RFQ vs RFP — what is the difference?
An RFQ asks for a price on something you have already specified. An RFP asks suppliers how they would solve the problem. Choosing the wrong one wastes everyone's time.
The difference is whether you already know what you want.
RFQ — Request for Quotation
Use an RFQ when the specification is settled and the only open question is commercial. You are asking suppliers to price something you have already defined.
- The scope is fixed and written down
- Bids differ mainly on price, delivery and terms
- Comparison is close to like-for-like
- Typical of goods, standard components, defined quantities
RFP — Request for Proposal
Use an RFP when you know the problem but not the solution. You are asking suppliers to propose an approach, and their approach is part of what you are evaluating.
- The outcome is defined; the method is not
- Bids differ on approach, team, timeline and price together
- Comparison needs weighted criteria, not just a lowest number
- Typical of services, systems, construction, anything bespoke
RFI — the one before either
An RFI comes earlier still: you are not buying yet, you are finding out what is possible and who is out there. Treating an RFI as a quotation request annoys suppliers and produces prices nobody stands behind.
What people get wrong
Issuing an RFQ for work that needs an RFP. You get prices for different things presented as if they were comparable, and the cheapest bid is usually the one that understood the least.
Issuing an RFP when you have already decided. If the specification is genuinely fixed, asking for approaches wastes supplier effort and yields proposals that all restate your own document back to you.
Comparing an RFP on price alone. If price was the only criterion, it should have been an RFQ.
On Bidancer
A structured enquiry works like an RFQ — specification first, priced response back. A hosted tender supports either shape: you define what bidders must submit, so an approach-led evaluation is as workable as a price-led one.