Softwr

Research · head to head

Greenphire vs LabArchives

Greenphire logo

Greenphire

Research

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

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: 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.; 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: Greenphire covers ClinCard, LabArchives covers Versioned entries.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Greenphire and LabArchives actually diverge.

Attributes where Greenphire and LabArchives differ
AttributeGreenphireLabArchives
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotePer user per year
Free tierNoYes

Identical on both: platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 Greenphire

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

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.

Greenphire

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

LabArchives

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

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

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

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 Greenphire if

  • You need clincard.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want direct to bank payment.
Greenphire 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 Greenphire or LabArchives better?
Neither clearly leads. Greenphire 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, Greenphire or LabArchives?
LabArchives has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Greenphire and Free for LabArchives.
Does Greenphire or LabArchives run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use LabArchives for free?
Yes. LabArchives has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Greenphire starts at On request.
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 LabArchives is typically brought in for.
What can Greenphire do that LabArchives cannot?
Greenphire covers ClinCard, Direct to bank payment, Expense reimbursement, Travel and logistics. LabArchives covers Versioned entries, Witnessing and signing, Inventory, Scheduler.

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.

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.

Greenphire: What is ClinCard?

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

LabArchives: Who owns LabArchives?

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

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.

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.

Greenphire: Can it pay participants outside the United States?

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

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.

Share

Related pages

More on Greenphire

More on LabArchives

Keep looking

Other head to heads