COCO Annotator vs Roboflow
COCO Annotator
github.com
Roboflow
roboflow.comSide by side
| Figure | COCO Annotator | Roboflow |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $39/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 6 |
| Spec score · AI Image Annotation Tools | 9.0 (#2) | 8.9 (#3) |
| Model-assisted labeling | Images can be sent to semi-trained models, including built-in Mask R-CNN and DEXTR integrations, to generate annotations. | Label Assist and other AI labeling tools use model predictions to help generate annotations, and the pricing page notes AI labeling uses credits. |
| Support | The project invites users to join its Discord community of machine-learning practitioners. | Roboflow provides a knowledge base, developer documentation, forums, YouTube tutorials, and enterprise priority support by email and in-app chat. |
| System requirements | The VPS guide recommends 2 CPU cores and 2 GB RAM for a basic instance, with more memory for images above one megapixel. | The Inference Models package requires Python 3.10–3.12; GPU use requires a CUDA-compatible GPU and appropriate drivers. |
| What it does | COCO Annotator is a web application for creating image-training annotations for object detection and localization. | Roboflow is a computer vision platform for collecting and labeling image or video data, training models, building vision applications, and deploying inference to cloud or edge devices. |
Plans
Roboflow
- Free TierFree
- Free TierFree
- Core$39 a month
- Core$39 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
- EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
COCO Annotator
COCO Annotator is a web-based tool for creating image annotations used in training data for localization and object detection. It supports bounding boxes, polygons, segmentation masks, keypoints, and points, along with disconnected shapes treated as one instance, multiple labels on an image segment, and custom metadata. Users can import existing COCO datasets and export annotations in COCO format. Assisted options include DEXTR, MaskRCNN, Magic Wand, semi-trained model annotation, and Google Images dataset generation. The software includes user authentication and a REST API, with a Swagger interface at localhost:5000/api. It is self-hosted on Linux or Windows, and Docker with docker-compose is required because Docker is the only supported installation method. Documentation covers development and production builds, centralized datasets, and external access. The server uses Flask, Eventlet, and Gunicorn, while long-running requests go to RabbitMQ workers. The project recommends HTTPS to encrypt browser-to-site communication and invites users to its Discord community. It is listed as free under an MIT-licensed plan.
Roboflow
Roboflow provides tools for building, deploying, and monitoring computer vision applications, from dataset preparation through model inference. Its dataset features include image annotation, video frame extraction, preprocessing, and augmentation; annotation types include boxes, polygons, segmentation masks, classification labels, and keypoints. Exports include JSON, XML, CSV, TXT, and more than 30 additional formats. A hosted inference API runs models on autoscaling infrastructure with load balancing and burst support. Deployment options include roboflow.js, NVIDIA Jetson, Luxonis OAK, iOS, self-hosting, VPC, and on-premise environments. The Free Tier costs nothing and includes 10 credits monthly, stated as enough for about 30 model trainings or 80,000 inferences. Core costs $39 a month, billed monthly, with 20 credits and a private workspace and models. The pricing comparison lists one model training at a time by default and 20 projects for Core. Roboflow states it encrypts data in transit and at rest and is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant; enterprise pricing is custom.