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Research · head to head

Dotmatics vs LabArchives

Dotmatics logo

Dotmatics

Research

Research informatics group behind GraphPad Prism, SnapGene, Geneious and LabArchives, now owned by Siemens

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
LabArchives logo

LabArchives

Research

Electronic lab notebook with witnessing, version history and long-term institutional retention

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only LabArchives has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Dotmatics the portfolio was assembled by acquisition and integration between the constituent products is uneven, so buying several Dotmatics brands does not deliver a single connected environment and often means the same manual export steps as before.; LabArchives the corporate rate is roughly 75 per cent above the academic rate for the same product, so a university spinout crossing into commercial status faces a step change in cost at exactly the point its budget is tightest.
  • They diverge on capability: Dotmatics covers Dotmatics platform, LabArchives covers Versioned entries.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dotmatics and LabArchives actually diverge.

Attributes where Dotmatics and LabArchives differ
AttributeDotmaticsLabArchives
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotePer user per year
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, On-premiseWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: 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 Dotmatics

  • Dotmatics platform
  • GraphPad Prism
  • SnapGene
  • Geneious Prime and Biologics
  • LabArchives
  • Flow cytometry tools
  • Protein Metrics
  • Siemens ownership

Only in LabArchives

  • Versioned entries
  • Witnessing and signing
  • Inventory
  • Scheduler
  • Education edition
  • Single sign-on
  • Structured data entry
  • DOI and repository publishing

What people use each for

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

Dotmatics

  • A pharmaceutical company consolidating compound registration, assay data and biology screening onto one informatics layernot LabArchives
  • A biotech that already owns Prism, SnapGene and Geneious separately and wants to understand what a group contract would covernot LabArchives
  • A university licensing LabArchives across departments as an institutional electronic lab notebooknot LabArchives
  • A biologics group needing sequence analysis, flow cytometry and proteomics tools from one supplier with a single procurement routenot LabArchives

LabArchives

  • A university group that must keep research records after a PhD student leaves, rather than losing them with a laptopnot Dotmatics
  • A core facility that needs instrument booking and a shared record of who ran what and whennot Dotmatics
  • A small biotech building patent-defensible evidence of invention with witnessed, timestamped entriesnot Dotmatics
  • A teaching department running undergraduate laboratory courses where instructors need to see and grade notebook worknot Dotmatics

Where each one falls short

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

Dotmatics

  • The portfolio was assembled by acquisition and integration between the constituent products is uneven, so buying several Dotmatics brands does not deliver a single connected environment and often means the same manual export steps as before.
  • The Siemens acquisition completed in July 2025 with stated revenue synergy targets, which usually translates into pressure to move individually bought desktop licences into larger platform agreements, and small buyers of a single Prism or SnapGene seat should expect that pressure at renewal.
  • Nothing about the enterprise platform is publicly priced, and even the individual applications are increasingly moved to subscription, so total cost across a research group is hard to establish before negotiation.
  • Each acquired product retains its own licence terms, support channel and release cycle, so an organisation using four Dotmatics brands manages four different renewal dates, entitlement models and support experiences.
  • Enterprise deployments require data migration and configuration services, and validated instances for regulated use add both cost and an ongoing customer revalidation duty after each release, so the informatics platform is a programme rather than a purchase.

LabArchives

  • The corporate rate is roughly 75 per cent above the academic rate for the same product, so a university spinout crossing into commercial status faces a step change in cost at exactly the point its budget is tightest.
  • Inventory and Scheduler are separate per-user line items, so a lab that assumed one price per person for a working system ends up paying two or three.
  • It is now a Dotmatics product inside a large scientific software portfolio, which puts roadmap priority with enterprise pharmaceutical buyers rather than with the academic labs that made it popular.
  • The interface is functional rather than pleasant, and adoption typically fails not on features but on researchers quietly continuing to keep notes elsewhere; you need a mandate, not a rollout email.
  • Instrument integration is thin compared with dedicated laboratory information management systems, so automated capture from analytical equipment usually still means manual upload or custom scripting.

