Permit leads for contractors: how the options compare
Every service here starts from the same public building permit records. They differ in coverage, in how much sorting they do for you, and in price. Here is a fair look, with sources, so you can pick the right one.
| Daily Contractor Leads | Construction Monitor | Shovels | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | The new building permits that mean work for your trade, in your ZIP codes, in one email every morning. | Building permit data and construction leads, sold by market and by permit type (residential, commercial, solar, pools). | Nationwide building permit data, priced by the number of records you use. |
| Coverage | Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami. | 3,000+ jurisdictions in all 50 states, including a Miami market. | Nationwide on every plan. |
| Price | $99/month. First list free. | Per market and permit type: $31 to $1,281 a month, or $62 to $1,250 a month for all permits in one market. Their team has also quoted $187 a month or $1,495 a year for smaller regions. | Free plan, Basic $599 a month, Pro $999 a month, Enterprise by agreement. |
| How it arrives | One email every morning, filtered to your trade and ZIP codes. | Daily data updates, weekly editions, a search tool, and API or FTP access. | Data access across the US, with plans priced by records used. |
| Built for | Local contractors who want the job before competitors know it exists. | Suppliers, subcontractors, general contractors, lenders and market researchers. | Teams that need permit data across the whole country. |
Sources, read 2026-11-07: Construction Monitor: single family permit data; Shovels: Shovels vs. Construction Monitor (prices as of Sept 2026; Shovels is a competitor); Interview with Kim Lamas of Construction Monitor. Prices change; check their sites for today's numbers.