LabKey ELN vs RSpace
LabKey ELN
labkey.comRSpace
researchspace.comSide by side
| Figure | LabKey ELN | RSpace |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $500/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 6 |
| Spec score · Life Sciences Software | 7.5 (#11) | 8.8 (#2) |
| Spec score · Electronic Lab Notebook Software | 7.3 (#19) | 8.7 (#4) |
| Company history | LabKey says it has provided scientific data management solutions to research organizations worldwide for over 20 years. | Research Space says its originating company was spun out of the University of Edinburgh in 2003 by neuro-informatics researchers. |
| Compliance | LabKey says its security and compliance features support handling PHI under HIPAA and electronic records under 21 CFR Part 11. | Official feature material states GDPR, 21 CFR Part 11 and GLP compliance, plus suitability for NIH Data Sharing Policy requirements. |
| Integrations | LabKey says its ELN integrates with Sample Manager, Biologics LIMS, LabKey LIMS, and SDMS. | The site advertises more than 20 integrations spanning storage, repositories, data-management-plan tools, chemistry, biology, instruments and collaboration software. |
| Intended users | LabKey describes its ELN as designed for scientific R&D organizations. | The company describes its work as serving researchers, research data managers, librarians, stewards, research computing specialists, and policymakers. |
| Security | LabKey states that it holds a SOC 2 Type II attestation and commissions independent penetration tests. | RSpace states that user data is encrypted at rest and over a network and that it supports 21 CFR Part 11 compliance and GLP. |
| Support | LabKey directs Premium Edition subscribers to a private support portal and says Community Edition has no development or technical support from LabKey. | The contact page offers a support team and knowledge base, while Enterprise includes live chat and premium email support. |
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
LabKey ELN
LabKey ELN helps scientific R&D organizations document experiments and share research through notebooks connected to samples, assay data and other registered information. Entries support templates, rich text, data links, inline attachments, comments, project tags and notebook status. Teams can request reviews, receive notifications, comment and sign off notebooks. Sign-off creates an encrypted snapshot of notebook text and linked data, preserving the original state. Entries can link to bioregistry entities, samples, assays, workflows and other notebooks. Access is available through web, API and self-hosted deployments, with PDF export. Security features include role-based permissions, single sign-on, two-factor authentication, audit logs and electronic signatures. LabKey describes support for HIPAA PHI handling and 21 CFR Part 11 records. Cloud hosting lists encryption, monitoring and managed backups retained up to seven years. A free plan and free trial are listed.
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.