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Research · head to head

Greenphire vs OpenClinica

Greenphire logo

Greenphire

Research

Clinical trial participant payments, reimbursement and travel, now part of Suvoda

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: Greenphire the standalone greenphire.com site now redirects to Suvoda and the brands have been integrated, so buyers are contracting with a randomisation and supply vendor and should expect cross selling rather than an independent payments specialist.; 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: Greenphire covers ClinCard, OpenClinica covers Open source community edition.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Greenphire and OpenClinica actually diverge.

Attributes where Greenphire and OpenClinica differ
AttributeGreenphireOpenClinica
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Self-hosted, iOS, Android
CategoryResearchHealthcare

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

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 Greenphire

  • ClinCard
  • Direct to bank payment
  • Expense reimbursement
  • Travel and logistics
  • Site payments
  • Budgeting and benchmarking
  • Tax handling

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.

Greenphire

  • A global Phase III trial paying stipends across many countries where participants cannot practically be reimbursed by sponsor accounts payablenot OpenClinica
  • A decentralised or hybrid trial where participants travel long distances and the sponsor funds flights and accommodationnot OpenClinica
  • A trial in a population where slow reimbursement drives dropout and same day payment materially helps retentionnot OpenClinica
  • A sponsor that wants site payment milestones and participant payments handled by one vendor rather than twonot OpenClinica

OpenClinica

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

Where each one falls short

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

Greenphire

  • The standalone greenphire.com site now redirects to Suvoda and the brands have been integrated, so buyers are contracting with a randomisation and supply vendor and should expect cross selling rather than an independent payments specialist.
  • Nothing is published on price, and the typical shape of a platform fee plus per participant and per transaction charges means the cost of a trial is not knowable until enrolment is known.
  • Payment method availability varies sharply by country, so a global protocol may end up with card payments in some regions and slow manual processes in others, which undermines the retention argument that justified the purchase.
  • Sites bear the administrative work of enrolling participants and triggering payments but are not the buyer, so adoption depends on the sponsor mandating it and site resistance is a real implementation risk.
  • Participant payments create tax reporting obligations that differ per jurisdiction, and the tooling helps but does not remove sponsor liability, so legal and finance review is required in every country the trial runs in.

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

Greenphire

On request
  • Greenphire Patient Payments$undefined/year
    • Priced per study through a sales process
    • Typically a platform fee plus per participant and per transaction charges
    • Funding of the payment float is separate from the software fee

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 Greenphire if

  • You need clincard.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want direct to bank payment.
Greenphire 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 Greenphire or OpenClinica better?
Neither clearly leads. Greenphire 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, Greenphire or OpenClinica?
Greenphire starts at On request and OpenClinica at On request.
Does Greenphire or OpenClinica run on more platforms?
Greenphire runs on Web, iOS, Android. OpenClinica runs on Web, Self-hosted, iOS, Android.
What is Greenphire best used for?
Greenphire is most often used for a global phase iii trial paying stipends across many countries where participants cannot practically be reimbursed by sponsor accounts payable, a decentralised or hybrid trial where participants travel long distances and the sponsor funds flights and accommodation, a trial in a population where slow reimbursement drives dropout and same day payment materially helps retention, a sponsor that wants site payment milestones and participant payments handled by one vendor rather than two. Of those, a global phase iii trial paying stipends across many countries where participants cannot practically be reimbursed by sponsor accounts payable and a decentralised or hybrid trial where participants travel long distances and the sponsor funds flights and accommodation are not what OpenClinica is typically brought in for.
What can Greenphire do that OpenClinica cannot?
Greenphire covers ClinCard, Direct to bank payment, Expense reimbursement, Travel and logistics. OpenClinica covers Open source community edition, Electronic data capture, eConsent, eCOA and ePRO.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Greenphire: Is Greenphire still sold?

Yes, as Greenphire Patient Payments on the Suvoda platform. The independent website and social presence have been consolidated into Suvoda.

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.

Greenphire: What is ClinCard?

The reloadable debit card Greenphire issues to participants. Greenphire Patient Payments was formerly known as ClinCard.

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.

Greenphire: Does it publish pricing?

No. Pricing is per study and quoted through sales, and funding the payments themselves is separate from the software fee.

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.

Greenphire: Can it pay participants outside the United States?

Yes, in more than thirty currencies, but the available payment method depends on the country.

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.

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