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Best Research Administration Software in 2026

Research administration software can help institutions manage work across proposals, grants, awards, and agreements. Compared on proposal management, grant lifecycle, award management, and agreement management, these entries also show budget tracking, compliance workflows, and API access. Free-plan availability and paid-from pricing offer additional points to consider. InfoEd Global, Kuali Curriculum Management, and OneRamp ERA Suite are among the options, alongside Pure Award Management and Cayuse Award Management. Compare the listed capabilities with the stages your team needs to manage and the systems or workflows with which the software may need to work.

  1. 1

    OpenClinica

    Free plan Open source AndroidAPIiPhone+5

    OpenClinica covers multiple clinical study workflows, with a free Community Edition and paid plans with stated limits.

    8.8 30-day trial Visit site
  2. 2

    Web of Science

    Free plan AndroidAPIiPhone+1

    Web of Science brings a wide range of research content and discovery tools into one platform.

    7.0 Pricing on request Visit site
  3. 3

    Advarra OnCore

    Paid APIWeb

    OnCore brings clinical research operations and financial workflows together, with integrations and specialized modules for larger research programs.

    5.8 Pricing on request Visit site
  4. 4

    Cayuse Award Management

    Paid APIWeb

    Cayuse Award Management covers funding discovery, submissions, award administration, and reporting in one cloud-based suite. Prospective customers need to request pricing information.

    5.8 Pricing on request Visit site
  5. 5

    InfoEd Global

    Paid APISelf-hostedWeb+1

    InfoEd Global covers a broad set of research administration workflows, with grant development and funding-opportunity discovery among its described capabilities.

    5.8 Pricing on request Visit site
  6. 6

    Fibi Research Administration Software

    Paid Self-hostedWeb

    Fibi brings grant, compliance, and agreement administration together for research organizations, with integrations and a choice of hosting model.

    5.6 Pricing on request Visit site
  7. 7

    OmniStar Grants

    Paid AndroidAPIiPhone+1

    OmniStar Grants covers grant workflows from application intake through award administration and post-award reporting, with configurable reporting and listed integrations.

    5.6 Pricing on request Visit site
  8. 8

    CommunityForce

    Paid Web

    CommunityForce brings application, review, award, and post-award work into one platform, with reporting and funding discovery tools.

    5.5 Pricing on request Visit site
  9. 9

    OneRamp ERA Suite

    Paid AndroidiPhoneWeb

    OneRamp brings research administration workflows, compliance modules, reporting, and reminders into a single portal.

    5.4 Pricing on request Visit site
  10. 10

    Clinion CTMS

    Paid Web

    Consider Clinion CTMS if your trial team needs centralized milestone, deviation, document, and financial workflows.

    5.3 Pricing on request Visit site
  11. 11

    eProtocol

    Paid Self-hostedWeb

    eProtocol brings protocol compliance, animal research administration, and grant workflows together for research organizations.

    5.3 Pricing on request Visit site
  12. 12

    Infonetica Research Flow

    Paid Web

    Research Flow brings multiple research administration stages into a single configurable platform.

    5.3 Pricing on request Visit site
  13. 13

    ResearchMaster Enterprise

    Paid APISelf-hostedWeb

    ResearchMaster Enterprise brings multiple parts of organisation-wide research administration into one configurable suite.

    5.3 Pricing on request Visit site
  14. 14

    Workday Expenses

    Paid AndroidAPIiPhone+1
    5.3 Pricing on request Visit site
  15. 15

    GrantsNow

    Paid Web

    GrantsNow brings proposal, award, ethics, due diligence, and contract workflows together for research institutions. A free demo is available, but product pricing is provided on request.

    5.1 Pricing on request Visit site
  16. 16

    Insight

    Paid APIWeb

    Insight brings research administration, compliance, finance, and innovation workflows into one configurable platform.

    5.1 Pricing on request Visit site
  17. 17

    Streamlyne Research

    Paid Web

    Choose Streamlyne Research if your institution needs proposal, award, compliance, and reporting workflows in one modular eRA suite.

    5.0 Pricing on request Visit site
  18. 18

    Pure Award Management

    Paid APIWeb

    Pure Award Management covers multiple stages of institutional research funding, from finding opportunities to reporting outcomes. Organizations should contact Elsevier for pricing and a demonstration.

    4.9 Pricing on request Visit site
  19. 19

    Kuali Research

    Paid
    4.1 Pricing on request Visit site
  20. 20

    Worktribe Research

    Paid Web
    3.9 Pricing on request Visit site

#1Places #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 on this list can be bought by the makers of the software on it. See the price

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