Zabalist vs Construction Monitor
A Construction Monitor alternative for Texas construction, permit, and contractor data — compared as of August 2026.
150K+ companies · 400K+ projects · 400K+ permits · 335K+ TDLR projects · All 254 Texas counties
TL;DR
Construction Monitor prices by opaque custom territory deals; Zabalist publishes flat self-serve tiers and adds the licensing and bid joins Construction Monitor does not disclose offering.
Choose Construction Monitor if…
you need permit lead-gen coverage across multiple states and are comfortable with custom, quote-based territory pricing.
Choose Zabalist if…
you want published self-serve pricing and Texas-specific licensing, entity-graph, and bid data joined into the same product.
Zabalist vs Construction Monitor, side by side
| Category | Zabalist | Construction Monitor |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | Texas only — statewide (all 254 Texas counties), deepest in Austin/Travis County | National — 70+ metros |
| Data joins | TDLR statewide contractor licensing + deduplicated entity work-history graph + ESBD government bids with SBA/HUB certifications + county appraisal/deed history, joined in one schema | Permits + contractor intelligence; no licensing or appraisal joins disclosed |
| Pricing | Free (500 calls/mo) · Developer $49/mo (10,000 calls) · Growth $149/mo (100,000 calls) · Scale $399/mo (500,000 calls) — published, self-serve, as of August 2026 | ~$200–$800/mo, custom annual by territory/volume — as of August 2026 |
| API access | REST API with self-serve keys, a free tier, and an MCP server for AI agents | REST+JSON API (Elasticsearch-backed) + weekly bulk FTP dump |
| Self-serve | Yes, from Free | No — custom quote by territory/volume |
Construction Monitor figures compiled independently as of August 2026; see sources below.
Pricing, as of August 2026
Roughly $200–800/month, with custom annual pricing scoped by territory and volume — as of August 2026. No flat, published self-serve tier structure was found.
Free
Free
500 calls/mo
Developer
$49/mo
10,000 calls/mo
Growth
$149/mo
100,000 calls/mo
Scale
$399/mo
500,000 calls/mo
What Construction Monitor offers
Construction Monitor sells permit lead generation and contractor intelligence nationally through a REST+JSON API (Elasticsearch-backed) plus a weekly FTP bulk data dump, aimed at trade contractors and suppliers looking for leads.
Genuine strengths
- ~17M permits claimed across 70+ metros
- Hourly refresh claimed — a fast update cadence for lead-gen use cases
- Both an API and a weekly bulk FTP dump, useful for buyers who want raw file delivery rather than API integration
- An established, direct lead-generation sales motion aimed at trade contractors and suppliers
Where Zabalist wins for Texas
- Published, flat self-serve pricing ($0/$49/$149/$399) versus Construction Monitor's custom, quote-based $200–800/mo territory pricing
- TDLR statewide contractor licensing joined to project history
- A deduplicated entity work-history graph — not disclosed as part of Construction Monitor's data model
- ESBD government bid data with SBA/HUB certification fields
- County appraisal and deed history joined to permits
When Construction Monitor is the better choice
We would rather tell you this up front than have you find out after signing up.
- National coverage across 70+ metros versus Texas only
- A larger permit corpus nationally (~17M permits)
- A claimed hourly refresh cadence
- Bulk FTP delivery as a standing option alongside the API, useful for buyers who prefer file drops over API calls
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Construction Monitor alternative with transparent pricing?
Zabalist publishes flat self-serve tiers (Free, $49, $149, $399 per month) instead of Construction Monitor's custom, quote-based territory pricing (roughly $200–800/mo as of August 2026), and adds TDLR licensing, entity resolution, and government bid data that Construction Monitor does not disclose offering.
How much does Construction Monitor cost?
Construction Monitor's pricing is roughly $200–800/month with custom annual deals scoped by territory and volume, as of August 2026. No published flat-rate self-serve tier structure was found.
Zabalist vs Construction Monitor — what is the difference?
Construction Monitor sells national permit leads (~17M permits, 70+ metros) with hourly refresh, priced by custom territory deal. Zabalist is Texas-only but publishes flat self-serve pricing and joins TDLR licensing, an entity work-history graph, and government bid data into the same schema.
Competitor information on this page was independently compiled from public sources (pricing pages, product docs, and press coverage) as of August 2026. Vendors change pricing and features without notice. If something here is out of date or inaccurate, tell us at [email protected] and we will correct it.
Sources
- https://github.com/api-evangelist/construction-monitor
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