Patterno vs. SIMAP — The 2026 Comparison
What is SIMAP?
SIMAP (Information System on Public Procurement in Switzerland) is Switzerland's official platform for public tenders. SIMAP is the central portal where federal, cantonal, and municipal authorities in Switzerland publish their public contracts.
Unlike Germany, where the market is fragmented across 1.000+ portals, Switzerland has a centralized solution with SIMAP. All contracting authorities at federal, cantonal, and municipal levels are required to publish their tenders on SIMAP, making it the most important single source for Swiss tenders.
SIMAP is trilingual (German, French, Italian) and covers all industries and contract types.
SIMAP: Strengths and Limitations
Strengths
- Central Swiss portal: All Swiss public tenders in one place
- Mandatory publication: Authorities are legally required to publish here
- Trilingual: German, French, Italian
- Free access: Completely free for bidders
- High completeness: Nearly 100% coverage of the Swiss procurement market
- All industries: Construction, IT, services, supplies
Limitations
- Swiss tenders only: No German, Austrian, or EU-wide tenders
- No AI features: Classic search with filters by canton, CPV code, and contract type
- No intelligent profiling: No automatic matching to company profiles
- No document analysis: Tender documents must be reviewed manually
- No industry-specific tools: No specialized modules for Pharma, Construction, etc.
Patterno vs. SIMAP in Detail
Geographic Coverage
SIMAP is excellent for Switzerland — but only for Switzerland. Companies active in Germany, Austria, or the broader EU need dozens of additional portals.
Patterno searches over 1,000 procurement platforms across Europe — including SIMAP. You receive all Swiss tenders from SIMAP plus tenders from Germany, Austria, the EU (TED), and other European markets.
For companies in the DACH region, this is particularly relevant: Instead of using SIMAP for Switzerland, DTVP and dozens of state portals for Germany, and more platforms for Austria, Patterno bundles everything in one interface.
Search Quality
SIMAP offers solid search functionality with filters by canton, CPV code, contract type, and threshold. Patterno uses qualified AI search: Instead of manually filtering by CPV codes, the AI understands your business model and evaluates each tender individually.
Analysis Features
SIMAP is a pure search and publication portal. Patterno adds document analysis (100+ pages in 30 seconds), exclusion criteria detection, AI Chat for bid creation, and industry-specific modules.
Comparison Table
| Feature | Patterno | SIMAP |
|---|---|---|
| Portals searched | 1,000+ Europe-wide | 1 (Switzerland only) |
| Geographic coverage | DACH + EU | Switzerland only |
| AI-powered search | ✓ | ✗ |
| Cross-portal | ✓ | ✗ (but central for CH) |
| Document analysis | ✓ | ✗ |
| Email alerts | ✓ AI-qualified | ✓ Keyword-based |
| Free | ✓ Trial phase | ✓ Completely free |
Who Should Choose Which Platform?
SIMAP is sufficient if you search exclusively in Switzerland, don't need AI support, and serve a clearly defined Swiss market.
Patterno is the better choice if you search in the DACH region or Europe-wide, want to find Swiss and German/Austrian tenders simultaneously, need AI-powered filtering, or require document analysis and bid support.
Conclusion
SIMAP is the indispensable central source for Swiss tenders with nearly complete market coverage. As a sole search tool, however, it's insufficient for companies active beyond Switzerland. Patterno extends SIMAP to cover the entire European procurement market with AI-powered search and powerful analysis features — making SIMAP part of a comprehensive, cross-border procurement strategy.