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LabArchives vs Thermo SampleManager LIMS

LabArchives logo

LabArchives

Research

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Thermo SampleManager LIMS logo

Thermo SampleManager LIMS

Research

Enterprise LIMS for regulated QC laboratories, with LES and SDMS in one product

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.; Thermo SampleManager LIMS no pricing is published in any form, and Thermo Fisher routes even basic cost questions through a request for quote, so early stage budget planning is guesswork.
  • They diverge on capability: LabArchives covers Versioned entries, Thermo SampleManager LIMS covers Sample lifecycle management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which LabArchives and Thermo SampleManager LIMS actually diverge.

Attributes where LabArchives and Thermo SampleManager LIMS differ
AttributeLabArchivesThermo SampleManager LIMS
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer user per yearquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Windows, Linux

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 Thermo SampleManager LIMS

  • Sample lifecycle management
  • Specifications and OOS handling
  • Laboratory execution system
  • Scientific data management
  • Stability studies
  • Instrument management
  • Environmental monitoring

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 Thermo SampleManager LIMS
  • A core facility that needs instrument booking and a shared record of who ran what and whennot Thermo SampleManager LIMS
  • A small biotech building patent-defensible evidence of invention with witnessed, timestamped entriesnot Thermo SampleManager LIMS
  • A teaching department running undergraduate laboratory courses where instructors need to see and grade notebook worknot Thermo SampleManager LIMS

Thermo SampleManager LIMS

  • A pharmaceutical QC laboratory that needs enforced method execution and electronic signatures for GMP release testingnot LabArchives
  • A multi site chemical or petrochemical business standardising sample handling and specifications across laboratoriesnot LabArchives
  • A water or environmental testing laboratory with high sample throughput and regulatory reporting obligationsnot LabArchives
  • A laboratory replacing a LIMS plus separate LES and SDMS estate and wanting to retire two integrations along with the old systemnot 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.

Thermo SampleManager LIMS

  • No pricing is published in any form, and Thermo Fisher routes even basic cost questions through a request for quote, so early stage budget planning is guesswork.
  • Implementation is configuration heavy and normally requires Thermo Fisher professional services or a specialist partner, and services costs routinely exceed the licence cost in the first year.
  • Computer system validation is the customer responsibility on top of implementation, so a GMP laboratory carries a validation programme of its own before go live and repeats a subset of it at every upgrade.
  • Cloud hosting is charged as an annual fee scaled to licence count, so seats drive infrastructure cost as well as licence cost and occasional users are expensive twice.
  • The product carries a long codebase history and its configuration model is specialist, which makes in house administrators hard to recruit and creates a dependency on external consultants for changes that would be self service in a newer LIMS.

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

Thermo SampleManager LIMS

On request
  • SampleManager LIMS$undefined/year
    • Quoted through the Thermo Fisher sales team, nothing published
    • Annual hosting fee calculated on the number of licences for cloud deployments
    • Deployment as Thermo managed AWS, on premise, or customer cloud

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 Thermo SampleManager LIMS if

  • You need sample lifecycle management.
  • You work on Web, Windows, Linux.
  • You also want specifications and oos handling.
Thermo SampleManager LIMS review

Questions people ask

Is LabArchives or Thermo SampleManager LIMS better?
Neither clearly leads. LabArchives starts at Free and Thermo SampleManager LIMS at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, LabArchives or Thermo SampleManager LIMS?
LabArchives has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for LabArchives and On request for Thermo SampleManager LIMS.
Does LabArchives or Thermo SampleManager LIMS run on more platforms?
LabArchives runs on Web, iOS, Android. Thermo SampleManager LIMS runs on Web, Windows, Linux.
Can I use LabArchives for free?
Yes. LabArchives has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Thermo SampleManager LIMS 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 Thermo SampleManager LIMS is typically brought in for.
What can LabArchives do that Thermo SampleManager LIMS cannot?
LabArchives covers Versioned entries, Witnessing and signing, Inventory, Scheduler. Thermo SampleManager LIMS covers Sample lifecycle management, Specifications and OOS handling, Laboratory execution system, Scientific data management.

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.

Thermo SampleManager LIMS: Does SampleManager include LES and SDMS?

Yes. Laboratory execution and scientific data management are part of the product rather than separate purchases, which removes two integration projects.

LabArchives: Who owns LabArchives?

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

Thermo SampleManager LIMS: How much does it cost?

Nothing is published. Pricing is quoted, and cloud deployments carry an annual hosting fee based on licence count.

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.

Thermo SampleManager LIMS: Is it validated when I buy it?

Thermo Fisher supplies qualification documentation, but computer system validation of your configured instance remains your responsibility.

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.

Thermo SampleManager LIMS: Can I run it on premise?

Yes. Thermo managed AWS, on premise and customer cloud deployments are all offered.

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