FirstDig vs Shovels

National permit, contractor and property data for sales and data teams, refreshed twice a month. How it compares with FirstDig for local service businesses, from both sites (checked Oct 31, 2026).

	FirstDig	Shovels
Built for	Home-service businesses and contractors (pool, roofing, solar, HVAC, plumbing, remodel and more) who want the new jobs in their own service area.	Sales, operations and marketing teams that work with permit, contractor and property data.
Coverage	100 city and county permit feeds in 29 states and DC; 113,450 permits in the last 30 days. Any other city can be requested.	2,820+ jurisdictions covering about 85% of the US population, with history back to about 2010, by its own count.
How fresh	City feeds read about every hour; the matching permits arrive by email every morning (Pro), within the hour (Business) or weekly (Free).	The dataset is refreshed twice a month.
Alerts	Draw your service area on a map and pick your trades; plus job-finished alerts, ready dates, busy streets and a route planner. Works inside ChatGPT and Claude too.	No alert product described; new filings arrive with each data release, and search filters by permit type, specialty, value and dates.
Homeowner names	Never: owner and applicant names are removed before anything is saved. Alerts go to businesses.	Homeowner and resident contacts (contact information for 30 million residential properties).
Contractor details	The contractor's business name on each permit; the busiest builders in your area (Business).	Contractor profiles with licences, contacts and specialties (3.89 million+ contractors).
Exports and API	No exports; connect ChatGPT or Claude to ask about your permits (Pro and Business).	CSV exports (1,000 records each), a REST API and enterprise data licences.
Price	Free (weekly, one area, one trade); Pro $49 a month, Business $99 a month. Every account starts with 14 days of Pro, no card.	Free (500 records a month, 1 year of history); Basic $599 a month; Pro $999 a month; Enterprise custom.

Choose Shovels if

You need national coverage, long history and data to analyse or load into your own systems.
You want homeowner and contractor contact data.

Choose FirstDig if

You want each new permit in your area by email the morning after the city publishes it (within the hour on Business), not twice a month.
You run a local service business and want a plan from $49 a month, or free.
You prefer to approach the job through the permit and the contractor, without homeowners' personal data.

Questions

What is the difference between FirstDig and Shovels?

FirstDig: Home-service businesses and contractors (pool, roofing, solar, HVAC, plumbing, remodel and more) who want the new jobs in their own service area. Shovels: Sales, operations and marketing teams that work with permit, contractor and property data.

How much does Shovels cost compared with FirstDig?

Shovels: Free (500 records a month, 1 year of history); Basic $599 a month; Pro $999 a month; Enterprise custom. FirstDig: Free (weekly, one area, one trade); Pro $49 a month, Business $99 a month. Every account starts with 14 days of Pro, no card.

Does Shovels or FirstDig include homeowner names?

Shovels: Homeowner and resident contacts (contact information for 30 million residential properties). FirstDig: Never: owner and applicant names are removed before anything is saved. Alerts go to businesses.

Start free with FirstDig (14 days of Pro, no card needed).

Sources

Shovels's side comes from its own website, read on Oct 31, 2026; prices and features may have changed since. FirstDig's side is live. Spotted a mistake? Write to support@firstdig.net.