What is the cheapest way for a UK SME to check a tender with AI?

Self-serve analysis tools are cheapest. As published on 28 September 2026, BidPilot charges £19 one-time to analyse up to three tender packs. You upload the documents and read the report yourself.

When is a subscription better than paying per tender?

If you bid regularly and want to draft answers yourself, a monthly tool such as Bidwell (£20–£30 a month as published) or CleanTender (£99 a month or £990 a year as published) usually costs less per bid than per-tender services.

What does a done-for-you Bid Blueprint add?

The Bid Desk's £99 Blueprint is produced for you within 48 hours for one live tender: go/no-go call, compliance matrix, scoring map and a response outline with evidence gaps flagged. If it is late you get a full refund.

AI tender tools for UK SMEs compared (2026 prices)

TL;DR

Pick by how often you bid and who does the work

One tender, tight budget, happy to read a report yourself: a self-serve analyser such as BidPilot is the cheapest option.
You bid most months and want to write the answers yourself: a subscription such as Bidwell or CleanTender costs less per bid.
One tender that matters, and you want someone else to do the first pass in 48 hours: that is what The Bid Desk's £99 Blueprint is for.

At a glance

Published prices and model

Option	Published price	Model	Best for
BidPilot	£19 one-time, up to 3 tender packs; 1 free analysis for new verified users	Self-serve upload → AI analysis report (deadlines, pass/fail checks, scoring criteria, risks)	Occasional bidders who want a fast, cheap read of the documents
Bidwell	Free knowledge base; £20/mo to answer tenders; £30/mo with discovery	Self-serve monitoring, evidence library and AI drafting	Regular bidders drafting their own responses
CleanTender	£99/mo or £990/yr	Self-serve AI drafting subscription	Teams bidding several times a year who want unlimited drafting
The Bid Desk	£99 per tender (Blueprint); monthly plans not yet on sale (waiting list)	Done for you: we produce the Blueprint and email it within 48 hours; late = full refund	A tender that matters, when nobody in-house has time to do the first pass

Prices as shown on each vendor's own website on 28 September 2026: bidpilothq.com, bidwell.app, cleantender.co.uk. Prices change; check the vendor before buying. Spotted an error? Email info@mhdint.com and we will correct it.

The real difference

Self-serve tool or done-for-you?

Every self-serve tool above is good value if someone on your team will upload the documents, read the output, chase the gaps and turn it into a bid plan. The price is low because your time is the rest of the cost.

The Bid Desk costs more per tender because we do that first pass for you. You get one document: a go/no-go call with reasons, a compliance matrix, a scoring map showing where the marks are (where the documents publish the criteria; where they do not, we say so), and a question-by-question outline with every evidence gap flagged. We never submit for you and never invent claims; you stay in control of the bid.

If you bid every month, a subscription tool will almost certainly work out cheaper than paying us per tender. If you bid a few times a year and each one matters, the Blueprint saves the day or two it takes to do this properly.

Not sure yet?

Start free, then decide

Run the free bid/no-bid scorecard first. It takes two minutes, runs in your browser and sends nothing anywhere. If the tender scores well and you want the full first pass done for you, order a Blueprint.

Order a £99 Bid Blueprint

48 hours from receiving the documents. Late = full refund.