Data annotation RFP builder
Choose the modality, volume, quality bar, security needs and timeline, and the builder writes a one-page vendor brief with the questions each choice should raise. Print it for your RFP, or copy it into the quote form so we can suggest vendors that fit.
Build your brief
Works with JavaScript on. Without it, the full checklist below the builder covers the same ground.
Annotation project brief
Prepared November 7, 2026. Each vendor should answer every question in writing.
- Task
- Not filled in yet
- What will be labeled?
- Not chosen yet
- Rough volume
- Not chosen yet
- Quality bar
- Not chosen yet
- Security or compliance needs
- Not chosen yet
- When should labeling start?
- Not chosen yet
Questions for every vendor
- How do you price this work: per item, per hour, or per project? Please quote all three if you can.
- What is included in the price: tooling, project management, quality review, rework?
- Who owns the labels and any model trained on them, and what happens to our data when the project ends?
What a complete annotation RFP covers
- The task. What is labeled, the label classes, and two or three edge cases you already know are hard.
- Data format and access. File types, resolution or sample rate, and whether the vendor works in its tool, yours, or inside your cloud.
- Volume and pace. Pilot size, total items, and the weekly throughput you need once the project is running.
- Quality. The metric (accuracy against a gold set, inter-annotator agreement, audit pass rate), the target, and who measures it.
- Security. Which reports you need to see (SOC 2, ISO 27001), workforce location, and how data is deleted at the end.
- Pricing format. Ask for per-item and per-hour prices side by side, with rework, project management and tooling either included or listed.
- Ownership. Labels, guidelines and derived data belong to you; say so in the brief.
- Timeline. Pilot start, pilot review date, full start and any hard deadline.
For the reasoning behind each item, read how to write a data annotation RFP.
Questions about annotation RFPs
What should a data annotation RFP include?
The task and label schema, modality and data format, volume and weekly throughput, the quality bar and how it will be measured, security and residency needs, the timeline, and how you want pricing quoted (per item, per hour or per project). Ask every vendor to answer the same questions so the replies line up.
How many vendors should get the RFP?
Three to five is common. Fewer gives you little to compare; more creates replies nobody has time to read. Shortlist on modality and security first, then send the brief.
Should I ask for a paid pilot?
Usually yes. A pilot on a few thousand of your own items, scored against a gold set you labeled yourself, tells you more than any proposal. Agree the pass mark before the pilot starts.
Does this builder send my brief anywhere?
No. The builder runs in your browser and keeps nothing. Printing it, or copying it into the form below, is up to you, and the form never asks for data or samples.
Can I reuse the brief for vendors you do not list?
Yes. Print it or save it as a PDF and send it to anyone. It is a list of questions, not a contract.
Read next
Get a quote
Send the outline of your brief and we will write back naming the vendors whose published terms fit it. Nothing goes to a vendor until you agree.
Keep data, samples, label guides and logins out of this form. The outline on its own is enough for us to work from.
How this site earns: as an introduction service, it may be paid by the annotation company you are introduced to.
Received. Next steps from our side:
- Your outline is set against each vendor's published modalities, minimums, security reports and pricing.
- We write to you naming the vendors we think fit, and why.
- Nothing goes to any vendor until you reply to say which introductions you want.