Tenderen vs Mercell
A Mercell alternative built for suppliers not buyers
Mercell is the platform many Norwegian contracting authorities run their competitions in — and registering there as a supplier to submit a bid is free. What you can replace is Mercell's paid monitoring and insight subscription: Tenderen gives you combined Doffin and TED monitoring, AI bid writing and market insight with open pricing and no lock-in.
In short
You never need to pay Mercell to submit a bid. Norwegian contracting authorities publish on Doffin but often run the competition itself in an e-tendering system (KGV) — Mercell is among the most widely used — and supplier registration and submission in a KGV are free under the regulations. What Mercell sells to suppliers is a paid subscription for monitoring, insight and bid training, with no published prices — check term and notice conditions in your own agreement. Tenderen replaces that subscription: combined search and alerts across Doffin and TED (200,000+ indexed tenders), built-in AI co-writing of bids — which Mercell's supplier pages do not offer today — and Market Radar built on 750,000+ tracked contract awards, with a free plan, open pricing and no lock-in. You still submit the bid for free in the contracting authority's KGV, exactly as before.
At a glance
How they compare in practice
Beyond the feature list — what the difference means day to day
Submission via KGV — what you don't need to pay for
Tenderen
Tenderen doesn't pretend the submission step can be moved: when the contracting authority runs the competition in Mercell or EU-Supply, you create a free supplier account there, download the documents and submit — which the regulations require to be free. Tenderen does everything before that: finds the tender, analyses the requirements and helps the team write the bid.
Mercell
Mercell's structural strength is precisely the KGV: a large share of Norwegian competitions are run there, and the submission flow is well proven. But free KGV access is a legal requirement and independent of any subscription — the paid supplier product is monitoring and insight, not the right to submit.
Tender monitoring and sources
Tenderen
Doffin, TED and BOAMP (France) in one search and one alert stream — 200,000+ indexed tenders. Competitions run in Mercell's KGV are published on Doffin, so the same saved searches pick them up.
Mercell
Tender Discovery is a mature product with AI matching, daily alerts, AI summaries and below-threshold coverage, plus sales signals from public meeting minutes. Mercell markets its database as Europe's largest AI-enriched one — if you bid widely in Europe beyond the countries Tenderen covers, their coverage can be a real argument.
Bid writing and collaboration
Tenderen
A built-in real-time co-writing editor with an AI writing assistant, a shared content library and requirement checks as you write — plus consortium workspaces when several companies bid together.
Mercell
Bid Delivery brings documents, collaboration and submission together, and Bid Excellence provides structured training with templates and two-level certification — genuinely useful skill-building. But an AI tool that actually writes bid drafts does not exist on Mercell's supplier pages today.
Market insight
Tenderen
Market Radar is built on 750,000+ tracked contract awards since 2020, with framework agreements, contracts with estimated expiry, competitor mapping and win probability calculated from real award data.
Mercell
Mercell deserves credit here: Market Intelligence covers award history by contracting authority, region and category, competitors' win rates and expiring contracts. This is a genuinely competing insight product — the difference lies in price and transparency, not in a missing feature.
Price, lock-in and cancellation
Tenderen
Open prices published on the website, a free plan to get started, Pro with a 14-day trial — and no lock-in, you can cancel any time.
Mercell
Mercell does not publish prices on its website; the route to a price goes through a sales conversation. Term, automatic renewal and notice period follow from Mercell's agreement — check the conditions in yours directly with Mercell.
Training and expertise
Tenderen
Tenderen Managed Services puts bid specialists on your account to monitor, qualify and write bids — a tailored arrangement where scope and price are agreed in a call.
Mercell
Bid Excellence offers structured bid training with course material, templates and two-level certification — a good choice if you want to build in-house skills through a formal programme from an established player.
Choose Tenderen if
- You pay Mercell mainly for alerts and insight — that is exactly the part Tenderen replaces, with open pricing and no lock-in
- You want AI that actually writes bid drafts together with the team, not just courses and templates
- You bid as a consortium or joint venture and need a shared workspace across companies
- You want win probability and competitor monitoring based on real award data inside your workflow
- You want to try for free and decide for yourself, without a sales call and an annual contract
Mercell may be worth considering if
- You want monitoring, insight and the submission itself in one and the same platform from the established player
- You bid widely in European markets beyond the countries Tenderen collects tenders from today
- You want to build in-house bid skills through a formal training and certification programme
- You are a buyer — Tenderen is a supplier tool and does not compete with Mercell's procurement solutions
Switching from the Mercell subscription
You keep the free KGV access regardless — only the paid monitoring subscription is replaced
Check your notice period
Find the term, renewal date and notice period in your Mercell agreement, and send your notice in good time. Verify the current terms with Mercell, as conditions can change.
Recreate searches and alerts in Tenderen
Set up your industry, geography and keyword filters in Tenderen — it takes a few minutes, and the same saved searches cover both Doffin and TED, including competitions run in Mercell's KGV.
Keep the free KGV account
Don't delete your Mercell user: when a contracting authority runs the competition in Mercell, you log in for free, fetch the documents and submit there — with the bid already written in Tenderen.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay Mercell to submit a bid?
No. Norwegian procurement regulations require free electronic access to the procurement documents, and supplier registration and submission in KGVs such as Mercell and EU-Supply are free. What Mercell charges for on the supplier side is monitoring, insight and training — not the ability to take part in competitions.
Can Tenderen replace Mercell completely?
Tenderen replaces the paid supplier subscription — monitoring, alerts, insight and bid work. The submission itself still happens in the KGV the contracting authority has chosen, which is often Mercell, with a free supplier account. That applies whichever monitoring tool you use.
Does Tenderen collect tenders from Mercell?
Tenderen collects tenders from Doffin and TED — not directly from Mercell's platform. Norwegian competitions run in Mercell's KGV are published on Doffin, so they show up in your Tenderen searches there.
What does Mercell cost for suppliers?
Mercell does not publish prices on its website — you have to contact Mercell for a quote. Term and notice period are set in Mercell's agreement, so check the conditions in yours directly with Mercell.
Does Mercell have AI features?
Yes — Tender Discovery uses AI matching and AI summaries of notices. The difference is bid writing: Mercell's Bid Excellence is training, templates and certification, while Tenderen has a built-in AI co-writing editor that helps the team write the bid itself.
What do independent reviews say about Mercell?
There is very little independent coverage. On Trustpilot Mercell has 1.9 out of 5 — but based on only 13 reviews, far too small a sample to generalise from. Individual reviewers report difficult cancellation processes and support that is hard to reach. Make your own assessment and read the reviews yourself.
25 languages, Doffin and TED in one place
Built-in collaboration, no extra tools
Managed Services when you also want experts on the team
See the difference on your own tenders
Start free, add your industries and let Tenderen's AI show you what it finds. The free plan needs no card; the Pro trial collects a card at checkout.
This comparison reflects publicly available information about Mercell as of August 2026 and is written for the Norwegian market (Doffin/KGV flow). Features, prices and terms change — check current details with Mercell before you decide. Mercell is a trademark of its respective owner; Tenderen is not affiliated with Mercell.