Every overview, review, comparison and buyer’s guide on Lab Software Guide follows the same process. This page explains what we look at, where our information comes from, what we do not do, and how to read our verdicts.
1. What we cover
We cover laboratory informatics software used in regulated and research environments: LIMS, ELN, SDMS, CDS, LES and adjacent tools (inventory, sample tracking, QMS integrations). We cover vendors of all sizes, from open-source projects to enterprise suites, and coverage is never limited to vendors we have spoken with.
2. Overviews and reviews: what’s the difference
We publish two types of vendor articles, and each is clearly labelled:
- Overviews describe a product from its documentation, published information and user feedback. They help you understand what a product is, who it is for and how it compares, without hands-on testing.
- Reviews add our own hands-on experience of the software (demo environment, trial or guided session with the vendor) to that research. We only call an article a review when we have actually used the product.
3. Where the information comes from
Sources are used in this order of priority, and each article lists the sources it relied on:
- Primary vendor documentation: product pages, technical documentation, release notes, published pricing, validation and compliance statements, and press releases or public filings (for acquisitions, rebrands, funding).
- Regulatory texts: FDA 21 CFR Part 11, EU GMP Annex 11, ISO/IEC 17025, ALCOA+ guidance, GAMP 5, cited from the issuing body rather than from vendor summaries.
- Verified user reviews: G2, Capterra and Software Advice, read in full rather than as aggregate scores. We look for patterns that recur across reviews, not isolated opinions.
- Industry and analyst sources: trade press, analyst notes, conference material and peer-reviewed publications where they exist.
- Direct vendor contact: demos, briefings and conversations with vendor teams, including at trade shows such as Forum LABO in Paris and Lyon. Vendors may correct factual errors, but they do not review or approve our verdicts before publication.
Vendor marketing claims are reported as claims (“the vendor states…”) unless we could confirm them from an independent source.
4. What we assess
Each overview, review and comparison covers the same dimensions so that readers can compare like with like:
| Dimension | What we look at |
|---|---|
| Fit and positioning | Lab types, sizes and industries the product is actually designed for |
| Core capabilities | Sample management, workflows, instrument integration, reporting, ELN/LIMS convergence |
| Compliance readiness | Audit trail, e-signatures, validation support, hosting and data-residency options |
| Deployment and implementation | Cloud or on-premise options, typical timelines, configuration vs customisation |
| Pricing and total cost | Published pricing, licensing model, implementation and validation costs, hidden fees |
| Support and ecosystem | Documentation, training, partner network, release cadence |
| Weaknesses and trade-offs | What users complain about, what the product does not do |
We do not produce a single numerical score. Lab software choices depend too heavily on lab type, regulatory context and size for a single number to be meaningful. Where we use rating tables, the criteria and their weighting are shown in the article.
5. What we do not do
- We do not accept payment for inclusion, placement or a favourable verdict in independent content.
- We do not present an overview as a hands-on review. If we have not used the software, the article says so.
- We do not publish pricing figures we could not source. Estimates are labelled as estimates, with their source.
- We do not paraphrase or republish vendor content as editorial content.
6. Sponsored content and partnerships
Lab Software Guide offers partnership formats to software vendors (see Partnerships). Any sponsored content is labelled “Sponsored” at the top of the page, is excluded from our comparisons and rankings, and is never presented as an independent overview or review. A partnership has no influence on how a vendor is covered elsewhere on the site.
7. Updates and corrections
Every article shows its publication date and last-updated date. We re-check vendor names, ownership, product status and pricing at least every 6 months and after major market events, such as Labguru and Titian Software combining under the Cenevo name, or Siemens’ acquisition of Dotmatics.
Corrections are made in the article, with a note at the bottom. To report an error: contact@labsoftwareguide.com.
8. Who writes and reviews
Articles are researched and written by Thibaut Desseignes, founder and editor (see About). We use AI tools to help gather and structure source material and to proofread. Every article is fact-checked against its sources, edited and approved by the editor before publication.
Last reviewed: September 2026