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Research · head to head

LabArchives vs Medidata Rave

LabArchives logo

LabArchives

Research

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Medidata Rave logo

Medidata Rave

Research

Electronic data capture for regulated clinical trials, sold only through a sales process

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only LabArchives has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Medidata Rave no pricing is published at all, so a first time sponsor cannot budget a study without entering a sales process and usually cannot benchmark the quote against anything.
  • They diverge on capability: LabArchives covers Versioned entries, Medidata Rave covers Case report form design.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which LabArchives and Medidata Rave actually diverge.

Attributes where LabArchives and Medidata Rave differ
AttributeLabArchivesMedidata Rave
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer user per yearquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb

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 LabArchives

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

Only in Medidata Rave

  • Case report form design
  • Edit checks and queries
  • Part 11 audit trail
  • Rave Lite
  • Coding and safety
  • Platform integrations

What people use each for

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

LabArchives

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

Medidata Rave

  • A sponsor running a registrational Phase III study where inspection readiness and a validated audit trail are non negotiablenot LabArchives
  • A biotech that wants its CRO to run data management and benefits from the CRO already having Rave trained staff and templatesnot LabArchives
  • A sponsor standardising forms across a programme so that a global library is reused rather than each study being built from scratchnot LabArchives
  • A device or Phase IV study where Rave Lite gives the same compliance posture at a lower configuration burdennot LabArchives

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Medidata Rave

  • No pricing is published at all, so a first time sponsor cannot budget a study without entering a sales process and usually cannot benchmark the quote against anything.
  • Cost is dominated by study build rather than licence, and every protocol amendment that changes a form triggers billable rework, so a study with unstable protocols costs far more than the initial quote implied.
  • Configuration requires trained specialists, so most sponsors cannot build a study in house and are dependent on Medidata professional services or a CRO, which lengthens startup.
  • The system assumes a professional clinical data management function; a small sponsor without data managers will not operate it directly and will pay a CRO to do so.
  • Deep use of the wider Medidata platform for randomisation, imaging and patient reported data creates commercial lock in, because moving EDC later means unpicking integrations that were bought as one bundle.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Medidata Rave

On request
  • Medidata Rave EDC$undefined/year
    • Priced per study through a sales process
    • Study build and configuration charged separately from licence
    • Mid study amendments generally billable

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Medidata Rave if

  • You need case report form design.
  • You also want edit checks and queries.
Medidata Rave review

Questions people ask

Is LabArchives or Medidata Rave better?
Neither clearly leads. LabArchives starts at Free and Medidata Rave at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, LabArchives or Medidata Rave?
LabArchives has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for LabArchives and On request for Medidata Rave.
Does LabArchives or Medidata Rave run on more platforms?
LabArchives runs on Web, iOS, Android. Medidata Rave runs on Web.
Can I use LabArchives for free?
Yes. LabArchives has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Medidata Rave starts at On request.
What is LabArchives best used for?
LabArchives is most often used for a university group that must keep research records after a phd student leaves, rather than losing them with a laptop, a core facility that needs instrument booking and a shared record of who ran what and when, a small biotech building patent-defensible evidence of invention with witnessed, timestamped entries, a teaching department running undergraduate laboratory courses where instructors need to see and grade notebook work. Of those, a university group that must keep research records after a phd student leaves, rather than losing them with a laptop and a core facility that needs instrument booking and a shared record of who ran what and when are not what Medidata Rave is typically brought in for.
What can LabArchives do that Medidata Rave cannot?
LabArchives covers Versioned entries, Witnessing and signing, Inventory, Scheduler. Medidata Rave covers Case report form design, Edit checks and queries, Part 11 audit trail, Rave Lite.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Medidata Rave: Who owns Medidata?

Dassault Systemes, which acquired Medidata in 2019. Rave is sold as part of the Dassault life sciences portfolio.

LabArchives: Who owns LabArchives?

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

Medidata Rave: How is Rave priced?

Per study, through a sales process. Nothing is published, and study build and amendments are charged separately from the licence.

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.

Medidata Rave: Is Rave validated out of the box?

Medidata supplies validation and qualification documentation, but the sponsor still owns study level user acceptance testing and its own validation evidence.

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.

Medidata Rave: What is Rave Lite for?

Lower complexity studies, typically Phase I, Phase IV and medical device, where a full study build is not justified.

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