eLabFTW vs Dotmatics Electronic Lab Notebook

eLabFTW9.0Visit Dotmatics Electronic Lab Notebook8.5Visit

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

vs

Dotmatics Electronic Lab Notebook #6 in Electronic Lab Notebook Software 8.5/10 Pricing on request ✓ 3 of 5 features Visit Dotmatics

• eLabFTW fits best

  Open-source teams needing compliance features

• Dotmatics Electronic Lab Notebook fits best

  Integrated R&D teams using chemistry data systems

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Side by side

Feature	eLabFTW 9.0/10 Visit ↗	Dotmatics Electronic Lab Notebook 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	8.5
Ranking	#3 in Electronic Lab Notebook Software	#6 in Electronic Lab Notebook Software
Best for	Open-source teams needing compliance features	Integrated R&D teams using chemistry data systems
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	—	Pricing on request
Free plan	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted, Desktop	Cloud
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux	Web
Support	Email, Community, Docs	Community
Compliance	SSO/SAML, 2FA	SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features eLabFTW 5/5 · Dotmatics Electronic Lab Notebook 3/5
Audit trail	✓	✓
Electronic signatures	✓	✓
Approval workflows	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Offline access	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
API access	✓	✓
Specs
Search scope	Full_text_and_metadata	Full_text_and_metadata
Export formats	PDF, ZIP, CSV, JSON, ELN	SD files, CSV, Microsoft Office
Our review
Pros	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	Configurable canvases support structures, spectra, images, tables, and sketches Full-text and structure search spans experiments, samples, results, and notebooks Integrates with laboratory, data, analytics, and third-party instrument systems
Cons	Managed hosting and support add separate costs Self-hosting requires GNU/Linux containers The feature set may exceed narrow documentation needs	Pricing requires a contact-sales process Access is centered on web and API platforms Its broad enterprise scope may exceed simple notebook requirements
Our verdict	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 →	Dotmatics Electronic Lab Notebook is a web-based research platform for documenting, organizing, searching, and sharing experiments across chemistry, biology, formulation, screening, materials science, and regulated research workflows. It… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• 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

• Dotmatics Electronic Lab Notebook — where it wins

  • Configurable canvases support structures, spectra, images, tables, and sketches
  • Full-text and structure search spans experiments, samples, results, and notebooks
  • Integrates with laboratory, data, analytics, and third-party instrument systems

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing requires a contact-sales process
  • Access is centered on web and API platforms
  • Its broad enterprise scope may exceed simple notebook requirements

• eLabFTW9.0/10 · Free plan

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

  Visit eLabFTWFull verdict →
• Dotmatics Electronic Lab Notebook8.5/10 · Pricing on request

  A broad ELN for teams that need connected experiments, data, inventory, and compliance records.

  Visit DotmaticsFull verdict →