eLabFTW
Electronic lab notebook (ELN) software
Laboratory software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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€470 per 90-minute training session
Free Trial unavailable
Free version
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- Arts, entertainment, and recreation
- Public sector and nonprofit organizations
- Education and training
What is eLabFTW
eLabFTW is an electronic lab notebook (ELN) and lightweight lab management system used to document experiments, manage protocols, and track laboratory inventory. It is used by academic and research labs that need a self-hosted, web-based system for recording work and organizing lab resources. The product emphasizes on-premises deployment, user and group permissions, and features such as templates, tagging, and audit-friendly record keeping. It is distributed as open-source software with optional paid hosting and support offerings from a commercial entity.
Open-source and self-hostable
eLabFTW is available under an open-source license and can be deployed on-premises, which can help organizations that require local control over data and infrastructure. It commonly supports containerized deployment (e.g., Docker), which can simplify installation and upgrades for teams with IT support. This model can reduce vendor lock-in compared with ELNs that require proprietary cloud hosting.
ELN plus basic lab management
In addition to experiment documentation, eLabFTW includes modules for inventory, protocols, and equipment/resource tracking, allowing small-to-mid labs to consolidate common workflows. It supports structured organization via templates, tags, and links between records, which helps with traceability across experiments and materials. This breadth can cover core needs without adopting a full LIMS suite.
Permissions and audit-oriented features
The product includes user management and permissions that support multi-user lab environments and separation of projects or groups. It provides mechanisms intended to support record integrity (e.g., time-stamped entries and change tracking features), which can be relevant for regulated or quality-conscious environments. These controls align with common expectations for ELN governance relative to simpler wiki-style documentation.
Limited enterprise LIMS depth
eLabFTW focuses on ELN and basic lab operations rather than end-to-end LIMS capabilities such as complex sample lifecycle management, instrument integrations, and advanced workflow automation. Organizations needing multi-site governance, extensive configuration, or validated enterprise deployments may find gaps compared with larger LIMS/ELN platforms. As requirements grow, teams may need additional systems or custom development.
Integration ecosystem is smaller
Compared with platforms that provide extensive prebuilt connectors and partner marketplaces, eLabFTW typically relies more on APIs, community tooling, or custom integration work. This can increase implementation effort when connecting to identity providers, instruments, data platforms, or downstream analytics systems. Integration feasibility often depends on internal technical resources.
Support model varies by deployment
As an open-source product, the level of support can depend on whether a lab uses community resources or a paid support/hosting provider. Self-hosted deployments require internal ownership for upgrades, backups, monitoring, and security hardening. Organizations without dedicated IT support may prefer a fully managed ELN with formal SLAs.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted (AGPLv3) | Free | Open-source software released under AGPLv3; install and run on your own servers; all features available with no license fees. |
| PRO Hosting 32 (Deltablot) | €3,200 per year | Hosted instance limited to 32 active users; 320 GB+ storage; includes PRO Support; eIDAS qualified timestamping; ISO certifications; hosting regions EU/USA/ASIA. |
| PRO Hosting Plus (Deltablot) | €4,985 per year | ~128 active users; 500 GB+ storage; includes PRO Support; eIDAS qualified timestamping; ISO certifications; hosting regions EU/USA/ASIA. |
| PRO Hosting Universe (Deltablot) | €7,900 per year | ~1024 active users; 1 TB+ storage; includes PRO Support; suitable for large institutions. |
| PRO Hosting SecNumCloud (Deltablot) | €8,700 per year | SecNumCloud-qualified hosting in Paris, France; encryption at rest; includes PRO Support; additional French certifications (HDS, ISO 27001/27017/27018). |
| PRO Support (Deltablot) | €3,000 per year | Level 2 & 3 email and virtual meeting support, assisted upgrades, 90-minute training webinar, eIDAS-qualified timestamping, access to training instance. |
| Training Session (Deltablot) | €470 per session | 90-minute webinar (available in French, German, English); recording provided. |
| Custom Development | Contact for pricing | Custom feature development; price not listed on official page; contact vendor. |
