FPDS: How to Research Government Spending Data
Learn how to research federal spending with SAM.gov's Data Bank, USAspending, and the Contract Awards API. Step-by-step tips, filters, trends, and pitfalls.
Tiatun T.
Federal Sales Consultant · Feb 23, 2026
FPDS (Federal Procurement Data System) has been the backbone of federal contract award data for decades. But in 2026, the way you access and analyze that data has changed — and if your market research workflow still starts at FPDS.gov, it's time to modernize.
The General Services Administration (GSA) has migrated FPDS reporting to SAM.gov, and is decommissioning FPDS's public-facing main page and ezSearch — making SAM.gov the authoritative portal for federal contract award data.
This guide explains exactly how to research government spending data using SAM.gov's Data Bank, the Contract Awards search, and USAspending.gov — and how to combine them for pipeline building, competitor analysis, and pricing strategy.
We'll also show how these tools support your broader capture efforts and how to win government contracts more predictably by turning raw award data into actionable intelligence.
What changed: From FPDS to SAM.gov (and what it means for researchers)
GSA integrated FPDS's reporting functions into SAM.gov's Data Bank in October 2020. In July 2025, GSA soft-launched the migration of FPDS's award search (ezSearch) into SAM.gov to modernize filters and usability.
On February 24, 2026, FPDS's public-facing main page and login are being decommissioned; users are redirected to SAM.gov/contracting.
Practically speaking: Researchers should initiate contract award searches and downloads in SAM.gov rather than FPDS.gov. The underlying FPDS data model hasn't changed — but the access layer has.
For macro-level spending across contracts, grants, loans, and more, USAspending.gov remains the government's official open-data source, with interactive explorers, advanced search, and bulk downloads for agency, geography, and object class views.
Use SAM.gov when you need granular award records and standardized contract reports; use USAspending to understand government-wide obligations and spot cross-domain trends.
Where each tool shines: SAM.gov vs. USAspending
SAM.gov Data Bank
- •Standardized "Contract Data" reports (Top 100 Contractors, Small Business Goaling, Federal Procurement Reports)
- •Filter by agency, NAICS, PSC, place of performance, set-aside, competition, pricing mechanisms
- •Export clean datasets to Excel
- •Optimized for market sizing, buyer identification, and goaling analysis
USAspending.gov
- •Advanced Search and Spending Explorer for macro analysis
- •View obligations across agencies and object classes
- •Validate trends by geography
- •Download custom award data in bulk for deeper analysis
- •Covers contracts and grants — aligns contract trends with agency budgets