SciNote

SciNote is a cloud-based electronic lab notebook that brings experiment records, inventory, protocols, and team management together. It suits research teams that need searchable, shareable lab records and compliance workflows; its free tier is limited to one user, while larger teams need custom-priced Premium plans.

Overview

Work is organized into projects, experiments, and tasks, with notes, files, protocols, and results attached to the work they document. Global search across research data and a project report generator make SciNote more useful than a notebook that simply stores entries: teams can retrieve records across projects and assemble project information for review.

The trade-off is scale. The Free Plan provides a dedicated workspace but only one user, so it is a starting point for an individual rather than a shared lab. Premium supports multiple teams and 1 TB of storage, but requires a quote.

Key features

Records, protocols, and reporting

Protocol and SOP management helps labs keep procedural guidance alongside research work, and protocols can be imported from protocols.io. Full-text and metadata search supports finding records by content as well as descriptive fields. Project reports and exports—in spreadsheet form or as human-readable files with attachments—offer practical ways to take data beyond the notebook.

Compliance and security

SciNote supports 21 CFR Part 11 workflows with electronic signatures, audit trails, timestamps, and user roles and permissions; approval workflows are also supported. These controls make it a candidate for regulated lab processes, though suitability depends on the lab’s own compliance requirements. Its Trust Center lists ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2 among its compliance materials.

Integrations and mobile access

A RESTful API and integrations including Ganymede, Quartzy, protocols.io, Gilson Connect, ChemAxon Marvin, Microsoft Office, and Zebra label printers give teams ways to connect SciNote with lab and office tools. Android and iOS apps support viewing and completing protocol steps, commenting, uploading files, and posting results. That makes mobile access useful for recording work away from a desktop, while keeping the app focused on protocol and record tasks.

Pricing

SciNote uses a freemium model, with a Free Plan and Premium plans. The Free Plan costs nothing and includes one user and a dedicated workspace. It is a meaningful no-cost option for an individual, but the seat cap rules it out as a shared team notebook; free customers also have no guaranteed support services.

Premium plans have custom pricing and can be deployed in the cloud or locally. They support multiple teams, include 1 TB of storage, and provide Premium support. Teams weighing this tier will need a quote to judge its cost against their size and deployment needs.

A Premium free trial lasts 14 days and has no uptime guarantee. That is enough time to assess fit, but organizations evaluating it should not treat the trial as a service with guaranteed availability.

Platforms

SciNote is available on the web and through Android and iOS apps, offers an API, and can be self-hosted. Local installation gives organizations a deployment option outside the cloud, but requires internal staff to handle deployment, maintenance, and updates. It is therefore a better fit for labs with that operational capacity than for teams seeking a managed local installation.

Who it's for

SciNote is best suited to research organizations that want experiments, protocols, results, and compliance records in one searchable system, especially teams that can budget for Premium and need multiple teams or local deployment. An individual researcher can start on the free tier. Labs that need multiple users without a custom-priced plan, or cannot support local installation themselves, should compare alternatives.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Research records, protocols, reporting, and global search sit in one platform, helping teams keep work organized and retrievable.
• Pros: Electronic signatures, audit trails, timestamps, roles, and approval workflows support controlled lab processes.
• Pros: Mobile protocol and record actions, API access, and named integrations support work across devices and connected tools.
• Cons: The free tier has one user, so it does not serve a team without moving to Premium.
• Cons: Premium requires a quote, making price comparison less direct.
• Cons: Local deployment depends on internal staff for setup, maintenance, and updates.
• Cons: Free customers have no guaranteed support, and the 14-day Premium trial has no uptime guarantee.

Alternatives

For a different lab notebook option, compare the Electronic Lab Notebook Software category. If organizing research work is the priority, the Research Project Management Software category is another place to compare tools.

• Labforward is worth considering for a free group notebook: its Basic plan is free for up to 3 group members and 3 GB of cloud storage, with Labfolder Go mobile access but no Labfolder integration.
• SiteVault CTMS may suit clinical research teams: its free plan supports 20 concurrent active studies, with no stated count limit for archived studies, documents, and users, plus free support and onboarding.
• Lab Thread offers an academic free plan with 5 seats and 10 GB per seat; its Core academic plan costs €30 a month billed per seat/month, with €300 billed annually.
• Sapio Sciences has a free Sapio Academic Bronze plan for users with an academic institution email; non-academic users must request more details.
• Benchling Notebook offers an academic plan free for academic researchers, including Notebook and Molecular Biology.
• Trial Interactive CTMS is a paid CTMS alternative.
• Medidata CTMS is a paid CTMS alternative with pricing available by contacting a specialist.
• Clinion CTMS is a paid CTMS alternative.

Verdict

Choose SciNote if your lab needs a searchable electronic notebook that combines protocols, reporting, mobile record work, and compliance controls. Its central advantage is bringing these lab workflows together; its chief constraints are the one-user free tier and the staffing or budget needed for Premium. Look elsewhere if your team needs shared access at no cost or cannot support local deployment.