Softwr

Healthcare · head to head

Fujifilm Synapse vs OpenClinica

Fujifilm Synapse logo

Fujifilm Synapse

Healthcare

Enterprise imaging platform covering PACS, VNA, cardiology and 3D from Fujifilm Healthcare

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
OpenClinica logo

OpenClinica

Healthcare

Clinical trial EDC with a genuinely open source community edition alongside a quoted commercial platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Fujifilm Synapse pACS, VNA, Cardiovascular and 3D are separately licensed and separately versioned, so an enterprise deployment means four upgrade cycles and four support relationships under one brand rather than one platform upgrade.; OpenClinica the free community edition is a different and older product line from the commercial platform, so evaluating the open source build tells you little about what the paid product actually does.
  • They diverge on capability: Fujifilm Synapse covers Synapse PACS, OpenClinica covers Open source community edition.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fujifilm Synapse and OpenClinica actually diverge.

Attributes where Fujifilm Synapse and OpenClinica differ
AttributeFujifilm SynapseOpenClinica
PlatformsWeb, Windows, iOS, AndroidWeb, Self-hosted, iOS, Android

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

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 Fujifilm Synapse

  • Synapse PACS
  • Synapse VNA
  • Synapse Cardiovascular
  • Synapse 3D
  • Synapse Mobility
  • Deconstructed PACS support
  • Cloud services

Only in OpenClinica

  • Open source community edition
  • Electronic data capture
  • eConsent
  • eCOA and ePRO
  • Randomisation
  • EHR-to-EDC
  • Audit trail
  • Reporting and analytics

What people use each for

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

Fujifilm Synapse

  • A hospital replacing PACS that wants the archive decoupled from its scanner vendor so future modality purchases stay competitivenot OpenClinica
  • A health system consolidating radiology, cardiology, ophthalmology and wound images into one vendor neutral archive with a single retention policynot OpenClinica
  • An outpatient imaging chain that needs one worklist across multiple sites and radiologists reading remotelynot OpenClinica
  • A site pursuing a deconstructed PACS strategy that wants to replace the viewer later without touching the archivenot OpenClinica

OpenClinica

  • An academic coordinating centre running investigator-initiated trials that needs Part 11 compliant capture without an enterprise eClinical budgetnot Fujifilm Synapse
  • A registry or observational cohort study collecting structured data across many sites over yearsnot Fujifilm Synapse
  • A small device sponsor that needs eConsent and ePRO in the same system as its case report formsnot Fujifilm Synapse
  • An informatics group that wants to self-host the open source edition for a non-regulated internal studynot Fujifilm Synapse

Where each one falls short

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

Fujifilm Synapse

  • PACS, VNA, Cardiovascular and 3D are separately licensed and separately versioned, so an enterprise deployment means four upgrade cycles and four support relationships under one brand rather than one platform upgrade.
  • Synapse 3D is licensed by concurrent user and sized from average concurrency, which leaves radiologists queued for advanced visualisation at the morning reading peak and forces an unplanned licence purchase.
  • As an independent informatics vendor Fujifilm has less privileged access to proprietary modality data than Philips or Siemens have on their own scanners, so some vendor specific post processing is not available.
  • The vendor neutral archive absorbs non DICOM object types only after per specialty configuration work, and departments such as ophthalmology and dermatology usually need bespoke ingestion projects that were not in the original scope.
  • Migrating a decade of priors from a legacy archive is a large professional services line that Fujifilm quotes separately, and these migrations regularly run past the contracted go live date.

OpenClinica

  • The free community edition is a different and older product line from the commercial platform, so evaluating the open source build tells you little about what the paid product actually does.
  • The vendor provides no support or services at all for the community edition, which means outages, patching, database upgrades and validation documentation are entirely your problem.
  • Commercial pricing is not published, so you cannot benchmark it against alternatives without entering a sales process, and third-party figures around USD 1,000 a month are indicative rather than contractual.
  • Study build is skilled work: complex edit checks, randomisation schemes and integrations usually mean paying for vendor or consultant configuration services on top of the licence, which is a frequently underestimated line in the budget.
  • As a smaller vendor than the large eClinical suites it has a thinner partner and consultant ecosystem, so finding experienced build staff or a CRO already fluent in the platform is harder than with the market incumbents.

