LabelMe review
A free, open-source choice for polygon, scribble, and mask annotation without AI assistance.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
LabelMe is a browser-based image annotation tool for researchers and teams creating computer-vision datasets. It supports polygon drawing and editing, object renaming and deletion, scribble annotation, and segmentation mask storage. The software is available as open source under the MIT license and can be deployed on an Apache web server, making it suited to organizations that want control over their annotation environment rather than a hosted, AI-assisted workspace.
Its strongest area is straightforward, configurable annotation. Users can adjust annotation actions and viewing modes, work with XML annotation templates, and access a JavaScript code API. The project also connects with the LabelMe Matlab toolbox and LabelMe dataset, which can fit research workflows built around those tools. Polygon, scribble, and mask support gives it more flexibility than a polygon-only editor, while server-side collection storage provides a defined structure for managing annotations.
LabelMe is less suitable for teams seeking automated labeling, model-assisted workflows, or a broad modern annotation platform. It does not provide AI assistance, and its documented export format is XML. Self-hosted deployment also places responsibility for the web server and project environment on the organization. Choose LabelMe when free, open-source access and basic-to-intermediate image annotation are the priorities; choose an alternative when AI-assisted labeling, wider integrations, or a more extensive platform feature set matter more.
LabelMe pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Free and open source under the MIT license
- Supports polygon, scribble, and segmentation mask workflows
- Includes XML templates and a documented JavaScript API
- Where it doesn't
- No AI-assisted annotation features
- Self-hosted deployment requires server administration
- Narrower feature set than modern AI annotation platforms
LabelMe fact sheet, pricing and score →
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