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CATMA

catma.de

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Spec score 9.0 #1 of 20 in Qualitative Data Analysis Software

What it is

CATMA is a free tool for computer-assisted text markup and analysis, designed for qualitative text studies, especially literary studies. Users can upload corpora, share projects, create tagsets, and apply overlapping annotations. Work can be exploratory or taxonomy-based, qualitative or quantitative, and individual or collaborative. Its Analyze module provides interactive visualizations such as word clouds, distribution graphs, and Double Tree. The web application runs in common browsers on macOS, Windows, or Linux and needs a stable internet connection. CATMA Standalone can run on a local machine or private network, including settings without internet access. Projects can be exported as text, TEI-XML, or CSV; data is also accessible through Git, the GitMA Python package, or the JSON API. The hosted service stores data in Germany and makes automatic backups at least daily. CATMA says its server data is not encrypted at rest, though off-site backups are encrypted, and advises against uploading sensitive data. Standalone defaults to single-user use; some features need additional configuration or are unavailable.

Spec sheet

What it does
CATMA is a browser application for text annotation, analysis, interpretation and visualization aimed especially at humanities research.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Purpose
CATMA supports computer-assisted text markup and analysis, including annotation, analysis, interpretation, and visualization.Read 7 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Intended users
CATMA describes itself as designed for qualitative text studies, with a focus on literary studies, rather than massive-scale quantitative or statistical text mining.Read 7 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Support
The FAQ asks users who need help to contact the CATMA team, which says it will respond as soon as possible.Read 7 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Analysis
The Analyze module performs word-frequency, distribution, tag-frequency and complex text-and-annotation queries.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Annotation
Annotations may be short or extensive, overlapping, and assigned in multiple colors.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
API limitation
The documented JSON API does not currently insert or modify data, although future expansion is planned.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
App-store identity
The Apple CATMA listing is also a Chittenden County transportation app by Agile Mile, Inc., not the CATMA text-analysis application.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Browser use
CATMA is a web application that runs in common browsers on macOS, Windows, or Linux and requires a stable internet connection.Read 7 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Collaboration
Projects support synchronized and latest-contributions viewing modes, roles, permissions and collaborative comments.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Data access
Users can access project data through Git, the GitMA Python package, or the JSON API.Read 7 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Data hosting
The FAQ says public-instance servers are in the Technical University of Darmstadt data center, with backups in Germany or another EU member state.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Documentation and support
Official support materials include FAQs, tutorials, a compact manual, glossary, query-language guide, technical documentation and email support.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Exports
CATMA documents, annotations, tagsets, metadata and identities can be exported, including through TEI-XML.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
File and language support
The project repository says CATMA supports most file formats and text languages, including right-to-left languages.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Git integration
CATMA stores project data in GitLab repositories that can be accessed as Git repositories.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Independent origin history
An independent reference says CATMA began in 2008 as a reimplementation of the TACT text-analysis tools at the University of Hamburg.Read 15 Oct 2026 · en.wikipedia.org
Licence
CATMA is open source under the GNU General Public License version 3.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Limit: Capterra cloud dependence
One Capterra reviewer reported login outages, slow cloud performance and difficulty using the service with unreliable internet connections.Read 15 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
Limit: Capterra editing and usability
Reviewers reported that uploaded text cannot be changed, some analysis functions are unintuitive, and the product is narrowly focused on literary analysis.Read 15 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
Limit: G2 product evolution
The G2 reviewer wanted more advanced features and more automation, describing product evolution as limited.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Praise: Capterra annotation
Capterra reviewers praised free advanced annotation, including overlapping annotations, stability and collaborative analysis.Read 15 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
Praise: G2 text analysis
The sole G2 reviewer praised CATMA's text-analysis depth and predefined functions.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Projects
Users can upload corpora, share projects with teams and manage multiple projects.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Projects and tags
Users can upload corpora, share projects, create tagsets, and annotate text with overlapping annotations.Read 7 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Public API
The JSON API exposes time-limited, read-only project access and publishes OpenAPI, Swagger UI and Postman resources.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Python SDK
GitMA is a Python package for processing, analyzing and manipulating CATMA annotations through Git access.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Query language
CATMA provides a case-sensitive query language covering words, wildcards, similarity, frequencies, tags, properties and compound queries.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Rating on Capterra
3.0 out of 5 from 2 reviewsRead 15 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
Rating on G2
4.5 out of 5 from 1 reviewRead 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Research modes
The product supports qualitative or quantitative, exploratory or taxonomy-guided workflows, individually or collaboratively.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Security limitation
CATMA states that user data is not encrypted at rest on its own servers and advises against uploading sensitive or personally identifiable data.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Self-hosting
Users can run CATMA locally or privately with a Docker standalone image containing CATMA and GitLab.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Self-hosting limits
Standalone defaults to single-user operation, may perform poorly under load, and lacks some registration, email and Google-login functions without configuration.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Service incident
The official status page recorded an ongoing 24 June 2026 incident affecting access, functions and interface feedback.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Standalone limitations
Standalone defaults to single-user use; some features, including registration, email invitations, and Google login, need additional configuration or are unavailable.Read 7 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Storage and backups
The hosted service stores data in Germany and off-site backups in Germany or another EU member state, with automatic backups at least once per day.Read 7 Oct 2026 · catma.de
System requirements
CATMA Standalone is tested with Docker assigned at least four CPUs and 6 GB RAM.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Tagsets
Users can create custom hierarchical tagsets and categories or use predefined theoretical models.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Touch limitation
Annotating texts with touch devices is not yet supported.Read 7 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Versioning
The repository states that versioning is built in and project data can be exported or accessed in several ways.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Visualizations
Available visualizations include word clouds, distribution graphs, KWIC views and Double Tree networks.Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Workflows
Users can work qualitatively or quantitatively, exploratorily or with a taxonomy, individually or as a team.Read 7 Oct 2026 · catma.de

Plans and prices

CATMA Free Free to use; no listed project or collaboration count limit; not designed for massive quantitative or statistical text mining Read 7 Oct 2026 · catma.de
Public CATMA instance Free No charge Browser-based · unlimited projects stated · collaborative use Read 15 Oct 2026 · catma.de

Every CATMA plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Supports overlapping text annotations and tagsets.
  • Offers interactive visualizations for analysis.
  • Exports to text, TEI-XML, and CSV.
  • Standalone can run locally or on a private network.
  • Free to use.

Limits

  • Hosted server data is not encrypted at rest.
  • Web use requires a stable internet connection.
  • Touch-device annotation is not supported.
  • Standalone defaults to single-user use.

Who it suits

CATMA suits qualitative text research, particularly literary studies, and supports individual or team workflows. It is not intended for massive-scale quantitative or statistical text mining.

Verdict

CATMA offers flexible annotation and analysis workflows with web-hosted and standalone deployment options. Its stated research focus and server-data security limitation are important considerations, especially for sensitive material.

Where Specifiction places it

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