Chemotion ELN vs Indigo ELN

Chemotion ELN is a web-based electronic laboratory notebook for research data, with a focus on chemistry. It organizes projects into collections and supports records for samples, reactions, wellplates, research plans, QR codes, barcodes, and analytical data through ChemSpectra. Sample records can hold molecular structures, amounts, and properties such as purity, while reaction records capture conditions and products. Instrument data can be added by email, networked storage, or manual transfer, with documented examples including NMR, GC, and LC. Accounts belong to individual users, while shared and synchronized collections allow sharing elements and assigning roles. The system can transfer selected information to Chemotion Repository for sharing and archiving, and supports OpenStats and a TLC Image Annotation Tool. Groups, institutions, and universities can install it on their own IT facilities using the documented Docker-based approach. Free academic use is a project principle. A test version is available for demonstration and time-limited evaluation, but data may be lost and some functions are unavailable. Chemotion requires a network connection, has no standalone version, and recommends Chrome because some functions are limited in Firefox and Edge.

Indigo ELN is a free electronic lab notebook for creating, storing, retrieving, and sharing chemistry records. It organizes work into projects, notebooks, experiments, and components, while allowing experiment templates and added components without changing the core code. Ketcher provides chemical structure editing, and Indigo handles reaction rendering and chemical property calculations. Searches can use entity attributes, or product structures and reaction schemes with BingoDB integration. APIs connect customer services, databases, and electronic signature services. Role-based authorities and access control lists govern projects, notebooks, and experiments. Pages can be printed to PDF, and SDF files can be imported or exported. The system runs on the web and can be self-hosted; the maker says a Docker image is available, with documented local Docker and AWS deployment. The core product is free under GNU GPL version 3 and provided without warranty. EPAM offers paid customization, integration, support, and maintenance. The demo environment is unavailable while work continues toward a public version 3.0 environment.