RFI vs RFP vs RFQ: which request to use, and how to write it

Sourcing & negotiation · By the Buyer's Ledger editorial team · Published 2026-10-04

A row of six differently shaped and numbered mailboxes on a wooden stand in front of dense green foliage — A row of roadside mailboxes at Muriwai, New Zealand. Every request goes to several suppliers, and each answer must be comparable.

An RFI asks the market what is possible, an RFP asks suppliers how they would solve a problem and at what price, and an RFQ asks for a price on something already precisely defined. Picking the wrong one is a common cause of failed sourcing events: an RFQ sent for a poorly defined service returns prices that cannot be compared, while an RFP sent for a commodity wastes everyone's time.

At a glance

	RFI (information)	RFP (proposal)	RFQ (quotation)
Purpose	Learn about the market, suppliers and solutions	Choose a solution and supplier for a complex need	Get comparable prices for a defined item
How well the need is defined	Loosely	Outcome defined, solution open	Precisely (specification, quantity, delivery)
Main evaluation basis	Not scored, or used to shortlist	Weighted mix of quality, risk and cost	Mostly price and delivery, among compliant bids
Typical effort for suppliers	Low to moderate	High	Low
Commitment	None	Leads to negotiation and contract	Can lead directly to an order

Request for information (RFI)

An RFI is a research tool. Use it when you do not yet know enough to write a specification: a new category, a technology you have not bought before, or a market that has changed since you last tendered. Typical questions cover the supplier's company profile, capabilities and capacity, the types of solution they offer, how they usually price, implementation timelines, references and certifications.

Keep an RFI short. Suppliers answer it without any promise of business, so a long questionnaire depresses responses from exactly the smaller and more innovative firms you may want to hear from. Say clearly that the RFI is not a commitment to buy, how the information will be used and whether responses will be used to shortlist for a later RFP. In public procurement, the equivalent step is preliminary market engagement, which must be conducted without giving any supplier an unfair advantage, and in the UK is the subject of its own notice under the Procurement Act 2023.

Request for proposal (RFP)

An RFP is used when the buyer knows the outcome it needs but wants suppliers to propose how to achieve it: a logistics outsourcing contract, a software platform, a facilities management service. Because proposals differ in approach, they must be compared on several dimensions, not only price.

What a good RFP contains

Background and objectives: why the organisation is buying, and what success looks like.
Scope and requirements, separating mandatory requirements (pass/fail) from desirable ones (scored). Express requirements as outcomes where you can.
Volumes and data: historical volumes, sites, users, service levels. Without them, suppliers price risk into the offer.
Response format: a structured template for answers and a pricing schedule in a fixed format, so offers line up.
Evaluation criteria and weights, published in advance, and the scoring scale used.
Commercial terms: the draft contract or key terms, so suppliers can flag issues before, not after, selection.
Timetable and rules: deadline for questions, how clarifications are shared, submission deadline, presentations, decision date, validity period of offers.

Scoring an RFP

A weighted scoring model multiplies each criterion's score by its weight. A typical structure might weight technical quality, implementation approach, risk and commercial elements separately, with weights chosen to reflect what really matters for that purchase. Two cautions. First, define what each score point means ("3 = meets the requirement with clear evidence"), otherwise evaluators interpret the scale differently. Second, decide how price is converted into a score before opening offers; formulas that compare each price to the lowest one behave differently from those that compare to a budget, and the choice can change the winner.

Where offers have different cost profiles over time (licences versus subscription, purchase versus lease), evaluate price on a whole-life basis: see total cost of ownership.

Request for quotation (RFQ)

An RFQ is right when the item is fully specified and suppliers are interchangeable as long as they meet the specification: standard components, raw materials, office supplies, a defined quantity of a known service. The request should state the specification or part number, quantity, delivery location and date, required Incoterm for goods (see Incoterms 2020 explained), payment terms and the validity period of the quote.

Because RFQs compare mainly on price, check compliance first: a quote that is cheaper because it uses a different grade, excludes freight or assumes a longer lead time is not cheaper. Ask suppliers to break the price into components (unit price, tooling, packaging, freight) when these vary, so you can see where differences come from.

Related terms

RFx: a collective term for all of these requests.
ITT (invitation to tender): common in UK and public-sector usage, broadly equivalent to an RFP or RFQ depending on how the requirement is defined.
RFT (request for tender): a similar term used in some countries, notably Australia.
EOI (expression of interest): a short invitation for suppliers to signal interest, often before an RFI or a shortlist.
Reverse auction: an online event where pre-qualified suppliers bid prices downward in real time. It suits well-specified items in competitive markets and is usually run after an RFQ has established compliance.

Combining them in one sourcing project

Large projects often chain the three: an RFI to understand the market and build a long list, an RFP to choose a solution and supplier, then negotiation. Repeat purchases under a framework may use mini-competitions run as RFQs. The aim is always the same: ask only for what you need to make the next decision, and make answers comparable.

Outside business, a home search follows a similar funnel of desk research, shortlist and offer; the procurement checklist applied to real estate walks through it step by step.

Common mistakes

Changing requirements during the event without telling all bidders equally.
Asking dozens of questions that are never scored. If a question will not influence the decision, remove it.
Publishing no volumes, then being surprised by high or heavily caveated prices.
Choosing evaluation weights after seeing the offers.
Sharing one bidder's information or pricing with another, which destroys trust and, in the public sector, breaches the law.
Giving too little time. Complex RFPs need weeks, not days, for good answers.

The request is only one step of the wider cycle described in the procurement process, step by step.