Pricing, plan by plan

Dotmatics

On request
  • Dotmatics platform$undefined/year
    • Enterprise informatics platform priced per user per year on quotation
    • Chemistry and biology registration, assay data and ELN modules scoped separately
    • Implementation and data migration services quoted as a separate programme

LabArchives

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Limited storage
    • Core notebook and versioning
    • Intended for evaluation and individual use
  • Professional (Academic)$330/year
    • Full ELN with witnessing and signing
    • Academic rate per user per year
    • Corporate rate is $575 per user per year
  • ELN plus Inventory bundle$360/year
    • Notebook plus sample and reagent inventory
    • Academic rate; corporate rate is $675 per user per year
  • Inventory standalone$99/year
    • Sample tracking without the notebook
    • Academic rate; corporate rate is $199 per user per year

Which should you pick?

Choose Dotmatics if

  • You need dotmatics platform.
  • You work on Web, Windows, macOS, On-premise.
  • You also want graphpad prism.
Dotmatics review

Choose LabArchives if

  • You need versioned entries.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want witnessing and signing.
LabArchives review

Questions people ask

Is Dotmatics or LabArchives better?
Neither clearly leads. Dotmatics starts at On request and LabArchives at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Dotmatics or LabArchives?
LabArchives has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Dotmatics and Free for LabArchives.
Does Dotmatics or LabArchives run on more platforms?
Dotmatics runs on Web, Windows, macOS, On-premise. LabArchives runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use LabArchives for free?
Yes. LabArchives has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Dotmatics starts at On request.
What is Dotmatics best used for?
Dotmatics is most often used for a pharmaceutical company consolidating compound registration, assay data and biology screening onto one informatics layer, a biotech that already owns prism, snapgene and geneious separately and wants to understand what a group contract would cover, a university licensing labarchives across departments as an institutional electronic lab notebook, a biologics group needing sequence analysis, flow cytometry and proteomics tools from one supplier with a single procurement route. Of those, a pharmaceutical company consolidating compound registration, assay data and biology screening onto one informatics layer and a biotech that already owns prism, snapgene and geneious separately and wants to understand what a group contract would cover are not what LabArchives is typically brought in for.
What can Dotmatics do that LabArchives cannot?
Dotmatics covers Dotmatics platform, GraphPad Prism, SnapGene, Geneious Prime and Biologics. LabArchives covers Versioned entries, Witnessing and signing, Inventory, Scheduler.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Dotmatics: Who owns Dotmatics?

Siemens, which completed a 5.1 billion dollar acquisition on 1 July 2025. Dotmatics now sits inside Siemens Digital Industries Software.

LabArchives: Does LabArchives satisfy patent evidence requirements?

Its versioning, timestamping and witnessed signatures are designed for that purpose, and it is widely accepted for it, but the legal weight depends on your institution's process being followed, not on the software alone.

Dotmatics: Is GraphPad Prism a Dotmatics product?

Yes. So are SnapGene, Geneious, LabArchives, FCS Express, OMIQ, Protein Metrics, SoftGenetics and nQuery.

LabArchives: Who owns LabArchives?

Dotmatics. The product is branded LabArchives by Dotmatics and shares that company's corporate footprint.

Dotmatics: Do the products work together?

To varying degrees. They were acquired separately and integration across the portfolio is uneven, so verify the specific pair you care about before assuming it.

LabArchives: Is there really a free tier?

Yes, with limited storage. It is suitable for trialling or a single researcher, not for a group that needs retention guarantees.

Dotmatics: Is enterprise pricing published?

No. The informatics platform is quoted per user per year with modules and services scoped separately.

LabArchives: Can we export everything if we leave?

Yes, notebooks export in bulk, but exported archives lose much of the interactive structure, so treat the export as an archive rather than as a migration path into another ELN.

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