Pricing, plan by plan

Fujifilm Synapse

On request
  • Synapse$undefined/year
    • Each module licensed separately: PACS, VNA, Cardiovascular, 3D
    • Priced by annual study volume and concurrent diagnostic users
    • Synapse 3D licensed by concurrent user, separate from PACS

OpenClinica

On request
  • Community Edition$undefined/year
    • Free and open source under the LGPL
    • Self-hosted, on the older 3.x line
    • No vendor support or services of any kind
  • OpenClinica Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Pricing only through a sales process
    • Hosted and validated instance
    • EDC, eConsent, eCOA, randomisation and analytics modules

Which should you pick?

Choose Fujifilm Synapse if

  • You need synapse pacs.
  • You work on Web, Windows, iOS, Android.
  • You also want synapse vna.
Fujifilm Synapse review

Choose OpenClinica if

  • You need open source community edition.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted, iOS, Android.
  • You also want electronic data capture.
OpenClinica review

Questions people ask

Is Fujifilm Synapse or OpenClinica better?
Neither clearly leads. Fujifilm Synapse starts at On request and OpenClinica at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fujifilm Synapse or OpenClinica?
Fujifilm Synapse starts at On request and OpenClinica at On request.
Does Fujifilm Synapse or OpenClinica run on more platforms?
Fujifilm Synapse runs on Web, Windows, iOS, Android. OpenClinica runs on Web, Self-hosted, iOS, Android.
What is Fujifilm Synapse best used for?
Fujifilm Synapse is most often used for a hospital replacing pacs that wants the archive decoupled from its scanner vendor so future modality purchases stay competitive, a health system consolidating radiology, cardiology, ophthalmology and wound images into one vendor neutral archive with a single retention policy, an outpatient imaging chain that needs one worklist across multiple sites and radiologists reading remotely, a site pursuing a deconstructed pacs strategy that wants to replace the viewer later without touching the archive. Of those, a hospital replacing pacs that wants the archive decoupled from its scanner vendor so future modality purchases stay competitive and a health system consolidating radiology, cardiology, ophthalmology and wound images into one vendor neutral archive with a single retention policy are not what OpenClinica is typically brought in for.
What can Fujifilm Synapse do that OpenClinica cannot?
Fujifilm Synapse covers Synapse PACS, Synapse VNA, Synapse Cardiovascular, Synapse 3D. OpenClinica covers Open source community edition, Electronic data capture, eConsent, eCOA and ePRO.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Fujifilm Synapse: Is Synapse one product or several?

Several. Synapse PACS, Synapse VNA, Synapse Cardiovascular and Synapse 3D are separately licensed products under one brand. Price and scope each one individually.

OpenClinica: Is OpenClinica free?

There is a genuinely free, LGPL licensed community edition you host yourself with no vendor support. The commercial platform with eConsent, eCOA and a validated hosted instance is quoted and paid.

Fujifilm Synapse: Do I have to buy Fujifilm scanners?

No. Fujifilm sells Synapse independently of imaging hardware, which is a large part of why it wins competitive PACS replacements at mixed fleet sites.

OpenClinica: Is the open source version still maintained?

Yes, releases on the 3.x line continued through 2025, but it is a separate and older architecture from the commercial product.

Fujifilm Synapse: Does Synapse publish pricing?

No. Pricing is quoted by study volume, concurrent users, module mix and storage capacity.

OpenClinica: Does it meet 21 CFR Part 11?

The commercial hosted platform is built for Part 11 and GCP compliance. If you self-host the community edition, compliance and validation are entirely your responsibility.

Fujifilm Synapse: Can Synapse VNA store non radiology images?

Yes, including visible light, ophthalmology and wound photography, but each specialty typically needs its own ingestion and metadata configuration project.

OpenClinica: What does the commercial version cost?

Not published. Third-party listings suggest enterprise arrangements from around USD 1,000 per month, but real cost depends on study count, subjects, modules and build services.

Share

Related pages

More on Fujifilm Synapse

More on OpenClinica

Keep looking

Other head to heads