Overview

LabCollector ELN organizes experimental work into searchable, shareable books, with templates and workflows shaped around a laboratory’s records. It is best suited to teams that want an ELN alongside LabCollector’s broader lab-management tools. Its flexibility and deployment choice are persuasive, but electronic signatures require the separate Compliancy Pack.

Key features

Tree-style organization plus keyword and content search give teams a practical way to sort and retrieve experimental records. The editor supports text, tables, images, linked LabCollector records, and flat spreadsheets or Zoho Sheet. Custom fields and templates for pages, reactions, and spreadsheets let labs tailor the structure to their work; page-linked workflows add process guidance without forcing every team into the same template.

Books can be shared with a team. Audit trails, activity and task-time logs, and optional versioning for books, experiments, and pages help preserve a record of work and changes. User-level permissions and automatic backups every 30 seconds, alongside manual backup, support routine record control. Electronic signature validation based on CFR 21 Part 11 is confined to the Compliancy Pack, so labs that rely on signatures should include that requirement in their plan choice.

The Chemistry plugin supports reaction design for notebook pages and reports, including importing structures from LabCollector’s Chemical Structures module. Integrations include Zoho spreadsheets, Elasticsearch search, OpenAI audio transcription, and Trinka text enhancement. API access and PDF, ZIP, Excel, and .eln exports add routes for connecting to or moving data from the system.

Pricing

The free Startup Pack lasts for the license lifetime and allows 3 users, 1,000 data records, and 1 recipe/SOP. ELN use is optional and capped at 500 pages and experiments, making it a useful entry point for a small team but a poor fit once notebook volume exceeds that ceiling.

The limited-time LabCollector ELN offer is 25.00 EUR per month, billed at €25/user/month. It includes a 5-user LabCollector license plus ELN, with 25 licenses available at that price and the discount guaranteed for the license lifetime. The page also shows a crossed-out €3000/year price. This offer has a clear seat count, so larger teams should compare it with the per-user annual packs.

Inventory Pack starts at 400.00 EUR per year, billed from 400€ /user /year. It starts at 3 users and provides unlimited records, custom fields, recipes, and SOPs, but does not state an ELN page allowance. ELN Pack starts at 600.00 EUR per year, from 600€ /user /year, includes Inventory Pack, and removes the page and experiment limits; optional user groups may help teams structure access. LIMS/LIS Pack starts at 1000.00 EUR per year, from 1000€ /user /year, includes Inventory Pack, and adds unlimited test catalog, parameters, and patients rather than an ELN-specific expansion.

The product is freemium and offers a 30-day trial. Teams should weigh the Startup Pack caps against paid options, and include the separate Compliancy Pack in the decision if electronic signatures are necessary.

Platforms

LabCollector supports Android, API, Linux, macOS, self-hosted deployment, web, and Windows. Cloud hosting and self-hosting are both offered; self-hosted installations can run on an intranet, a single computer, or a web server account. Supported environments include Windows 11 and later, Windows Server 2019 and later, Linux, MacOS X 10.x and later, Apache, Nginx, and IIS web servers, and recent Ajax-enabled browsers. This range suits organizations that need local deployment, though self-hosting puts server administration within their remit.

Who it's for

AgileBio says LabCollector ELN suits small and large academic institutions, startups, and globally operating laboratories. In practice, its custom templates, page workflows, and sharing make it relevant to teams with varied recordkeeping needs, while the lifetime free tier provides a bounded starting point for smaller groups. Laboratories needing unlimited notebook pages should look beyond the Startup Pack; those with signature-dependent processes need the Compliancy Pack.

Pros and cons

Flexible record design: Custom fields and templates span pages, reactions, and spreadsheets, so teams can adapt their notebook structure rather than rely on one fixed format.
Useful record controls: Audit trails, activity logs, optional versioning, permissions, and frequent automatic backups address change tracking and routine record protection.
Deployment choice: Cloud hosting or self-hosting gives organizations different operational options, with self-hosting requiring them to manage their own environment.
Free tier has a firm ceiling: Three users, 1,000 records, and up to 500 ELN pages and experiments constrain growth and larger projects.
Signatures are an add-on: CFR 21 Part 11-based signature validation requires the Compliancy Pack, so teams should not treat it as part of the standard ELN offer.

Alternatives

For a wider comparison, see Electronic Lab Notebook Software.

LabArchives is a reasonable alternative for a team comfortable with a free plan limited to 2 owned notebooks, 1GB per user, and a 25MB file limit; its free tier includes SnapGene and GraphPad Prism integrations. Labfolder is worth considering when a quote based on user count is preferable to choosing among fixed pack prices; it also supports self-hosting. eLabFTW suits organizations that want free, AGPLv3 self-hosted software and can take on server hosting and administration.

SciNote may suit a single user seeking a free dedicated workspace with no guaranteed support, while its premium plans require a quote. Chemotion ELN is another free option for teams looking for a self-hosted notebook. NETVIBES, Signals Notebook, and IDBS E-WorkBook are alternatives to compare against LabCollector ELN.

Verdict

Choose LabCollector ELN if your lab needs configurable, shareable notebooks, audit features, and a choice of cloud or self-hosted deployment, especially when LabCollector’s wider lab-management tools are relevant. Its lifetime free tier is a useful trial ground, but its 500-page-and-experiment cap is a real boundary. Look elsewhere if you need uncapped notebooks on the free plan or if signature validation must be included without the separate Compliancy Pack.

	Indigo ELN	LabCollector ELN
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Free trial		Yes
Paid from	Free	€25/mo
Platforms	api, self-hosted, Web	Android, api, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, Web, Windows
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Electronic signatures	Yes	Yes
API access	Yes	Yes
Export formats	PDF, SDF	PDF, ZIP, Excel, .eln
Audit trail		Yes
Approval workflows		Yes

Indigo ELN vs LabCollector ELN

Indigo ELN

LabCollector ELN