LabArchives

Overview

LabArchives is a research software suite for electronic lab notebooks, inventory, and equipment scheduling. It is best suited to research groups that want to manage scientific records alongside lab operations. Its broad feature set is useful for coordinated labs, but may be more than a notebook-only user needs.

Key features

The ELN for Research records, organizes, searches, and shares scientific data. More than 20 built-in widgets and support for custom ones give teams flexibility in structuring records, while integrations with GraphPad Prism, SnapGene, REDCap, Jupyter, and Protocols.io connect the notebook to named research tools.

LabArchives Inventory organizes, tracks, and orders supplies; Scheduler manages equipment and other lab resources. The combined ELN and Inventory plans link reagents to experiments and automatically debit inventory items. That combination is the suite’s clearest advantage for labs that need to connect documentation with materials, though teams needing only one function may prefer a narrower product.

Audit trails, electronic signatures, approval workflows, offline access, and API access support controlled recordkeeping and flexible use. Exports are available as PDF or read-only offline HTML in a ZIP file. LabArchives states that it holds FedRAMP, SOC 2, and ISO 27001 certifications, supports HIPAA and GDPR requirements, and is compliant with 21 CFR Part 11, HIPAA, and NIST 800-171.

Browser access works on Windows, macOS, and Linux. The ELN is optimized for mobile browsers and supports direct image, video, and audio capture; the Android app wraps the browser-based session. This provides mobile capture without a separate native ELN experience being described for iOS. Help Center resources, application support staff, and regular training webinars provide support and instruction.

Pricing

The Free plan costs 0.00 USD per free and includes two owned notebooks, 1GB per user, a 25MB file limit, and SnapGene and GraphPad Prism integrations. It is a practical way to start, but the notebook and storage caps may constrain ongoing work with larger files or multiple projects.

Inventory Free costs 0.00 USD per free for 90 days and includes ELN for Research integration, custom inventory categories, and custom storage locations. Its time limit makes it a short-term evaluation rather than a lasting free inventory option.

ELN for Education costs 25.00 USD per contact, billed per student per term, and adds course management tools. It is tailored to teaching contexts rather than a general per-user research subscription.

Inventory Academic and Inventory Corporate each cost 99.00 USD per year and 199.00 USD per year, respectively, per user. Both include ELN integration, custom categories and locations, and parent/child item relationships. These plans fit teams primarily seeking inventory management; they do not include the combined-plan features of unlimited inventory items, reagent-to-experiment links, and automatic debiting.

Professional Academic costs 330.00 USD per year per user, with unlimited owned notebooks, 100GB per user, a 250MB file limit, and NIH Data Management Mandates and Sharing support. It is the step up for academic researchers whose projects exceed the Free plan’s storage, file, or notebook limits. Professional Corporate costs 575.00 USD per year per user and provides the same stated notebook, storage, file, and NIH support features for corporate users.

ELN + Inventory Academic costs 360.00 USD per year per user; the Corporate version costs 675.00 USD per year per user. Both include the Inventory application, unlimited inventory items, reagent links to experiments, and automatic item debiting. They suit labs that want connected records and stock tracking rather than separate tools.

Enterprise ELN has custom pricing and includes unlimited storage, files up to 16GB, advanced security and usage reports, SAML SSO, a developer API, an uptime guarantee and SLA, and a dedicated success manager. It is aimed at organizations that need enterprise controls and larger file capacity. The professional and combined plans are annual per-user subscriptions; compare the relevant audience, storage, and inventory scope before choosing.

Platforms

LabArchives supports web, Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux, and API access. Browser access on desktop systems and mobile-browser capture broaden where teams can work, while the Android app uses a browser-based session.

Who it's for

LabArchives is a strong fit for academic and commercial research teams that need structured scientific records and may also need inventory or resource scheduling. Education pricing serves course settings, and the Professional plans address users needing more storage and larger file limits than the free tier allows. A user seeking only a basic electronic notebook, or a lab that does not need the suite’s additional operational tools, may find the breadth unnecessary.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Notebook, inventory, and scheduling tools cover related lab workflows in one suite, with combined plans connecting reagents to experiments and inventory use.
• Pro: Professional Academic raises capacity to 100GB per user and 250MB per file, compared with 1GB per user and 25MB per file on Free.
• Pro: Audit trails, signatures, approval workflows, offline access, and PDF or read-only HTML exports support traceable records and offline review.
• Con: Free is capped at two owned notebooks, 1GB per user, and 25MB per file, which limits its suitability for expanding or file-heavy research.
• Con: Inventory Free lasts only 90 days, so continued inventory use requires a paid plan.
• Con: Annual per-user pricing can add up for larger teams, and the paid tiers divide features by audience and product combination.

Alternatives

For a self-hosted option with a free tier, consider LabCollector ELN; its Startup Pack is free for a lifetime and includes three users, 1,000 data records, and one recipe/SOP.

SciNote is another freemium choice, with a free plan for one user and a dedicated workspace, but no guaranteed support; premium plans require a quote.

NETVIBES is a paid product with a free plan and an Enterprise Data Science plan whose price is not published.

Labfolder offers a free plan, with paid pricing dependent on user count and available by quote.

ELabELN may suit teams that prefer unlimited users without per-seat fees; it has no free plan and custom pricing.

eLabFTW is free self-hosted software under AGPLv3, but requires server hosting and administration.

Benchling Notebook offers a free academic plan for academic researchers that includes Notebook and Molecular Biology; industry pricing is customized.

LabKey ELN is another freemium option.

Explore more options in Electronic Lab Notebook Software and Equipment Scheduling Software.

Verdict

Choose LabArchives if your research group needs a structured ELN and values the option to connect it with inventory and equipment scheduling. Its strongest case is the combination of scientific documentation and lab operations, backed by higher-capacity Professional plans and record-control features. Look elsewhere if you need only a simple notebook, want to avoid annual per-user costs, or need a free inventory plan beyond 90 days.