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Research · head to head

Castor EDC vs Condens

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
Condens logo

Condens

Research

UX research repository for storing, tagging and sharing qualitative study findings

From
€15/month
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.; Condens the gap between the 15 euro Lite plan and the 500 euro Business plan has nothing in it, so a team adding a second and third researcher jumps roughly thirtyfold in cost at exactly the point budget scrutiny arrives.
  • They diverge on capability: Castor EDC covers Browser-based study build, Condens covers Automatic transcription.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Castor EDC and Condens differ
AttributeCastor EDCCondens
Starting priceOn request€15/month
Pricing modelquotePer contributor per month
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb

Identical on both: 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
  • Randomisation
  • Per-study licensing
  • Grant-funded pricing paths
  • Data export

Only in Condens

  • Automatic transcription
  • Highlight and tag
  • Theme clustering
  • Insight pages
  • Participant profiles
  • Search across studies
  • Viewer seats
  • Video clip reels

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 Condens
  • A medical device company collecting post-market clinical follow-up data with Part 11 audit trailsnot Condens
  • A multi-site registry that needs remote eConsent because participants are recruited nationally rather than at a clinicnot Condens
  • A biotech running a small phase two study that wants the database built by its own clinical team in weeks rather than commissionednot Condens

Condens

  • A solo researcher at a 40-person product company building a searchable evidence base for 15 euros a monthnot Castor EDC
  • A European enterprise research team that needs GDPR-oriented data handling to clear internal procurementnot Castor EDC
  • A team wanting product managers to click from a stated insight straight to the participant clip that supports itnot Castor EDC
  • A researcher inheriting years of interview recordings and needing them transcribed, tagged and searchable in one placenot 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.

Condens

  • The gap between the 15 euro Lite plan and the 500 euro Business plan has nothing in it, so a team adding a second and third researcher jumps roughly thirtyfold in cost at exactly the point budget scrutiny arrives.
  • Lite includes no viewer seats at all, which defeats the main purpose of a repository: anyone outside the research team who wants to read a finding has to be paid for as a contributor or sent a static export.
  • Cross-project participant profiles are capped at 25 on Lite, so a solo researcher doing longitudinal work with a recurring panel outgrows the entry tier on that limit rather than on seats.
  • As a bootstrapped fifteen-person company it ships AI synthesis, automatic theme extraction and moderated-interview features more slowly than venture-funded rivals, so teams that want the repository to do the analysis rather than organise it will find it behind.
  • It is a repository, not a research platform: recruitment, panel management, unmoderated testing and survey fielding all live elsewhere, so it adds a subscription rather than consolidating one.

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

Condens

€15/month
  • Lite$15/month
    • 1 contributor included, additional contributors 15 euros each
    • No viewer seats
    • Unlimited projects, transcription hours and storage
  • Business$500/month
    • 5 contributors included, additional contributors 85 euros each
    • Unlimited viewers
    • Unlimited participant profiles and folders
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Minimum 5 contributors
    • Custom contributor rates
    • Unlimited viewers

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 Condens if

  • You need automatic transcription.
  • You also want highlight and tag.
Condens review

Questions people ask

Is Castor EDC or Condens better?
Neither clearly leads. Castor EDC starts at On request and Condens at €15/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Castor EDC or Condens?
Castor EDC starts at On request and Condens at €15/month.
Does Castor EDC or Condens run on more platforms?
Castor EDC runs on Web, iOS, Android. Condens runs on Web.
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 Condens is typically brought in for.
What can Castor EDC do that Condens cannot?
Castor EDC covers Browser-based study build, 21 CFR Part 11 workflows, eConsent, ePRO and surveys. Condens covers Automatic transcription, Highlight and tag, Theme clustering, Insight pages.

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.

Condens: Is there a free plan?

No, only a 15-day trial on any tier with no card required.

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.

Condens: Can stakeholders read findings without a licence?

Only on Business and above, where viewer seats are unlimited. Lite has none.

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.

Condens: Is transcription metered?

No. Transcription hours, storage and project count are unlimited on every plan; participant profiles and folders are what the tiers restrict.

Castor EDC: How long does a quote take?

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

Condens: Where is data hosted?

Condens is a German company with an explicitly GDPR-oriented setup, which is a common reason European enterprises shortlist it.

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