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Research · head to head

Medidata Rave vs OpenClinica

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
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: 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.; 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: Medidata Rave covers Case report form design, 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 Medidata Rave and OpenClinica actually diverge.

Attributes where Medidata Rave and OpenClinica differ
AttributeMedidata RaveOpenClinica
PlatformsWebWeb, 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 Medidata Rave

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

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.

Medidata Rave

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

OpenClinica

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

Where each one falls short

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

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.

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

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

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 Medidata Rave if

  • You need case report form design.
  • You also want edit checks and queries.
Medidata Rave 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 Medidata Rave or OpenClinica better?
Neither clearly leads. Medidata Rave 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, Medidata Rave or OpenClinica?
Medidata Rave starts at On request and OpenClinica at On request.
Does Medidata Rave or OpenClinica run on more platforms?
Medidata Rave runs on Web. OpenClinica runs on Web, Self-hosted, iOS, Android.
What is Medidata Rave best used for?
Medidata Rave is most often used for a sponsor running a registrational phase iii study where inspection readiness and a validated audit trail are non negotiable, a biotech that wants its cro to run data management and benefits from the cro already having rave trained staff and templates, a sponsor standardising forms across a programme so that a global library is reused rather than each study being built from scratch, a device or phase iv study where rave lite gives the same compliance posture at a lower configuration burden. Of those, a sponsor running a registrational phase iii study where inspection readiness and a validated audit trail are non negotiable and a biotech that wants its cro to run data management and benefits from the cro already having rave trained staff and templates are not what OpenClinica is typically brought in for.
What can Medidata Rave do that OpenClinica cannot?
Medidata Rave covers Case report form design, Edit checks and queries, Part 11 audit trail, Rave Lite. OpenClinica covers Open source community edition, Electronic data capture, eConsent, eCOA and ePRO.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Medidata Rave: Who owns Medidata?

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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