A research-first lab notebook, connected to your data
SciNote vs. Conspecta
A feature-by-feature comparison.
SciNote is an open-source electronic lab notebook with a protocol repository, inventory, and compliance features like 21 CFR Part 11, available freemium, self-hosted, or on paid team tiers. Conspecta's notebook connects to your imaging, flow, samples, and figures, with image analysis and flow cytometry built into the same platform, focused on the research workflow, free for you and one collaborator.
| Capability | Conspecta | SciNote |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on | Any browser. Nothing to install. | Any browser, hosted by SciNote or on your own server. |
| Price | Free for you and one collaborator. Academic teams pay a flat per-lab rate. | Free plan, with paid team tiers priced per user. |
| Notebook editor | Block editor with headings, checklists, tables, images, and side-by-side columns; protocols with steps, safety notes, day breaks, and capture fields. | Experiments broken into tasks, each with rich text, tables, checklists, and attachments. |
| Protocols | Versioned protocol pages; each run freezes the version it followed and records what it consumed and produced. | A protocol repository with versions, linked into tasks and to protocols.io. |
| Working together | Two people typing in one page at once, comments on a block, mentions, and sign-offs with request-changes. | Comments, mentions, task assignment, and e-signatures. |
| Version history | Save a version as major, minor, or patch; compare any two, restore one, or withdraw one with a reason. | Protocol versions, and an activity log of every change. |
| What a page links to | Samples, images, flow plots, data tables, and figures in the same project, embedded in the page. | Inventory items and protocols linked to the task; results attached as files. |
| Image and flow analysis | Cell detection, counting, intensity, area coverage, and colocalization for images; gating, compensation, UMAP, t-SNE, and clustering for flow. | Not available. |
| Samples and inventory | Sixteen sample types with storage location, status, and history, plus reagent inventory with stock, lots, and ordering. | Inventories with custom columns and stock levels. |
| Regulated-lab features | Sign-offs and version history on every page. 21 CFR Part 11 work is quoted with a Business plan. | E-signatures and audit trails for 21 CFR Part 11 work. |
| Export formats | A page as PDF, Word, or Markdown, one at a time or as a batch. | Reports as PDF or Word; a project as a ZIP archive. |
How the workflows differ
Why labs look for a SciNote alternative
SciNote leans toward compliance and documentation, and for regulated work that focus is exactly the point. For a research-first lab, it's more paperwork than the day calls for, and the notebook still connects only to text, protocols, and attachments. The images, the flow data, and the figures live in other tools, so the record holds a description of the analysis rather than the analysis itself.
A notebook connected to the analysis it describes
In Conspecta, a note links to the actual images, flow runs, samples, and figures it's about, and the image analysis and flow cytometry run in the same platform. You don't attach an exported plot to a protocol, you link the protocol to the analysis that produced it. The notebook holds the work, not a copy of it.
The work and its record in one place
The clearest difference is that the record and the work aren't separate. A sample links to the notes that describe it and the analysis that used it, so a protocol, the flow run it applied to, and the figure that came out of it sit together. There's less copying between tools, and less chance the notebook drifts out of date as the data changes.
In practice that means fewer stale attachments. You aren't re-exporting a result every time you update it and swapping the file into the notebook, so the record stays in step with the experiment.
What switching actually looks like
Moving over is mostly a one-time step. You start writing in the block editor and linking notes to the samples and analysis they describe, with nothing to install. Your notebook and data export in open formats, so records are never locked in. If regulated documentation is central to your lab today, SciNote covers that ground, and it's fine to keep it there while using Conspecta for the connected research workflow.
SciNote vs. Conspecta: the bottom line
Switch to Conspecta if
- You want your notebook connected to the images, flow, samples, and figures it describes
- You want image analysis and flow cytometry in the same platform as your notes
- You want a fast, modern block editor with real-time collaboration
- Your work is research-first and compliance paperwork isn't the priority
- You want a notebook free for you and one collaborator
Stay on SciNote if
- You need 21 CFR Part 11 features out of the box rather than quoted with a Business plan
- You require a self-hosted, open-source notebook on your own servers
- Your lab is already standardized on SciNote and a migration isn't worth it right now
- Audit trails and regulated-workflow documentation come before connected analysis
Or read the lab notebook guide.
SciNote and all other product names and trademarks on this page belong to their respective owners. Conspecta is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by them. This comparison is written by Conspecta, and we have tried to be fair, including where SciNote does things we do not. Pricing, packaging, and feature details about SciNote were last checked in July 2026 and may have changed since. Check their site for current details.
Try a research-first notebook
Write protocols connected to your samples and analysis. Free for you and one collaborator.