Alternatives
Encord vs. CVAT
Encord is the top CVAT alternative for teams building cutting-edge computer vision products. Efficiently create high-quality training data to improve AI model performance at scale without compromising speed or security.
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Why leading AI teams choose Encord over CVAT
Evaluating CVAT alternatives? Leading AI teams focus on: enterprise-grade annotation features without DevOps overhead, multimodal workflows with robust quality control, and managed platforms that eliminate infrastructure costs while accelerating time-to-production.
Advanced annotation suite for the most complex computer vision projects
Annotate with precision using Encord's AI-assisted labeling, advanced object tracking, native video rendering without downsampling, and frame-by-frame analysis. Build sophisticated annotation schemas with complex nested ontologies and dynamic attributes. Integrate SOTA computer vision models such as SAM2, YOLO and more into training data preparation workflows to automate and accelerate image and video annotation processes.
Enhanced team collaboration and quality control
Implement robust quality control workflows and annotator training capabilities not available in CVAT. Create consensus-based review processes, track performance metrics, and ensure consistent labeling standards across your organization with Encord's collaboration tools.
Fully-hosted and secured enterprise solution
Avoid high cloud hosting and engineering costs with Encord's fully-hosted platform that requires no Kubernetes setup or on-going maintenance while having SOC2 Type II, HIPAA, and GDPR compliance for enterprise-grade security.
KEY FEATURES
Comparing Encord to CVAT
Annotation and RLHF
Frame synchronization with object tracking
Complex ontology and classification structure
Limited
AI-assisted labeling with SOTA models
Medical imaging annotation with native DICOM rendering & decoding, 3D MPR data visualization
Advanced workflow builder and orchestration
Intuitive UI
Project scalability to 1 million+ data points
Native multimodal support (image, video, audio, document, text, and DICOM)
Data management and curation
Complete platform for data curation, management, and visualization
Model testing and evaluation
Visual data exploration and advanced natural language search
Limited
Data agents to integrate AI models into data workflows
Limited
Advanced team collaboration, quality control, and task management
Support & Services
Dedicated support (SLAs, Slack channel, ...)
Annotator training modules and dashboards
Large network of annotators
Robust security features (audit trails, encryption, ...)
Advanced features and security standards for complex data pipeline
Consolidated platform for your entire data pipeline
Not just an annotation solution, Encord enables teams to consolidate data curation and annotation workflows into one platform. Eliminate the need to build fragmented data management infrastructure. Explore and visualize data with advanced natural language search. Evaluate and validate models to prioritize the most valuable data for model training and fine-tuning.
API/SDK for programmatic access to Encord
Leverage our customizable SDK to interact with the Encord platform programmatically. Automate data pipelines that integrate with existing MLOps stacks. Upload data or integrate with cloud storage, access and manage projects, datasets, ontologies and labels within the platform via API.
Native multimodal support beyond vision
Not just a sophisticated solution to manage, curate, and annotate image and video, Encord also natively supports modalities such as document, text, and audio, all in one unified platform.
Case studies
Still not convinced? Read why our customers chose Encord
Prajwal Kotamraju
We now have an integrated, one-stop solution where we can manage our data and also understand our model performance to create feedback mechanisms to improve data and models.
Markus Kittel
Encord made it very easy to centrally keep track of annotations, including who had made them and who had reviewed them. It also has this great interpolation tool which was especially useful.
Camilla Gilrchrist
It’s always about balancing speed and quality. A lot of platforms prioritize speed over quality or quality over speed. Encord speeds up annotation while still allowing for strong quality control.
Maayan Gerbi
Encord’s robust support system has been remarkable. Whenever questions or issues come up, they are always supportive and helpful. This ensures that our workflows remain uninterrupted.
Anurag Kanungo
We went through a bunch of vendors and one of the things that stood out about Encord was the video first support, which other vendors do not have.
Margaux Masson-Forsythe
Getting started with Encord and integrating it into our workflow was really fast. The thing that I find the most valuable is the flexibility of how we can integrate the Encord pipeline into our own pipeline.
