USAspending API

Search US federal contracts, grants and loans, and pull recipients, agency budgets and spending totals as JSON.

The API.SH USAspending API gives you US federal spending data from USAspending.gov through simple GET requests. Search contracts, IDVs, grants, loans and direct payments by keyword, recipient, agency, date, amount, NAICS, PSC, set-aside and location, open one award with its transactions and subawards, look up recipients by name, UEI or DUNS, read an agency's budget, obligations and outlays, and group spending totals by agency, recipient, state, district, NAICS and more.

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7 endpoints
from $1 / 1,000 calls
1,000 free credits / month
failed calls free

US federal award search

GET https://api.api.sh/usaspending/v1/awards

{ "success": true }

1 credit · $1 per 1,000 calls

What you can build with the USAspending API

Government contract research

Search contracts by NAICS, PSC, agency, set-aside and amount to find who wins work in your market and when.

/awards /award

Competitor and partner tracking

Look up a company by name or UEI, then read its federal award totals and the awards it has won.

/recipients /recipient /awards

Agency budget analysis

Compare agencies' budget authority, obligations and outlays, and read one agency's spending by fiscal year and reporting period.

/agencies /agency

Spending by place and category

Total federal spending by state, county, congressional district, NAICS or assistance listing for reports, maps and dashboards.

/totals

Grant and subaward research

Find grants and loans by assistance listing or recipient, then open an award to read its subawards and place of performance.

/awards /award

USAspending data you get

Field names from real responses. Numbers come parsed, URLs absolute, dates in ISO 8601.

USAspending API endpoints and prices

Every USAspending endpoint costs 1 credit per call: credits are $1 per 1,000 on a monthly plan, $2 pay-as-you-go. Pricing

Search and discovery2

US federal award search /usaspending/v1/awards	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit
US federal award recipient search /usaspending/v1/recipients	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit

Profiles and accounts2

USAspending agency profile and budget /usaspending/v1/agency	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit
US federal award recipient profile /usaspending/v1/recipient	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit

More data3

US federal agencies (USAspending) /usaspending/v1/agencies	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit
US federal award details /usaspending/v1/award	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit
US federal spending totals by category /usaspending/v1/totals	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit

Call the USAspending API

US federal award search: GET https://api.api.sh/usaspending/v1/awards

curl "https://api.api.sh/usaspending/v1/awards" \
  -H "x-api-key: $APISH_KEY"

import os, requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://api.api.sh/usaspending/v1/awards",
    params={},
    headers={"x-api-key": os.environ["APISH_KEY"]},
    timeout=120,
)
res.raise_for_status()
data = res.json()

const url = new URL("https://api.api.sh/usaspending/v1/awards");


const res = await fetch(url, { headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.APISH_KEY } });
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${res.status} ${await res.text()}`);
const data = await res.json();

# Google Sheets (API.SH add-on)
=APISH("/usaspending/v1/awards")

# Zapier, Make, n8n (verified node): pick the API.SH app,
# choose "USAspending" and "US federal award search".

# AI agents (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor): add the
# API.SH MCP server https://api.sh/mcp

Create a free accountConfirm your email and get 1,000 free credits every month. No card needed.
Create an API keyOne key works for all 483 platforms.
Send the requestJSON back in one call. Add output=csv or output=ndjson for files.

Why API.SH for USAspending data

Public data only: no USAspending login, cookies or account needed
One key and one response shape for USAspending and 482 other platforms
Built and maintained by API.SH, not third-party publishers
Pay per call; errors on our side cost nothing
Live status for every endpoint

API.SH vs the official USAspending API

Yes. The official USAspending API at api.usaspending.gov is free and needs no key; its main award search takes a POST request with a nested JSON filter body. API.SH serves the same public data through GET endpoints with flat parameters and the same key, JSON shape and SDKs you use for every other API.SH source.

Compared with writing your own USAspending client or running Apify actors, API.SH gives you documented flat parameters, cursor-style paging and one key that also covers other government and company data sources.

USAspending API questions

What USAspending data can I get?+

Award search (/usaspending/v1/awards), one award with transactions and subawards (/usaspending/v1/award), recipient search (/usaspending/v1/recipients), recipient profiles (/usaspending/v1/recipient), the agency list (/usaspending/v1/agencies), agency budget profiles (/usaspending/v1/agency) and spending totals by category (/usaspending/v1/totals).

How much does the USAspending API cost?+

Every USAspending endpoint costs 1 credit per call. On a monthly plan 1,000 credits cost $1 (Starter is $50/month for 50,000 credits). Pay-as-you-go is $2 per 1,000 credits, with top-ups from $15 that never expire.

Is there a free trial?+

Yes. Every account gets 1,000 free credits every month. That is 1,000 calls to /usaspending/v1/agencies at 1 credit each.

Is there an official USAspending API?+

Yes, and it is free with no API key. Use it directly if you are happy building POST filter bodies. API.SH is for teams that want simple GET parameters, one key and one JSON format across this and other data sources, or that work from Sheets, Zapier, Make, n8n or an AI agent.

Do I need a USAspending.gov account or API key?+

No. USAspending data is public. You only need your API.SH key.

Can I use it from Python?+

Yes. Call any endpoint with a plain GET request from requests or httpx, or use the API.SH Python SDK. Filters such as type, agency, naics, from and to are ordinary query parameters.

How do I find contracts for a NAICS code or agency?+

Call /usaspending/v1/awards with type=contracts and naics, agency, from and to. Each award has an internal_id you can pass to /usaspending/v1/award for the full record.

How do I get started?+

1. Sign up at api.sh. 2. Copy your API key. 3. Call /usaspending/v1/awards with a keyword in q and type=contracts. Request examples and every parameter are in the docs at https://api.sh/docs. You can also use the JS or Python SDK, Google Sheets, Zapier, Make, n8n or the MCP server at https://api.sh/mcp.