Barbour ABI alternative

By its own figures, Barbour ABI averages around £7,500 a year. SiteLens Pro is £39 a month.

Barbour ABI: Around £7,500 a year on average, from £4k, by Barbour ABI’s own ROI page. Priced to the sectors, locations, users and API licences you choose.
SiteLens: £39 a month, or £29 a month billed annually, with no contract. Barbour ABI’s own average, around £7,500 a year, would pay for 16 years of Pro at £39 a month, or more than 6 years of Team for up to 5 people.

Checked 21 October 2026.

Every new application across 380+ UK councils, sorted by trade and mapped, with your matches emailed each morning. Start free with no card, then pay monthly with no contract.

Start for free Try Pro free for 7 days, no card

Which should you choose?

Choose SiteLens if you want every new planning application in your region, small schemes included, sorted by your trade, with Companies House checks on the firms you want to chase and your matches in your inbox each morning. Start free, then £39 a month, or £29 a month billed annually, with no contract.

Choose Barbour ABI if you track product specifications as a manufacturer, or bid on larger projects and will use its researchers, bidder history and dedicated account manager.

What SiteLens does better

Every application, not just big ones

Every new application across 380+ UK councils, from householder extensions to major schemes, collected every night. Barbour ABI’s leads platform tracks projects valued over £100k.

Sorted by your trade

22 works tags, from groundworks to renewables, mark the trades each application needs. Pick your trade and SiteLens builds the search, then starts a daily alert from the same screen. Barbour ABI filters projects by sector.

Who is behind it, checked

Companies House numbers are matched to applicants, agents and contractors on every plan. Pro names the firms, opens the directors, people with significant control and filing health, and adds the agent’s published email and phone, plus 15 contact lookups a month.

SiteLens vs Barbour ABI, feature by feature

Each Barbour ABI entry comes from its own website unless the cell says otherwise. Checked 21 October 2026.

Feature	SiteLens	Barbour ABI
Price	£39/mo, or £29/mo billed annually	From £4k a year, around £7,500 on average (its own ROI page)
Try before you pay	Free plan with no time limit, plus 7 days of Pro, no card	A free search sample; a free trial and 10 free leads by form
Contract	Monthly or annual, no minimum term, cancel any time	Terms published for contracts signed 16 Oct 2024 to 11 May 2026: 12 months, then 90 days’ notice
Sign-up	Self-serve, under 2 minutes	A demo or consultation, then a bespoke quote
Users	Pro for one; Team for up to 5 at £99/mo, or £79/mo billed annually	Priced per user
Planning applications	Every new application across 380+ UK councils, collected every night	Projects over £100k, from pre-planning to contract award, updated daily
Research by phone	No. Built from public records	UK research team, 1 million+ calls a year
Trade tags	22 works tags, from groundworks to renewables	Projects sorted by sector, region and value
Plain-English search	Included	Yes, “Just Ask” AI search
Project values	Estimated value bands, each naming its basis	Confirmed by its researchers
Contact details	Agent’s published email and phone, the named project team and 15 lookups a month (Pro)	Direct phone, mobile and email for decision-makers
Company data	One page per firm: its applications, decision record and who it works with (Pro)	Relationship history: who works with whom
Companies House match	Yes, on every plan (directors, accounts and charges on Pro)	Not in its published API fields
Tenders and contract awards	Near each site and in alerts, plus public contracts ending in the next 12 months	Bidder history from its Tender Research Team
Alerts on new applications	Daily or weekly email by trade, area and keyword; hourly on Team	Daily or weekly email on saved searches
Decision alerts	On every plan, including free	Updates on saved projects
Start-on-site signals	An “About to start on site” alert, and building-control starts	Start and end dates confirmed by phone
Maps and site data	Map search; 24 planning constraint flags, six drawn on the map; EPC and a street-level imagery link; history at the address on Pro	Projects on a map
Specification data	No	Product Specification tool for manufacturers
Pipeline and exports	Built-in leads pipeline; CSV with HubSpot and Salesforce columns (Pro)	Unlimited lead exports
API	API plans available from £149/mo, billed annually	Projects API for your CRM, and a Locations API with all planning applications, for location data
Market analytics	Approval rates, decision times and volumes by council (Pro)	Power BI dashboards, reports and forecasts
Mobile app	No app; works in any phone browser	iPhone and Android app
Getting started	Six guided starting points by trade or role, built into the app	Dedicated account manager and unlimited training

See your own patch before you decide.

Search 380+ UK councils free, with no card. When you want the names behind the schemes, try Pro free for 7 days. After that, Pro is £39 a month, or £29 a month billed annually, with no contract.

Start free Try Pro free for 7 days, no card

See every plan and price or all features.

When you should still pick Barbour ABI

Barbour ABI’s UK research team makes more than a million calls a year to confirm values, start dates, bidders and the materials and brands specified, with direct phone, mobile and email contacts and a relationship history of who works with whom. It adds “Just Ask” AI search, an AI email writer, Power BI dashboards, an iPhone and Android app, CRM loading through its API and a Product Specification tool that shows manufacturers where their products have been specified. If you track specifications as a manufacturer, or bid on larger projects with an account team behind you, that is what the subscription pays for.

SiteLens covers the public record: every new application across 380+ UK councils, sorted by trade, with public tenders and awards near each site and contracts ending in the next 12 months. For a supplier or subcontractor working a region, that is the part of the market you can win, for £39 a month, or £29 a month billed annually.

For more, read Glenigan vs Barbour ABI on prices and renewal terms, what ABI construction leads include or how the main planning data tools compare.

Frequently asked

How much does Barbour ABI cost?

Barbour ABI has no price list. It prices by the sectors, locations, users and API licences you choose, and its own ROI page puts the average annual subscription at around £7,500, with subscription costs from £4k.

Does Barbour ABI need a contract?

It sells subscriptions through its sales team. The only client terms on its site cover contracts signed between 16 October 2024 and 11 May 2026: an initial 12 months, then rolling until either side gives 90 days’ written notice. SiteLens is monthly or annual, with a cancellation button in the dashboard.

Is there a cheaper alternative to Barbour ABI?

Yes. SiteLens sorts every new application across 380+ UK councils by trade and emails your matches each morning. Pro is £39 a month, or £29 a month billed annually, so Barbour ABI’s own average of around £7,500 a year would pay for 16 years of Pro. Start free, or try Pro for 7 days with no card.

Does Barbour ABI track small projects?

Its leads platform tracks projects valued over £100k, and it covers home improvement work under £100k in a separate analytics report. SiteLens brings in every new application across 380+ UK councils, from householder extensions to major schemes, tagged with the trades it needs.

Does Barbour ABI have a free trial?

Its site offers a free trial and 10 free leads, each through a form that asks for your phone number, and a free search tool that shows a sample of projects. SiteLens has a free plan with no time limit, and a 7-day Pro trial with no card that you start yourself.

See it before you pay a penny.

Stay on the free plan for as long as you like, or try Pro free for 7 days, no card. Sign up, then start it on the upgrade page.

Try Pro free for 7 days, no card Start on the free plan