Victor Riparbelli
Encord Index is a high-performance system for our AI data, enabling us to sort and search at any level of complexity.
Kit Merker
Before using Encord, it was challenging to see all the data, projects, and annotations in one place. Now, with Encord I feel like we have a much clearer understanding of everything that's happening.
Prajwal Kotamraju
We now have an integrated, one-stop solution where we can manage our data and also understand our model performance to create feedback mechanisms to improve data and models.
Markus Kittel
Encord made it very easy to centrally keep track of annotations, including who had made them and who had reviewed them. It also has this great interpolation tool which was especially useful.
Camilla Gilrchrist
It’s always about balancing speed and quality. A lot of platforms prioritize speed over quality or quality over speed. Encord speeds up annotation while still allowing for strong quality control.
Maayan Gerbi
Encord’s robust support system has been remarkable. Whenever questions or issues come up, they are always supportive and helpful. This ensures that our workflows remain uninterrupted.
Anurag Kanungo
We went through a bunch of vendors and one of the things that stood out about Encord was the video first support, which other vendors do not have.
Margaux Masson-Forsythe
Getting started with Encord and integrating it into our workflow was really fast. The thing that I find the most valuable is the flexibility of how we can integrate the Encord pipeline into our own pipeline.
Victor Riparbelli
Encord Index is a high-performance system for our AI data, enabling us to sort and search at any level of complexity.
Kit Merker
Before using Encord, it was challenging to see all the data, projects, and annotations in one place. Now, with Encord I feel like we have a much clearer understanding of everything that's happening.
Frequently asked questions
Encord provides native video rendering with advanced object tracking, no downsampling, and precise frame-by-frame analysis. This enables significantly faster and more accurate video annotation while maintaining the highest quality for your computer vision projects.
Yes. Encord offers comprehensive support for medical imaging with native rendering of DICOM and NIfTI formats, visualization and annotation of 3D MPR data, and robust DICOM decoder, making Encord essential for teams developing medical AI applications.
Encord provides infinitely more flexible data structuring capabilities. With Encord, you can create complex hierarchical classification structures with unlimited depth and implement dynamic attributes that evolve throughout videos. This powerful capability enables sophisticated annotation schemas that match the complexity of real-world computer vision applications.
Encord provides robust API/SDK options, featuring a comprehensive Python API and SDK that allows developers to programmatically access all platform functionalities. This enables seamless integration with existing MLOps tool stacks and custom workflows.
Encord delivers enterprise-grade security features including comprehensive audit trails, robust encryption, and compliance with SOC2, HIPAA, and GDPR standards. Our platform also provides advanced team collaboration tools, quality control workflows, and annotator training capabilities that far exceed CVAT's basic collaboration features, making Encord the clear choice for organizations with rigorous security and compliance requirements.
While CVAT is an annotation-only platform, Encord provides integrated model evaluation through Encord Active. This enables you to test models against your data, automatically identify edge cases, and prioritize the most valuable data for relabeling.
Migration strategies vary based on data volume, existing workflows, and team requirements. Successful transitions typically involve: (i) Data export and validation processes, (ii) Workflow recreation and optimization, (iii) Team training and adoption planning, and (iv) Gradual transition with parallel operations.
Encord provides dedicated migration tools and white-glove expert support to ensure a smooth transition from CVAT.
Enterprise teams should evaluate annotation platforms based on five critical factors: infrastructure management (managed vs self-hosted maintenance overhead), multimodal capabilities (support for image, video, medical imaging), enterprise security and compliance (SOC2, HIPAA, GDPR certifications), workflow automation and quality control (consensus reviews, automated error detection, performance analytics), and integration capabilities (API/SDK robustness, MLOps stack compatibility). Teams scaling to production environments typically prioritize platforms that eliminate DevOps overhead while providing advanced collaboration tools and dedicated customer support.
Take control of your ML pipeline with Encord
Forget fragmented workflows, annotation tools, and Notebooks for building AI applications. Encord's Data Development platform accelerates every step of taking your model into production.
