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Research · head to head

Medidata Rave vs Valispace

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
Valispace logo

Valispace

Research

Requirements and systems engineering for hardware teams, with published per-seat pricing

From
$999/year
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.; Valispace the three-seat minimum means a solo consultant or a two-person startup pays for a seat nobody uses, roughly 3,000 US dollars a year before anyone logs in.
  • They diverge on capability: Medidata Rave covers Case report form design, Valispace covers Live requirements.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Medidata Rave and Valispace differ
AttributeMedidata RaveValispace
Starting priceOn request$999/year
Pricing modelquotePer user per year
PlatformsWebWeb, On-premise, API

Identical on both: 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 Medidata Rave

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

Only in Valispace

  • Live requirements
  • Budgets and margins
  • Component tree
  • Verification and validation
  • Python API and Jupyter
  • ValiAssistant
  • SSO and MFA

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

Valispace

  • A small satellite team keeping mass and power budgets live across a design cycle instead of rebuilding spreadsheets before each reviewnot Medidata Rave
  • A drone manufacturer that needs requirement traceability for a certification authority but cannot justify an enterprise requirements databasenot Medidata Rave
  • A university engineering department teaching systems engineering with real traceability under the flat education ratenot Medidata Rave
  • An electronics-heavy hardware startup wanting requirements linked to the PCB design work happening in Altiumnot 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.

Valispace

  • The three-seat minimum means a solo consultant or a two-person startup pays for a seat nobody uses, roughly 3,000 US dollars a year before anyone logs in.
  • Ownership has changed twice in two years, from independent to Altium to Renesas by way of the Altium acquisition, and the technology has been repackaged as the Altium Requirements Portal, so the standalone roadmap is genuinely uncertain.
  • It is not a certified DO-178C or ARP4754 toolchain component in the way established requirements databases are, so highly regulated aerospace programmes may still need a recognised tool alongside it.
  • The parametric model rewards teams who structure their data properly at the start; teams that import a flat requirement list get a slower version of a document tool and none of the budget automation.
  • Integration depth outside the Altium and Jira world is limited, so linking to an existing PLM or a CAD-driven mass properties source usually means writing against the Python API yourself.

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

Valispace

$999/year
  • Valispace$999/year
    • Minimum three users
    • Requirements, components, V&V and analysis modules
    • ValiAssistant AI beta
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • On-premise deployment option
    • Staging servers with controlled update timing
    • Advanced support terms
  • Education$1000/year
    • Flat annual rate for an institution
    • Unlimited students and professors
    • Non-commercial projects only

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 Valispace if

  • You need live requirements.
  • You work on Web, On-premise, API.
  • You also want budgets and margins.
Valispace review

Questions people ask

Is Medidata Rave or Valispace better?
Neither clearly leads. Medidata Rave starts at On request and Valispace at $999/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Medidata Rave or Valispace?
Medidata Rave starts at On request and Valispace at $999/year.
Does Medidata Rave or Valispace run on more platforms?
Medidata Rave runs on Web. Valispace runs on Web, On-premise, API.
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 Valispace is typically brought in for.
What can Medidata Rave do that Valispace cannot?
Medidata Rave covers Case report form design, Edit checks and queries, Part 11 audit trail, Rave Lite. Valispace covers Live requirements, Budgets and margins, Component tree, Verification and validation.

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.

Valispace: Who owns Valispace?

Altium acquired it in December 2023, and Renesas Electronics acquired Altium in 2024. It is therefore a Renesas-owned product, despite frequent reports elsewhere linking it to defence groups.

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.

Valispace: Is it the same thing as the Altium Requirements Portal?

They share a lineage. Requirements Portal is the Altium 365 packaging of Valispace technology. The standalone Valispace product is still sold with its own pricing.

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.

Valispace: What does it actually cost?

999 US dollars per user per year with a minimum of three users, billed annually. Enterprise with on-premise deployment is quoted separately.

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.

Valispace: Can it replace a requirements database like DOORS?

For small and mid-sized hardware programmes, often yes. For programmes with contractual tool mandates, no.

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