Scoutee, the alternative to MERX that does not stop at one province

About MERX

MERX is one of the oldest Canadian tender portals, operated by SOVRA. It publishes public-sector solicitations from federal, provincial and municipal buyers, plus private construction projects, and lets suppliers download documents and submit bids electronically through eBid. A free Basic account gives access to solicitations from participating member agencies. Paid Premium subscriptions are sold by territory: Local at 50 Canadian dollars a month for one province, Regional at 100 for a group of provinces, National at 167, each billed annually; paid monthly the same plans cost 199, 299 and 499. Private construction is sold separately, nationally or by metropolitan area.

Why companies move from MERX to Scoutee

Reason 1: the province is a MERX price, not a market

On MERX, the map is the invoice. The Local plan covers one province of your choice, Regional a group, National the country, and private construction is another subscription again. A Montreal supplier who starts answering in Ontario changes plan; one who looks at New York or France has nowhere to go. Scoutee searches more than 100 official sources in more than 30 countries of Europe and North America in every plan, Canada and the United States included, with CanadaBuys, SEAO, SAM.gov and the provincial portals among them. No province is an upgrade.

Reason 2: a monthly price, without the annual penalty

MERX's published prices assume annual billing: 50 Canadian dollars a month for Local, 167 for National. Paid month by month, the same plans cost 199 and 499, three to four times more, which makes the annual commitment the real offer. Scoutee is 49 euros a month on Pro and 149 on Team, the same price whether you pay monthly or yearly at ten months, cancellable at any time. Nothing is charged per document, per notice or per province.

Reason 3: the documents are read, not only downloaded

MERX gives unlimited document downloads on its paid plans, which is generous and leaves eighty pages to read. A Scoutee analysis retrieves the documents from the buyer's platform, reads them and extracts the deadlines, the budget, the requirements and the criteria that would exclude the company, on one page the whole workspace shares. The free plan runs two analyses a month, Pro a hundred, Team without limit; ten more cost 10 euros, and reading an analysis a colleague ran is free.

Reason 4: bilingual search, and beyond Canada

A Canadian supplier reads notices in English on CanadaBuys and in French on SEAO. Scoutee proposes keywords from the company profile and translates them into 24 languages, so one saved search finds both, and the European notices too when the company exports. The company memory keeps the references, certifications and past bids the next answer starts from, and Team adds the award history: who won, and when the buyer publishes it, at what price.

Where MERX is strong

• Electronic bid submission through eBid, on the same platform where the solicitation is published.
• Unlimited document downloads on paid plans, for Canadian public and private sector tenders.
• Private construction followed project by project, nationally or by metropolitan area, with a Document Request List that shows partnering opportunities.
• A free Basic account that already opens the solicitations of participating member agencies.

FAQ

Does MERX cover tenders outside Canada?

MERX is a Canadian portal: federal, provincial and municipal buyers, plus private construction, sold by province, region or country. Notices from the United States or Europe are not its business. Scoutee covers Canada and the United States, with CanadaBuys, SEAO and SAM.gov among its sources, alongside more than 30 countries in total.

How much does MERX cost?

Basic is free. Premium is 50 Canadian dollars a month for one province, 100 for a region and 167 nationally, each billed annually; paid monthly the same plans are 199, 299 and 499. Private construction is priced separately. Prices read on the MERX site on 14 September 2026. Scoutee's Pro plan is 49 euros a month.

Can I try Scoutee before paying?

Yes. The free plan never expires: search every source, save searches, receive one daily alert and run two tender analyses a month. Pro and Team are monthly and cancellable at any time.

Can I submit a bid from Scoutee like on MERX?

No. MERX hosts the submission through eBid; Scoutee does not. Scoutee finds the tender, deduplicates it, retrieves the documents and analyses them, then links to the buyer's platform, where the bid is filed. The two jobs are separate, and the second still happens on the buyer's own site.

Is Scoutee's coverage really included in every plan?

Yes. Free, Pro and Team search the same index, more than 100 official sources in more than 30 countries of Europe and North America, collected every night and deduplicated. No province, state or country is an option; the plans differ by alerts, analyses, users and the award history.

Sources

• MERX, pricing page, read on 14 September 2026: merx.com.
• MERX, home page, read on 14 September 2026: merx.com.
• Scoutee, pricing and coverage: scoutee.org/en/pricing and scoutee.org/en/sources.