RFI, RFQ, and RFP are the three requests a buyer sends on the way to a purchase. They sit on a spectrum from “just exploring” to “ready to award a complex contract,” and knowing which one landed on your desk tells you how much to invest and what the buyer is actually deciding.
In one line each:
- RFI— “Tell us what’s possible.” Market research. No award.
- RFQ— “Tell us your price.” Defined requirement. Usually awarded on cost.
- RFP— “Tell us how you’d solve this.” Complex need. Awarded on value against weighted criteria.
The sequence a buyer runs is often RFI → (RFQ or RFP) → award. The further right you go, the more the buyer weighs how you work, not just what you charge.
What it is.An early-stage request to gather information: who supplies this, what approaches exist, rough costs, what’s feasible. The buyer is shaping a requirement, not buying yet.
How to respond.Lightweight but strategic. You won’t win anything from an RFI directly, but a clear, helpful response educates the buyer — and a well-placed capability can shape the eventual RFP’s criteria toward your strengths. Don’t over-invest; do position.
What it is. The requirement is already well-defined — quantities, specs, delivery — and the buyer wants a price. Common for commodities, standard services, and repeat buys. Award typically goes to the lowest compliant quote.
How to respond. Accuracy and completeness beat narrative. Price exactly to the spec, confirm every line, and make sure you meet the mandatory terms — a missed compliance box loses an RFQ faster than a high price does.
Never miss a compliance line
Drop an RFQ into qlows and get every mandatory term as a checklist row.
The fastest way to lose a quote is an overlooked requirement. qlows surfaces them all.
See how it works →What it is. The requirement is complex or open-ended, and the buyer wants to see your approach. RFPs carry weighted evaluation criteria (quality, method, experience, and price), often allow clarifications, and sometimes lead to negotiation. This is where most real bid effort goes.
How to respond. Preparation first. Extract every requirement and evaluation weighting into a compliance matrix, map your win themes to the criteria, then draft. The complete RFP response process walks the six stages; the compliance checklist catches what the writing pass misses.
Outside the US, you’ll more often see tender or ITT (invitation to tender). Functionally an ITT is an RFP: a formal, criteria-based procurement. Public-sector tenders add structure — standardised eligibility (the ESPD/DUME/DGUE), published thresholds, and strict deadlines — but the response discipline is the same. See the tender vs bid vs proposal guide for the terminology, and international tenders for how to find them across 35 markets.