1. [Home](/) 2. [Tools](/tools) 3. Shortlist builder Free tool # RFP software shortlist builder Seven questions, about two minutes. You get 3 to 5 tools from the 70 published in this directory, each with the specific reasons it matched and the gaps to check before you book a demo. No vendor is favoured by default, and the scoring is written out below. 1 What do you need to answer? Pick every type you handle. A vendor whose record says it does not cover one is left out. RFPs and RFIs DDQs Security questionnaires (SIG, CAIQ, custom) Sales proposals and quotes 2 Who will use it? Just me, or one or two people A small team (3 to 10) A response team plus experts across the business (11 to 50) A large, multi-region operation (50+) 3 How do you want to buy? Happy to get a quote and talk to sales I need a published price before any sales call I want to try it free before paying 4 Which integrations are must-haves? The 10 integrations named most often across the directory. Salesforce Slack HubSpot Microsoft Teams SharePoint Google Drive Confluence Notion Jira Microsoft Dynamics 5 What will your security team ask for? SOC 2 report ISO 27001 certificate Single sign-on (SSO/SAML) EU data hosting On-premise, private or government cloud 6 AI-first or library-first? AI-first: draft from our documents, with sources shown Library-first: a curated, approved answer library with review steps No strong preference 7 Which industry are you in?IndustryAny, or not listedGovernment & Public SectorFinancial ServicesHealthcare & Life SciencesTechnology & SaaSProfessional ServicesConstruction & AECEnergy & UtilitiesNonprofit & Education Build my shortlistStart over **Your shortlist appears here** Answer any of the questions and press "Build my shortlist". The more you answer, the sharper the reasons. Copy share link Scored in your browser from vendor records checked through October 2026\. Confirm pricing, security and contract details with each vendor. ## How the scoring works Every point comes from one of your answers matched against a vendor record. Nothing is weighted by brand, popularity or who the vendor is. When two vendors tie, the one earlier in the alphabet shows first. 1. **Questionnaire types:** up to 9 points per type you pick, from the directory's 0 to 3 capability rating times three. A vendor rated 0 on a type you need is left out. 2. **Team:** small teams reward self-serve setup and a published price. Mid-sized teams reward review workflow and setup. Large teams reward review workflow (double) and answer-library depth. 3. **Buying style:** "published price" and "try it free" are hard filters. "Happy to get a quote" changes nothing. 4. **Integrations:** 3 points for each must-have the record names. Missing ones are listed as gaps, because a record can miss an integration the vendor does have. 5. **Security:** 3 points for each need the record documents (SOC 2, ISO 27001, SSO, EU hosting, restricted deployment). Undocumented needs become gaps, never exclusions. 6. **AI-first or library-first:** AI-first doubles the AI drafting and source attribution ratings. Library-first doubles the answer library rating and adds workflow and attribution. No preference adds all three once. 7. **Industry:** 4 points when the vendor lists your industry, 1 when it is a general-purpose tool. The fit percentage is the vendor's points as a share of the maximum possible for your answers. It ranks options against each other; it is not a quality grade. The data behind every factor is published in the [RFP and DDQ software benchmark](/rfp-software-benchmark), and the capability ratings are explained on the [methodology page](/methodology). ## What a shortlist cannot tell you A record-based score narrows the field; it cannot tell you how a tool handles your questionnaire, your content or your reviewers. Treat the top 3 to 5 as the vendors to put through the same test: one completed questionnaire, one unseen one, and the people who will actually use it. The [RFP evaluation scorecard](/tools/rfp-evaluation-scorecard) keeps that comparison honest. ## Frequently asked questions How does the RFP software shortlist builder choose vendors? It scores all 70 published vendors in this directory against your answers, using the same records as the profiles: capability ratings, published pricing, security facts, named integrations and industry tags. The 3 to 5 highest scores are shown with the reasons each one matched. Does any vendor get a head start? No. Before you answer anything every vendor scores zero, and ties are broken alphabetically. Points only come from your answers matched against what each vendor record documents. Why was a vendor I expected left out? Either another vendor scored higher on your answers, or it failed a hard requirement you chose: a questionnaire type its record says it does not cover, a published price, or a free way to try it. The excluded list under the results says which. What does "not documented in the record" mean? The vendor record does not mention it, often because the vendor does not publish it. It is a question to ask in the demo, not proof the feature is missing. That is why missing security or integration facts lower a score but never remove a vendor. Can I share or save my shortlist? Yes. Your answers are stored in the page address, so the "Copy share link" button gives you a link that rebuilds the same shortlist for a colleague. Nothing is sent to a server. What should I do after I have a shortlist? Open each profile to check the sources and dates, then run the same real questionnaire through each tool. The RFP evaluation scorecard on this site helps you score the demos side by side.