eLabFTW vs LabCollector ELN
eLabFTW
elabftw.netLabCollector ELN
labcollector.comSide by side
| Figure | eLabFTW | LabCollector ELN |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | €250/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 8 | 6 |
| Spec score · Electronic Lab Notebook Software | 9.2 (#1) | 9.0 (#3) |
| API | The REST API lets external programs read and write eLabFTW data, and the documentation links to a Python library. | A free REST-style API is available to developers, supports any front-end language, and has separate manuals for core, ELN, LSM, Workflow, Sample Receiving and Event Calendar APIs. |
| Company | Deltablot says it was founded in April 2019 by Nicolas Carpi in Paris, France, to provide hosting and support options for eLabFTW users. | LinkedIn identifies LabCollector as software created by AgileBio, with 11–50 employees, headquarters in Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France, and a 2002 founding year. |
| Documentation | The official documentation covers installation, user operation, administration, authentication, integrations, import/export, FAIR data and API use. | The documentation site lists 9 getting-started articles, 48 installation articles, 40 basic-feature articles, 161 add-on articles and separate ELN and API manuals. |
| Headquarters | Villejuif, France | Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France |
| Integrations | Documented external integrations include PubChem, Bloxberg blockchain certification and Keeex timestamp processing. | Listed integrations include Microsoft Azure, Slack, Twilio, Plivo, Elastic Cloud, OpenAI, NCBI BLAST, PubChem, laboratory suppliers and medical testing platforms. |
| Licence | The application source is distributed under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3. | LabCollector is proprietary: the license is limited and nonexclusive, ownership remains with AgileBio, and additional server installations require additional licenses. |
| Praise: usability | G2 reviewers describe the product as feature-rich, productive, easy to use and easy to maintain. | Independent reviews frequently describe the interface as user-friendly, easy to learn and more organized than spreadsheets or paper records. |
| Rating on G2 | 4.4 out of 5 from 4 reviews. | 4.2 out of 5 from 11 reviews |
| System requirements | The documentation describes eLabFTW as server software requiring an internet connection and says Internet Explorer is unsupported. | Server requirements include Windows 11 or newer, Windows Server 2019 or newer, Linux or macOS, Apache/Nginx/IIS, PHP 8.1–8.4 for v6.3+, and MySQL/MariaDB/PerconaSQL. |
| What it does | eLabFTW is a browser-based electronic laboratory notebook and laboratory inventory system for recording experiments, protocols, resources and collaboration. | LabCollector is a modular laboratory platform for organizing inventory, samples, experiments, workflows, tests and laboratory processes. |
Plans
eLabFTW
- eLabFTW (self-hosted software)Free
- Self-hosted eLabFTWFree
- Training Session€470, paid once
- PRO Support€3,000 a year
- PRO Hosting 32€3,200 a year
- PRO Hosting Plus€4,985 a year
- PRO Hosting Universe€7,900 a year
- PRO Hosting SecNumCloud€8,700 a year
LabCollector ELN
- Startup PackFree
- LabCollector ELN limited-time offer€25 a month
- Limited-time ELN offer$35 a month
- Inventory Pack€550 a year
- ELN Pack€900 a year
- LIMS/LIS Pack€1,300 a year
In their own words
eLabFTW
eLabFTW is an electronic lab notebook for storing experiments and protocols, organizing records, and supporting collaboration. Users can tag and categorize entries, search them, manage lab resources and quantities, link resources to experiments, and book shared equipment with its Scheduler. One instance can host several teams, with entry-level visibility and editing controls plus Team Groups permissions. Research data can be imported and exported in formats including PDF, ZIP, CSV, JSON, and ELN. Its REST API lets external programs read and write data, and documentation links to a Python library. Listed integrations include PubChem, the Bloxberg blockchain, and Keeex timestamping workflows; authentication options include LDAP, SAML2, and two-factor authentication. The self-hosted software costs nothing under AGPLv3, with no features behind a paywall. It must be installed on a server and configured and maintained by a systems administrator; the site recommends managed hosting for people unfamiliar with server administration. Paid options include PRO Support at €3,000 a year and PRO Hosting plans from €3,200 a year to €8,700 a year.
LabCollector ELN
LabCollector ELN organizes experimental data in books that teams can share, with tree-style structure and keyword or content search for finding records. Its editor supports text, tables, images, linked LabCollector records, a flat spreadsheet and Zoho Sheet. Users can build custom fields and templates for pages, reactions and spreadsheets, then associate workflows with pages. The ELN describes audit trails, activity and task-time logs, and optional versioning for books, experiments and pages. Electronic signature validation based on CFR 21 Part 11 is available only in the Compliancy Pack. A Chemistry plugin supports reaction design and importing structures from LabCollector’s Chemical Structures module. AgileBio offers cloud hosting and self-hosting; deployments can run on an intranet, one computer or a web server account. The free Startup Pack is free and includes 3 users and 1,000 data records; ELN is optional, limited to 500 pages and experiments. The ELN Pack starts at €600 a year and includes unlimited pages and experiments.