Benchling Notebook vs RSpace
Benchling Notebook
benchling.comRSpace
researchspace.comSide by side
| Figure | Benchling Notebook | RSpace |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $500/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 6 |
| Spec score · Life Sciences Software | 8.0 (#6) | 8.8 (#2) |
| Spec score · Electronic Lab Notebook Software | 8.0 (#8) | 8.7 (#4) |
| Collaboration | Users can share and co-edit entries with tags, comments, task assignments, and role-based access permissions. | The ELN supports real-time collaboration, granular sharing controls, comments, and annotations. |
| Compliance | Benchling says its notebook supports 21 CFR Part 11 requirements with audit-ready electronic records and signatures. | Official feature material states GDPR, 21 CFR Part 11 and GLP compliance, plus suitability for NIH Data Sharing Policy requirements. |
| Founded | 2012 | 2003 |
| Integrations | Benchling lists ecosystem integrations including AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Jupyter, Snowflake, and Titian Mosaic, along with instrument integrations through Benchling Automation. | The site advertises more than 20 integrations spanning storage, repositories, data-management-plan tools, chemistry, biology, instruments and collaboration software. |
| Intended users | Benchling describes its customers as organizations ranging from startups to global enterprises in biopharma, agriculture, materials, and other biology-driven fields. | The company describes its work as serving researchers, research data managers, librarians, stewards, research computing specialists, and policymakers. |
| Security | Benchling says data is encrypted at rest with AES 256-bit encryption and in transit with TLS 1.2 or higher. | RSpace states that user data is encrypted at rest and over a network and that it supports 21 CFR Part 11 compliance and GLP. |
Plans
RSpace
- RSpace Open SourceFree
- Team (Academia)$6,000 a year
- Team (Commercial)$12,000 a year
- Enterprise (Academia)$34,000 a year
- Enterprise (Commercial)$34,000 a year
- InfrastructurePriced on request
In their own words
Benchling Notebook
Benchling Notebook is a cloud-based electronic lab notebook for capturing, accessing, and sharing scientific work. It keeps experiments, metadata, collaboration, and analysis together, with search, templates, and schemas for organizing records. Teams can share and co-edit entries using tags, comments, task assignments, and role-based permissions. Entries can link results to samples and experimental data, while the product describes LIMS integration for connecting samples and results. Benchling says the notebook supports 21 CFR Part 11 requirements through audit-ready electronic records and signatures. Listed ecosystem integrations include AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Jupyter, Snowflake, and Titian Mosaic, with instrument connections through Benchling Automation. Developer tools include REST APIs, a Python SDK, webhooks, an application framework, and a Postgres SQL data warehouse. Benchling states that data is encrypted at rest with AES 256-bit encryption and in transit with TLS 1.2 or higher, and that it maintains SOC 2 Type 2 attestation and ISO 27001:2022 certification. The free academic plan includes Notebook and Molecular Biology; industry pricing is customized.
RSpace
RSpace is an open-source electronic research notebook and research data management platform for research workflows. Its web application supports real-time collaboration, granular sharing controls, comments and annotations, with full-text and metadata search. Chemistry teams can draw compounds and calculate stoichiometry for reaction planning, while RSpace Inventory tracks samples alongside notebook documentation. Forms provide structured fields and ontology integration for FAIR metadata. Records can be exported as HTML, XML, PDF, DOC, JSON and RO-Crate. A RESTful API supports custom integrations. RSpace states that data is encrypted at rest and over networks and supports 21 CFR Part 11 and GLP. Research Space identifies ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certification. Deployment can be self-installed, managed in a private AWS instance, or run on premises for Enterprise. Plans include a free open-source option, Team plans at $6,000 a year and $12,000 a year, and Enterprise at $34,000 a year.