PermitVector Resources
PermitVector vs Shovels.ai: Which Permit Data Tool Is Right for Texas Contractors?
By Ken Besada · Updated June 10, 2026
PermitVector and Shovels.ai are both permit data tools, but they are built for fundamentally different buyers. Shovels.ai is a national data platform designed for analysts, marketing teams, and developers who need bulk permit records, API access, and GIS-grade coverage. PermitVector is a daily operational brief for Texas contractors who want to know which homeowners to call this morning — pre-classified by trade, no engineering required.
If you are a Texas HVAC company, solar installer, roofer, or pool builder trying to find new residential customers, this comparison will tell you exactly which tool fits and when you might want the other one.
The Core Difference in One Sentence
Shovels.ai gives you a firehose of national permit data and the infrastructure to work with it. PermitVector gives you a curated, classified, Texas-specific daily brief and the adjacent-buyer signal already mapped to your trade.
Neither is universally better. They serve different jobs.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Factor | PermitVector | Shovels.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Primary audience | TX SMB contractors, trade-specific | Analysts, marketing teams, developers |
| Coverage | 10 TX metros (live) | National, 185M+ permits |
| Dallas / Houston city | Not yet (known gap) | Covered nationally |
| Pricing | $199–$699/mo flat | $599+/mo (varies by usage) |
| Adjacent-trade classification | Built-in — permit → your trade mapped | Raw data; you build the classification logic |
| API access | Pro ($399) and Power ($699) plans | Core feature at most tiers |
| Daily brief / digest | Yes, by 6 AM CT | No — you query the API |
| No-code / ops-friendly | Yes | Requires engineering or data analyst |
| Free trial | 14 days, no credit card | Demo available |
| Best for | TX contractor wanting actionable leads fast | National coverage, custom data pipelines |
What Shovels.ai Does Well
Shovels.ai has been building national permit coverage for years. At 185M+ permits with GIS coordinates, API access, and filtering by permit type, contractor, value, and location, it is a serious data product. For a marketing agency building a prospecting tool for a national roofing chain, or a real estate data startup modeling construction trends, Shovels is genuinely strong.
The platform is designed for people who are comfortable writing SQL queries or calling an API, enriching the data with their own CRM, and building outreach workflows on top of raw records. If that describes your team, Shovels at $599+/mo is worth evaluating — especially if you need coverage outside Texas or want to build something proprietary.
See our full alternative review at /alternatives/shovels for more detail.
What PermitVector Does Well
PermitVector is built around a specific insight: a building permit is a timing signal for the next trade. A new roof permits out → solar installers, insulation contractors, and gutter companies have a high-probability lead. A new construction permit → HVAC, electrical, roofing, fencing, pool, and security companies all have an adjacent buyer. A new pool → landscaping, decking, and fencing contractors have a fresh signal.
The platform handles the classification, the market filtering, and the daily delivery. You do not write queries. You do not hire a data engineer. By 6 AM CT, your leads for the day are ready in your dashboard.
As of this writing, PermitVector tracks 43,810 permits across its 10 live Texas markets and processes approximately 26,000 new permits per month. The trailing-30-day adjacent-buyer signal volume breaks down by trade:
- HVAC: ~4,200 signals/month
- Electrical: ~4,500 signals/month
- Solar: ~1,900 signals/month
- Landscaping: ~2,000 signals/month
- Pool builders: ~1,800 signals/month
- Roofing: ~430 signals/month
Those numbers reflect the 10 markets currently live: Austin, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Arlington, Sugar Land, Pearland, San Marcos, Midland, El Paso, and unincorporated Harris County. Methodology details at /methodology.
The Dallas and Houston Gap — Be Honest About It
This matters if you operate in either city: PermitVector does not currently cover Dallas city proper or Houston city proper. Both jurisdictions have permit portals behind login walls or without an accessible public feed. We are working on it, but it is a real gap today.
Shovels.ai does cover both markets nationally. If Dallas or Houston-proper is your primary service area, Shovels.ai is the honest recommendation until PermitVector’s coverage expands.
Pricing Comparison in Plain Language
PermitVector:
- Starter — $199/mo: 1 trade vertical, 1 metro, up to 500 leads/month
- Pro — $399/mo: 3 verticals, all 10 markets, API read access
- Power — $699/mo: all verticals and markets, full API, 5 seats
Shovels.ai:
- Starts at approximately $599/mo. Their pricing varies based on API usage, volume, and plan tier. Check their site directly for current rates.
For a solo contractor or a small crew, PermitVector’s Starter at $199 is likely sufficient to test the channel. For a company that wants full Texas market coverage and multiple trade verticals, Pro at $399 is the right entry point. Full details at /pricing.
For Shovels at $599+, you are paying for national scale and raw API access. If you do not have the technical bandwidth to build on top of the API, you are paying for infrastructure you cannot use.
Which Tool Is Right for You?
Choose PermitVector if:
- You are a Texas contractor or trade business (HVAC, solar, roofing, electrical, landscaping, pool, fencing, security)
- You want leads ready to call each morning without any technical setup
- Your primary markets are among the 10 currently live metros
- You want the adjacent-buyer classification done for you
- You are running a small to mid-size operation without a data team
Choose Shovels.ai if:
- You need national coverage (including Dallas or Houston city today)
- You have engineering resources to query an API and build custom workflows
- You are an analyst, marketing team, or data-forward organization
- You want GIS-grade filtering, custom permit type queries, or bulk exports
- You are building a product on top of permit data
If you are still deciding: PermitVector’s 14-day free trial has no credit card requirement, so the comparison is free to make with real data.
A Note on Other Permit Data Alternatives
PermitVector and Shovels are not the only options. Construction Monitor (national, since 1992, ~$94–$500/mo, weekly CSV) is a legacy product without adjacent-trade classification. HBW Weekly covers Texas with weekly CSV exports and a 5–7 day lag at ~$150–$300/mo. PermitDrop offers $3 exclusive leads in Austin but has limited Texas coverage.
For a full comparison across all permit data products, see /alternatives/shovels and the blog post How to Get New Construction Leads in Texas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does PermitVector use the same underlying data as Shovels.ai?
Both pull from public county permit databases, so there is overlap in the raw source material. The difference is what happens next: PermitVector classifies each permit by the adjacent trade most likely to benefit from it and delivers a daily actionable brief. Shovels delivers the raw permit record for you to work with programmatically.
Can I use both tools together?
Technically yes, though the use cases diverge. Some larger contractors might use PermitVector for daily Texas operations and Shovels for quarterly market analysis or coverage in markets PermitVector does not yet serve.
How do I know which markets PermitVector covers?
The 10 live markets are listed at /methodology: Austin, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Arlington, Sugar Land, Pearland, San Marcos, Midland, El Paso, and unincorporated Harris County.
The Bottom Line
Shovels.ai is a better tool for national permit data, API-first workflows, and analyst-grade coverage. PermitVector is a better tool for a Texas trade contractor who wants to call the right homeowner before 8 AM without a data engineer. They solve different problems. Pick the one that matches your operation.
Try PermitVector free for 14 days — no credit card required.