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STARLIMS vs Valispace

STARLIMS logo

STARLIMS

Research

Laboratory information management from Abbott for regulated and public health labs

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: STARLIMS implementation is lengthy and outcome quality depends heavily on the partner doing the configuration; 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: STARLIMS covers Sample and specimen management, Valispace covers Live requirements.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which STARLIMS and Valispace actually diverge.

Attributes where STARLIMS and Valispace differ
AttributeSTARLIMSValispace
Starting priceOn request$999/year
Pricing modelquotePer user per year
PlatformsWeb, Windows, Cloud, On-premiseWeb, 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 STARLIMS

  • Sample and specimen management
  • Quality management
  • Instrument integration
  • Public health reporting
  • Regulatory compliance
  • Web and mobile access

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.

STARLIMS

  • Public health laboratories handling surveillance and outbreak investigationnot Valispace
  • Clinical laboratories needing regulated specimen tracking and reportingnot Valispace
  • Food safety and environmental testing laboratoriesnot Valispace
  • Multi-site laboratory networks standardising methods and specificationsnot Valispace

Valispace

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

Where each one falls short

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

STARLIMS

  • Implementation is lengthy and outcome quality depends heavily on the partner doing the configuration
  • Pricing is quote-based with no public reference, making early budget setting difficult
  • The breadth across laboratory types means some verticals get less development attention than others
  • Interface modernisation has lagged behind newer cloud-native laboratory platforms
  • Over-specified for small laboratories, where a lighter LIMS delivers most of the value for a fraction of the effort

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

STARLIMS

On request
  • STARLIMS$undefined/year
    • Sample management
    • Quality management
    • Instrument integration

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 STARLIMS if

  • You need sample and specimen management.
  • You work on Web, Windows, Cloud, On-premise.
  • You also want quality management.
STARLIMS 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 STARLIMS or Valispace better?
Neither clearly leads. STARLIMS 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, STARLIMS or Valispace?
STARLIMS starts at On request and Valispace at $999/year.
Does STARLIMS or Valispace run on more platforms?
STARLIMS runs on Web, Windows, Cloud, On-premise. Valispace runs on Web, On-premise, API.
What is STARLIMS best used for?
STARLIMS is most often used for public health laboratories handling surveillance and outbreak investigation, clinical laboratories needing regulated specimen tracking and reporting, food safety and environmental testing laboratories, multi-site laboratory networks standardising methods and specifications. Of those, public health laboratories handling surveillance and outbreak investigation and clinical laboratories needing regulated specimen tracking and reporting are not what Valispace is typically brought in for.
What can STARLIMS do that Valispace cannot?
STARLIMS covers Sample and specimen management, Quality management, Instrument integration, Public health reporting. Valispace covers Live requirements, Budgets and margins, Component tree, Verification and validation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

STARLIMS: Who owns STARLIMS?

Abbott. That gives it institutional weight in laboratory procurement and a natural relationship with Abbott diagnostic instruments.

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.

STARLIMS: Where is it strongest?

Public health and clinical laboratories. Surveillance reporting, outbreak investigation and unpredictable specimen surges are different problems from pharmaceutical QC, and it handles them well.

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.

STARLIMS: What does it cost?

Not published. Enterprise licensing plus implementation, quoted on laboratory count, users and modules.

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.

STARLIMS: How does it compare to LabWare?

Both are enterprise LIMS with regulatory depth. LabWare is more dominant in pharmaceutical QC; STARLIMS has more presence in public health and clinical. Implementation partner quality matters more than the platform difference.

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.

STARLIMS: What decides a successful implementation?

Configuration and validation quality, not platform features. Evaluations that compare feature lists rather than implementation approach are asking the wrong question.

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