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Research · head to head

Greenphire vs REDCap

Greenphire logo

Greenphire

Research

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
REDCap logo

REDCap

Research

Research data capture licensed free to non-profits, and not licensable at all to companies

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.; REDCap a for-profit company cannot hold a licence or self-host REDCap, so a biotech or CRO that liked it at university simply cannot deploy it the same way and must buy a commercially licensed hosted version instead.
  • They diverge on capability: Greenphire covers ClinCard, REDCap covers Form and survey designer.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Greenphire and REDCap actually diverge.

Attributes where Greenphire and REDCap differ
AttributeGreenphireREDCap
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Linux, Windows

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), 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 REDCap

  • Form and survey designer
  • Longitudinal projects
  • Data quality rules
  • Randomisation
  • Audit trail and e-signature
  • API and exports

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 REDCap
  • A decentralised or hybrid trial where participants travel long distances and the sponsor funds flights and accommodationnot REDCap
  • A trial in a population where slow reimbursement drives dropout and same day payment materially helps retentionnot REDCap
  • A sponsor that wants site payment milestones and participant payments handled by one vendor rather than twonot REDCap

REDCap

  • An academic research group at an institution that already runs REDCap, where a new study database costs nothing beyond the time to build itnot Greenphire
  • A hospital collecting patient reported outcomes where data must stay on institutional infrastructure rather than a vendor cloudnot Greenphire
  • An investigator initiated trial that needs randomisation, an audit trail and statistical export without a commercial EDC budgetnot Greenphire
  • A multi site academic collaboration where each site can be given scoped access to a single longitudinal projectnot 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.

REDCap

  • A for-profit company cannot hold a licence or self-host REDCap, so a biotech or CRO that liked it at university simply cannot deploy it the same way and must buy a commercially licensed hosted version instead.
  • Because each institution hosts its own instance, support, uptime, backup and version currency vary by university, and a researcher has no recourse to Vanderbilt when the local instance is two years out of date.
  • It is free of licence fee but not free of cost: the hosting institution carries server, security, patching and support staffing, which is why some institutions charge internal recharges per project.
  • Validation for regulated use is the deploying institution responsibility, so an instance is not Part 11 compliant simply because REDCap supports the features; someone locally has to produce and maintain the evidence.
  • The interface and reporting are dated compared with commercial survey and EDC tools, and complex logic is built through data dictionary spreadsheets rather than a modern visual builder, which slows non technical study teams.

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

REDCap

On request
  • REDCap non-profit licence$undefined/year
    • No licence fee to non-profit and government institutions that join the consortium
    • Institution must install and host it on its own infrastructure
    • For-profit organisations may not hold a licence or self-host

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 REDCap if

  • You need form and survey designer.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Windows.
  • You also want longitudinal projects.
REDCap review

Questions people ask

Is Greenphire or REDCap better?
Neither clearly leads. Greenphire starts at On request and REDCap at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Greenphire or REDCap?
Greenphire starts at On request and REDCap at On request.
Does Greenphire or REDCap run on more platforms?
Greenphire runs on Web, iOS, Android. REDCap runs on Web, Linux, Windows.
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 REDCap is typically brought in for.
What can Greenphire do that REDCap cannot?
Greenphire covers ClinCard, Direct to bank payment, Expense reimbursement, Travel and logistics. REDCap covers Form and survey designer, Longitudinal projects, Data quality rules, Randomisation.

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.

REDCap: Is REDCap really free?

The licence is free to non-profit institutions and government organisations that join the consortium, but they must host and support it themselves, so there is real internal cost.

Greenphire: What is ClinCard?

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

REDCap: Can my company use REDCap?

Not by holding a licence or self-hosting. For-profit organisations must use a separately licensed commercial hosted route.

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.

REDCap: Is REDCap 21 CFR Part 11 compliant?

It has the features to support Part 11 use, but compliance depends on how the hosting institution configures, validates and documents its own instance.

Greenphire: Can it pay participants outside the United States?

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

REDCap: Who supports it?

Your local institutional REDCap administrator, not Vanderbilt. Support quality varies by site.

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