PlanIndex and Barbour ABI

What Barbour ABI is

Barbour ABI is an enterprise construction intelligence platform with a database it states covers more than 1.6 million projects. Its researchers verify and update project records, it publishes bidder histories showing who is bidding and winning work, subscribers get a dedicated account manager with training and strategy support, and its data feeds national statistics used across the industry. Pricing is bespoke: you contact them for a quote based on the data you need.

What PlanIndex is

PlanIndex indexes the planning register itself. Applications get permanent public pages with the reference, address, description, dates and decision as the council published them; council hubs carry approval rates and decision times computed from that data; and email alerts watch the areas you choose, from a free single area to whole-council coverage at £59 a month. There are no researchers, account managers or bidder histories, and no sales process; you sign up and it works.

Which fits when

A national contractor, manufacturer or recruiter that needs researched project intelligence, contact routes and strategic support will get from Barbour ABI things PlanIndex does not attempt. A trade, small developer or resident who needs the public record of an area, watched reliably and readable without a subscription, gets that here for a fraction of an enterprise licence, or free if one area is enough. The honest test is whether you need research on top of the register; if the register itself is what you are after, you do not need to pay enterprise rates for it. See which councils we hold, with live counts, on the council list.