CVAT vs Encord

CVAT9.2Visit Encord8.4Visit

Higher score CVAT #2 in AI Data Labeling Tools 9.2/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 4 features Visit CVAT

vs

Encord #8 in AI Data Labeling Tools 8.4/10 Pricing on request ✓ 2 of 4 features Visit Encord

• CVAT fits best

  Computer-vision teams needing deep annotation

• Encord fits best

  Multimodal teams needing advanced quality workflows

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Side by side

Feature	CVAT 9.2/10 Visit ↗	Encord 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.2	8.4
Ranking	#2 in AI Data Labeling Tools	#8 in AI Data Labeling Tools
Best for	Computer-vision teams needing deep annotation	Multimodal teams needing advanced quality workflows
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	$23/mo	—
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Community, Docs	Email, Docs
Compliance	GDPR, SSO/SAML	SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA, SSO/SAML, 2FA
Integrations	5 integrations	9 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features CVAT 2/4 · Encord 2/4
Model-assisted labeling	✓	✓
Human review workflows	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Custom ontologies	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
API access	✓	✓
Specs
Supported modalities	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Deployment options	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Supports image, video, and 3D annotation with extensive shape tools AI-assisted detection, segmentation, and tracking workflows Open-source self-hosting with REST API, Python SDK, and CLI	Annotates image, video, audio, text, documents, DICOM, and NIfTI AI-assisted labeling, consensus workflows, and quality-control features APIs, SDKs, and integrations across major cloud storage platforms
Cons	Free plan is limited to 1–2 members Enterprise deployment costs $12,000 per year Broad feature coverage may exceed simple labeling needs	No free plan Pricing requires contact with sales Enterprise deployment options are limited to higher-tier plans
Our verdict	CVAT is a visual data annotation platform for teams creating computer-vision training datasets from images, video, and 3D data. It supports rectangles, polygons, polylines, points, ellipses, cuboids, skeletons, tags, and brush tools, along… Read the review →	Encord is a multimodal data platform for AI teams that manage, curate, annotate, and evaluate training data. It covers image, video, audio, text, documents, DICOM, NIfTI, LiDAR, and other data types. Its annotation toolkit includes… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• CVAT — where it wins

  • Supports image, video, and 3D annotation with extensive shape tools
  • AI-assisted detection, segmentation, and tracking workflows
  • Open-source self-hosting with REST API, Python SDK, and CLI

  Where it doesn't

  • Free plan is limited to 1–2 members
  • Enterprise deployment costs $12,000 per year
  • Broad feature coverage may exceed simple labeling needs

• Encord — where it wins

  • Annotates image, video, audio, text, documents, DICOM, and NIfTI
  • AI-assisted labeling, consensus workflows, and quality-control features
  • APIs, SDKs, and integrations across major cloud storage platforms

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan
  • Pricing requires contact with sales
  • Enterprise deployment options are limited to higher-tier plans

• CVAT9.2/10 · Free plan

  A broad annotation toolkit with free access, AI assistance, collaboration, and self-hosting.

  Visit CVATFull verdict →
• Encord8.4/10 · Pricing on request

  Advanced annotation, quality workflows, and evaluation for multimodal AI data.

  Visit EncordFull verdict →