ELabELN vs eLabFTW

ELabELN9.2Visit eLabFTW9.0Visit

Higher score ELabELN #2 in Electronic Lab Notebook Software 9.2/10 Paid ✓ 5 of 5 features Visit ELabELN

vs

eLabFTW #3 in Electronic Lab Notebook Software 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit eLabFTW

• ELabELN fits best

  Regulated labs needing broad deployment options

• eLabFTW fits best

  Open-source teams needing compliance features

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Side by side

Feature	ELabELN 9.2/10 Visit ↗	eLabFTW 9.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.2	9.0
Ranking	#2 in Electronic Lab Notebook Software	#3 in Electronic Lab Notebook Software
Best for	Regulated labs needing broad deployment options	Open-source teams needing compliance features
Pricing model	Paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	—	—
Free plan	—	✓ (best)
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted, Mobile	Cloud, Self-hosted, Desktop
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Community, Docs · 24/7	Email, Community, Docs
Compliance	SOC 2, GDPR, SSO/SAML, 2FA	SSO/SAML, 2FA
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features ELabELN 5/5 · eLabFTW 5/5
Audit trail	✓	✓
Electronic signatures	✓	✓
Approval workflows	✓	✓
Offline access	✓	✓
API access	✓	✓
Specs
Search scope	Full_text_and_metadata	Full_text_and_metadata
Export formats	PDF, ZIP, CSV, JSON, .eln	PDF, ZIP, CSV, JSON, ELN
Our review
Pros	Full-text and metadata search across experiments, files, samples, and protocols Audit trails, electronic signatures, approvals, and granular permissions Cloud, on-premises, web, desktop, mobile, and self-hosted deployment options	Experiment records, inventory, templates, signatures, and audit logs Offline synchronization, REST API access, and broad export formats Self-hosting plus managed hosting and support options
Cons	There is no free plan for initial evaluation The product is paid, with academic and nonprofit pricing handled by quotation Its broad feature set may be more than a narrowly focused lab needs	Managed hosting and support add separate costs Self-hosting requires GNU/Linux containers The feature set may exceed narrow documentation needs
Our verdict	ELabELN is an electronic lab notebook for academic, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, contract research, and other laboratory teams. It supports rich experiment records with text, tables, structured fields, images, files, and chemical… Read the review →	eLabFTW is an open-source electronic laboratory notebook for academic, industrial, and research laboratories. It combines experiment and protocol records with laboratory inventory, compound management, templates, workflow steps,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• ELabELN — where it wins

  • Full-text and metadata search across experiments, files, samples, and protocols
  • Audit trails, electronic signatures, approvals, and granular permissions
  • Cloud, on-premises, web, desktop, mobile, and self-hosted deployment options

  Where it doesn't

  • There is no free plan for initial evaluation
  • The product is paid, with academic and nonprofit pricing handled by quotation
  • Its broad feature set may be more than a narrowly focused lab needs

• eLabFTW — where it wins

  • Experiment records, inventory, templates, signatures, and audit logs
  • Offline synchronization, REST API access, and broad export formats
  • Self-hosting plus managed hosting and support options

  Where it doesn't

  • Managed hosting and support add separate costs
  • Self-hosting requires GNU/Linux containers
  • The feature set may exceed narrow documentation needs

• ELabELN9.2/10 · Paid

  A mature ELN with broad deployment, compliance, integration, and data-management coverage.

  Visit ELabELNFull verdict →
• eLabFTW9.0/10 · Free plan

  A compliance-ready, open-source ELN with flexible hosting and broad exports.

  Visit eLabFTWFull verdict →