Softwr

Research · head to head

Castor EDC vs REDCap

Castor EDC logo

Castor EDC

Research

Electronic data capture and eConsent for clinical trials, built for investigator-initiated studies as well as sponsors

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
REDCap logo

REDCap

Research

Research data capture licensed free to non-profits, and not licensable at all to companies

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Castor EDC nothing is published: pricing is quoted only after a scoping call and protocol review, so budgeting a grant application means asking for a quote months before the study is funded and hoping the scope holds.; REDCap a for-profit company cannot hold a licence or self-host REDCap, so a biotech or CRO that liked it at university simply cannot deploy it the same way and must buy a commercially licensed hosted version instead.
  • They diverge on capability: Castor EDC covers Browser-based study build, REDCap covers Form and survey designer.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Castor EDC and REDCap actually diverge.

Attributes where Castor EDC and REDCap differ
AttributeCastor EDCREDCap
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Linux, Windows

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Research).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Castor EDC

  • Browser-based study build
  • 21 CFR Part 11 workflows
  • eConsent
  • ePRO and surveys
  • Per-study licensing
  • Grant-funded pricing paths
  • Data export

Only in REDCap

  • Form and survey designer
  • Longitudinal projects
  • Data quality rules
  • Audit trail and e-signature
  • API and exports

Both cover

  • Randomisation

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Castor EDC

  • An academic hospital running an investigator-initiated trial that cannot fund a sponsor-grade EDC contract or a data management CROnot REDCap
  • A medical device company collecting post-market clinical follow-up data with Part 11 audit trailsnot REDCap
  • A multi-site registry that needs remote eConsent because participants are recruited nationally rather than at a clinicnot REDCap
  • A biotech running a small phase two study that wants the database built by its own clinical team in weeks rather than commissionednot REDCap

REDCap

  • An academic research group at an institution that already runs REDCap, where a new study database costs nothing beyond the time to build itnot Castor EDC
  • A hospital collecting patient reported outcomes where data must stay on institutional infrastructure rather than a vendor cloudnot Castor EDC
  • An investigator initiated trial that needs randomisation, an audit trail and statistical export without a commercial EDC budgetnot Castor EDC
  • A multi site academic collaboration where each site can be given scoped access to a single longitudinal projectnot Castor EDC

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Castor EDC

  • Nothing is published: pricing is quoted only after a scoping call and protocol review, so budgeting a grant application means asking for a quote months before the study is funded and hoping the scope holds.
  • Price scales on protocol complexity rather than a simple unit, so two studies with the same participant count can be quoted very differently and there is no public benchmark to argue against.
  • Modules such as eConsent, ePRO and randomisation are quoted on top of the base platform, so the headline EDC figure is rarely the number that appears on the final proposal.
  • It is deliberately lighter than the full sponsor suites, so a study that grows into a global registrational programme needing integrated CTMS, safety, IRT and full trial supply management will need additional systems and the interfaces between them.
  • Regulatory responsibility does not transfer with the software: the platform supports Part 11 compliant workflows, but system validation for your intended use, SOPs and audit readiness remain your obligation and your cost, which sponsors new to EDC consistently underestimate.

REDCap

  • A for-profit company cannot hold a licence or self-host REDCap, so a biotech or CRO that liked it at university simply cannot deploy it the same way and must buy a commercially licensed hosted version instead.
  • Because each institution hosts its own instance, support, uptime, backup and version currency vary by university, and a researcher has no recourse to Vanderbilt when the local instance is two years out of date.
  • It is free of licence fee but not free of cost: the hosting institution carries server, security, patching and support staffing, which is why some institutions charge internal recharges per project.
  • Validation for regulated use is the deploying institution responsibility, so an instance is not Part 11 compliant simply because REDCap supports the features; someone locally has to produce and maintain the evidence.
  • The interface and reporting are dated compared with commercial survey and EDC tools, and complex logic is built through data dictionary spreadsheets rather than a modern visual builder, which slows non technical study teams.

Pricing, plan by plan

Castor EDC

On request
  • Castor EDC$undefined/year
    • Priced per study on protocol complexity, duration, sites and modules
    • 21 CFR Part 11 and ICH GCP workflows
    • eConsent, ePRO and randomisation modules quoted separately

REDCap

On request
  • REDCap non-profit licence$undefined/year
    • No licence fee to non-profit and government institutions that join the consortium
    • Institution must install and host it on its own infrastructure
    • For-profit organisations may not hold a licence or self-host

Which should you pick?

Choose Castor EDC if

  • You need browser-based study build.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want 21 cfr part 11 workflows.
Castor EDC review

Choose REDCap if

  • You need form and survey designer.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Windows.
  • You also want longitudinal projects.
REDCap review

Questions people ask

Is Castor EDC or REDCap better?
Neither clearly leads. Castor EDC starts at On request and REDCap at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Castor EDC or REDCap?
Castor EDC starts at On request and REDCap at On request.
Does Castor EDC or REDCap run on more platforms?
Castor EDC runs on Web, iOS, Android. REDCap runs on Web, Linux, Windows.
What is Castor EDC best used for?
Castor EDC is most often used for an academic hospital running an investigator-initiated trial that cannot fund a sponsor-grade edc contract or a data management cro, a medical device company collecting post-market clinical follow-up data with part 11 audit trails, a multi-site registry that needs remote econsent because participants are recruited nationally rather than at a clinic, a biotech running a small phase two study that wants the database built by its own clinical team in weeks rather than commissioned. Of those, an academic hospital running an investigator-initiated trial that cannot fund a sponsor-grade edc contract or a data management cro and a medical device company collecting post-market clinical follow-up data with part 11 audit trails are not what REDCap is typically brought in for.
What can Castor EDC do that REDCap cannot?
Castor EDC covers Browser-based study build, 21 CFR Part 11 workflows, eConsent, ePRO and surveys. REDCap covers Form and survey designer, Longitudinal projects, Data quality rules, Audit trail and e-signature. Both handle Randomisation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Castor EDC: Is there a free academic version?

No published free tier. There are academic, non-profit and grant-funded pricing paths, but each is quoted rather than self-service.

REDCap: Is REDCap really free?

The licence is free to non-profit institutions and government organisations that join the consortium, but they must host and support it themselves, so there is real internal cost.

Castor EDC: Is it 21 CFR Part 11 compliant?

It supports Part 11 compliant workflows with audit trails and electronic signatures. Validating the system for your specific use remains your responsibility.

REDCap: Can my company use REDCap?

Not by holding a licence or self-hosting. For-profit organisations must use a separately licensed commercial hosted route.

Castor EDC: Do I need a programmer to build a study?

No. Case report forms are configured in the browser, which is the main reason academic groups adopt it.

REDCap: Is REDCap 21 CFR Part 11 compliant?

It has the features to support Part 11 use, but compliance depends on how the hosting institution configures, validates and documents its own instance.

Castor EDC: How long does a quote take?

Castor states a full pricing proposal within five business days of sharing the protocol.

REDCap: Who supports it?

Your local institutional REDCap administrator, not Vanderbilt. Support quality varies by site.

Share

Related pages

More on Castor EDC

More on REDCap

Keep looking

Other head to heads