

Bids or private-sector leads?

Public bids are a fine source of steady work. They also come with three costs:

• They are slow. From sources sought notice to award can take months, and start dates slip.
• They are often decided on price. The margin goes to whoever cuts deepest.
• They are public. Every competitor sees the notice, and often your price after award.

Most commercial buildings never post a bid. Offices, medical practices, warehouses and gyms pick a cleaner by talking to a few companies they have heard from, so the job is reaching the person who signs.

That is the work LeadWharf does. We run outreach in your company's name to buildings in your area, then hand you a lead only when three checks are true: the building is in your area, the contact wants recurring cleaning at your frequency and size, and you get the named decision-maker with a direct line. Each lead goes to one company only. Many companies run both: bids for public work, and exclusive private-sector leads for everything else. If you want to see what that looks like in your territory, book a call.