Direct comparison
RFI vs RFP vs RFQ for Hospital Supply Purchasing
RFI vs RFP vs RFQ for hospital supply purchasing: which is binding, what each requires under FAR and 2 CFR 200, and when to use each.
Written and maintained by CASRAI Editorial Board
Last updated
Ask CASRAI · free to try
Ask about RFI vs RFP vs RFQ for Hospital Supply Purchasing
Ask your first 2 questions free below. Subscribers get 150 a day for $29 a month.
An AI assistant specialized in research administration. It cites the sources behind every answer, labels web answers and says when it can't answer.
Answers draw on CASRAI's guides and dictionary plus the federal and funder documents we index: Federal Register, Grants.gov, Regulations.gov and UKRI.
Works on this site and inside Claude, Cursor and the AI tools you already use.
Everything CASRAI publishes — this page, the dictionary, the guides and the news — stays free to read, with no account and no card.
How do RFI, RFP, RFQ compare side by side?
The table below compares RFI, RFP, RFQ across 10 procurement-relevant dimensions, from what it is for through source.
Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | RFI | RFP | RFQ |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is for | Obtaining price, delivery, other market information or capabilities for planning purposes (FAR 15.201(e)). | Communicating requirements in a negotiated acquisition (FAR 15.203). | Obtaining price quotations; under the informal methods in 2 CFR 200.320, quotations must come from an adequate number of qualified sources. |
| Does the buyer intend to award? | Not necessarily. RFIs may be used when the government does not presently intend to award a contract (FAR 15.201(e)). | Yes. Award goes to the responsible offeror whose proposal is most advantageous, considering price and other factors (2 CFR 200.320). | Yes. Informal methods exist to complete transactions with less administrative burden and cost (2 CFR 200.320). |
| Is the supplier response an offer? | No. Responses are not offers and cannot be accepted to form a binding contract (FAR 15.201(e)). | Proposals are evaluated against the stated factors, and award goes to the most advantageous responsible offeror (2 CFR 200.320). | No. A quotation is not an offer and cannot be accepted to form a binding contract (FAR 13.004). |
| What creates the contract | Nothing. No contract forms from an RFI response. | Award following evaluation of the proposals received. | The buyer's order is the offer; a contract forms when the supplier accepts it, and until then the buyer may revoke or change the order by written notice (FAR 13.004). |
| How responses are judged | Not scored. Information is gathered for planning. | All evaluation factors and their relative importance must be identified in the request, and written procedures are needed for technical evaluations and selection (2 CFR 200.320). | Price or rate quotations from an adequate number of qualified sources (2 CFR 200.320). |
| Sources and notice | Exchanges of information with interested parties are encouraged from the earliest identification of a requirement through receipt of proposals, consistent with procurement integrity requirements (FAR 15.201(a)). | Requires public notice, and proposals must be solicited from multiple qualified entities (2 CFR 200.320). | An informal method. The formal methods are the ones that are competitive and require public notice (2 CFR 200.320). |
| When the rules point to it | Early: the requirement is still being shaped and the buyer wants market information. | When conditions are not appropriate for sealed bids, so factors beyond lowest price decide the award (2 CFR 200.320). | When the buyer can obtain and compare price quotations from qualified sources without a formal evaluation. |
| Where it sits in one sourcing sequence | First stage (optional): scan the market. | Second stage, for a complex or standardised category where evaluation factors matter. | Final stage for defined items, or the whole process for a simple purchase. |
| When to pick each | Pick the RFI when you do not yet know what is available or what it costs and are not ready to award. | Pick the RFP when award depends on stated factors weighed together, not price alone. | Pick the RFQ when the item is defined and the decision is among price quotations. |
| Source | FAR 15.201 (read 2026-11-01): https://www.acquisition.gov/far/15.201 | FAR 15.203 and 2 CFR 200.320 (read 2026-11-01): https://www.acquisition.gov/far/15.203 ; https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200/subpart-D/subject-group-ECFR0b1b4a1d4d12a7b/section-200.320 | FAR 13.004 and 2 CFR 200.320 (read 2026-11-01): https://www.acquisition.gov/far/13.004 ; https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200/subpart-D/subject-group-ECFR0b1b4a1d4d12a7b/section-200.320 |
Common questions
Common questions about RFI vs RFP vs RFQ
Is an RFI response or an RFQ quotation binding?
+
No on both counts under the US federal rules. RFI responses are not offers and cannot be accepted to form a binding contract (FAR 15.201(e)), and a quotation is not an offer either (FAR 13.004). Under FAR 13.004 the buyer's order is the offer, and a contract forms when the supplier accepts it.
What must be documented before issuing an RFP?
+
Under 2 CFR 200.320, an RFP requires public notice, all evaluation factors and their relative importance must be identified, proposals must be solicited from multiple qualified entities, and the recipient must have written procedures for technical evaluations and selections. Award goes to the responsible offeror whose proposal is most advantageous, considering price and other factors.
