What eTenders is
eTenders (etenders.gov.ie) describes itself as Ireland's National Tendering Website, connecting public sector buyers with suppliers who want to sell to government. According to the Office of Government Procurement (OGP), which manages the national platform, it is the central facility for public sector contracting authorities to advertise procurement opportunities and award notices. The site offers two registration routes: one for contracting authorities that want to publish a tender, and one for suppliers that want to respond to one.
OGP guidance states that registration on the eTenders suppliers database is free of charge, and that tender documents are available at no cost to any interested party. Its published thresholds guidance says the threshold at which contracting authorities must advertise goods and services contracts on eTenders is €50,000 excluding VAT. They also say eTenders is used for lower-value quotes, which is why OGP encourages suppliers to register.
What eTenders does well
- It is the official record. Irish public bodies publish notices and awards there, so it is the authoritative place to check an Irish opportunity.
- It is free. Registration costs nothing and documents can be downloaded without charge.
- It is where you act. You respond to tenders, and in some cases quote competitions, through the platform itself. Its homepage also lists advanced search, user guides, videos and an FAQ, and the site announced a quotes competition workflow in September 2026.
None of that changes with TenderSignal. If you want to bid for an Irish public contract, you will need an eTenders supplier account regardless of how you found the notice.
Where a second tool helps
eTenders is one portal for one jurisdiction. Suppliers who sell on both sides of the Irish Sea, or who sell to buyers that run their own portals, tend to want a single view. TenderSignal approaches that in three ways.
- Coverage beyond the national portals. We carry eTenders alongside Find a Tender, Contracts Finder, Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and eTendersNI, plus 600+ buyer portals on platforms such as In-Tend, Delta eSourcing, ProContract, Atamis and Jaggaer. Around one in four live tenders we carry is not on any national portal. They are published on the buyer's own portal, and we bring them into the same feed.
- Matching to your business. You describe what you sell and set region, sector and buyer type. You then see a feed of what fits, rather than running the same searches each day.
- Buyer contacts on Pro. On the £39 a month + VAT plan you see the buyer's contact name, email and phone number where one is published, which helps when you want to ask a clarification question or introduce yourself.
For Irish opportunities specifically, see our Ireland tenders hub. If you also sell into Northern Ireland, its public sector portal has its own page: eTendersNI and TenderSignal, and the Northern Ireland tenders hub shows live notices.
eTenders and TenderSignal side by side
| Feature | eTenders (etenders.gov.ie) | TenderSignal |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Ireland's official national tendering website | A tender discovery and alert service for the UK and Ireland |
| Coverage | Irish public sector notices and awards | UK and Ireland, including eTenders, the other national portals and 600+ buyer portals |
| Registration | Free supplier registration, required to respond | Free account, no card; Pro from £39 a month + VAT |
| Responding to a tender | Yes, through the platform | No, you respond on the portal where the tender is run |
| Matched feed | Search and browse | Matches to your profile, daily on Pro; weekly count of new matches on Free |
| Buyer contacts | As published in each notice | Free on tenders also on the national portals; all of them on Pro |
| Price | Free | Free plan; Pro £39/month + VAT; Business from £99/month + VAT |
Who each suits
Use eTenders on its own if you only sell to Irish central and local government, you are happy to run your own searches, and your work is mostly covered by the notices published there.
Add TenderSignal if you sell across the UK and Ireland, want matches arriving in your inbox, or work with buyers such as councils, health bodies, housing associations and universities that run their own portals. Most suppliers use both: TenderSignal to find, eTenders to register and respond.
Free lets you browse and discover, with no card: the free plan lets you browse every live tender, with search, filters, award history and competitor profiles, and one saved search with its matches in your account, with a weekly email of how many new tenders it found. Pro does the finding for you every morning, with daily delivery of every match, an AI relevance score with its reasoning, buyer contacts, matches not on the national portals, contracts coming up for renewal in your sectors, unlimited saved searches and tender tracking with reminders. Business is £99 a month + VAT for up to 20 seats. See pricing for the detail, or start with free tender alerts.
To browse by theme, try the sector pages or the buyer directory. Our alternatives overview and tender portal comparison show how the national portals fit together, and our Find a Tender page covers the UK-wide notice service.