Switching from Barbour ABI

Leaving Barbour ABI? Start on SiteLens free, then £39 a month with no contract.

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. Its published terms, for contracts signed between 16 October 2024 and 11 May 2026, roll on after 12 months until you give 90 days’ written notice, by registered post or courier.
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 28 October 2026.

Every new application across 380+ UK councils, sorted by trade and mapped, with your matches emailed each morning. Set it up while your notice runs, and pay monthly when you are ready.

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 and emailed each morning, on a plan you start yourself and cancel in account settings. Start free, then £39 a month, or £29 a month billed annually.

Choose Barbour ABI if you rely on its researchers’ confirmed values and start dates, its Product Specification tool or a 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.

Set up in minutes, not a demo

Pick your trade or role from six starting points and SiteLens builds the search, then starts a daily alert from the same screen. 22 works tags, from groundworks to renewables, keep it to your trade.

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 and filing health, and adds the agent’s published email and phone, plus 15 contact lookups a month.

What the last 30 days held, by trade

New applications tagged for each trade, and new major and residential schemes, from the same figures as the trade pages.

Groundworks13,507
Roofing12,297
Brickwork11,133
Glazing9,557
M&E7,901
Residential schemes5,496
Steelwork4,019
Demolition2,748
Cladding1,074
Renewables962
Major schemes901
Scaffolding179

New applications in the 30 days to 3 Nov 2026, dated by when the council validated or received each application, or when SiteLens first found it.

What you get, and what you leave behind

Each Barbour ABI entry comes from its own website unless the cell says otherwise. Checked 28 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)
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 rolling until 90 days’ written notice
Leaving	Cancel in account settings; a monthly plan is not billed again	On its terms for contracts signed 16 Oct 2024 to 11 May 2026: notice by registered post or courier, and its information erased or returned within 14 days
Sign-up	Self-serve, under 2 minutes	A free consultation or demo, then a bespoke quote
Users	Pro for one; Team for up to 5 at £99/mo, or £79/mo billed annually	Priced by sectors, locations, users and API licences
Projects covered	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
Project values	Estimated value bands, each naming its basis	Confirmed by its researchers
Start-on-site signals	An “About to start on site” alert, and building-control starts	Start and end dates confirmed by direct contact
Plain-English search	Included	Yes, “Just Ask” AI search
Contact details	Agent’s published email and phone, the named project team and 15 lookups a month (Pro)	Direct phone, mobile and email for the people on each project
Company relationships	One page per firm: its applications, decision record and who it works with (Pro)	Who works with whom, and the projects competitors have won
Alerts on new applications	Daily or weekly email by trade, area and keyword; hourly on Team	Daily or weekly email on saved searches
Managing leads	A leads pipeline with notes, from new to won; Team shares it and assigns leads	Tag, favourite, share and add notes, with a calendar linked to email
Exports	CSV with HubSpot and Salesforce columns, 5,000 rows a month (Pro)	Export as many leads as you want, or load them into your CRM by API
Specification data	No	Product Specification tool: who specified your products
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 client success 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.

How to switch

Find your notice date
Your order form sets the term. For contracts signed between 16 October 2024 and 11 May 2026, Barbour ABI’s published terms run 12 months, then roll on until at least 90 days’ written notice, and ask for a termination notice by registered post or couriered letter.
Start SiteLens free while it runs
Sign up in under 2 minutes with no card, pick your trade or role from six starting points, set your area and save the search as a daily alert.
Run both until your notice date
Check each morning’s alert against the projects you track today, and save the ones worth chasing to your leads pipeline as they arrive.
Add the names when you want them
Try Pro free for 7 days with no card, then £39 a month, or £29 a month billed annually. Team covers up to 5 people at £99 a month, or £79 a month billed annually.

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 record of who works with whom. Its Product Specification tool shows manufacturers where their products have been specified. If you track specifications, or bid on larger projects with an account team behind you, that is what the subscription pays for.

If what you used was the leads in your region, SiteLens covers the public record: every new application across 380+ UK councils, sorted by trade, with public tenders and awards near each site. That is SiteLens Pro at £39 a month, or £29 a month billed annually.

For every feature, read SiteLens vs Barbour ABI, or what ABI construction leads include.

Frequently asked

How do I cancel Barbour ABI?

Start with your order form. The only client terms on Barbour ABI’s site cover contracts signed between 16 October 2024 and 11 May 2026: an initial 12 months, then rolling until either side gives at least 90 days’ written notice, with a termination notice sent by registered post or couriered letter.

Can I bring my Barbour ABI projects into SiteLens?

Not as an import. Barbour ABI’s published terms for contracts signed between 16 October 2024 and 11 May 2026 ask you to erase or return its information within 14 days of the end. SiteLens rebuilds your patch from the public record instead: pick your trade or role, set your area and save the search as a daily alert.

Isn’t the contractor already chosen by the time an application is public?

Rarely, for a supplier or subcontractor. Barbour ABI’s own stages run pre-planning, detail planning, approval, then contract awarded, so the packages are let after the application you see. Pro names the applicant, the agent and the project team on major schemes whose documents name it, and a free “About to start on site” alert flags when work is near.

What will I miss from Barbour ABI?

Its researchers’ phone calls: confirmed values and start dates, bidder history and the materials and brands specified, plus direct mobile numbers, the Product Specification tool, a mobile app and a dedicated account manager. SiteLens is built from public records, with estimated value bands that name their basis.

How much cheaper is SiteLens than Barbour ABI?

Barbour ABI’s own ROI page puts its average subscription at around £7,500 a year. SiteLens Pro is £39 a month, or £29 a month billed annually, so that average would pay for 16 years of Pro, or more than 6 years of Team for up to 5 people.

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