Airtable is a flexible no-code database many teams love. Clinical studies need that flexibility plus fixed controls: locked forms, audit trails, signatures and consent. Capture keeps the no-code build and adds them.
Free sandbox · No credit card · 21 CFR Part 11 aligned
Tests
5
Hands-on
4
To confirm
1
Capture vs Airtable: the short version
0
sales calls needed to start building
1
audit trail across EDC, ePRO, eConsent and randomization
Free
sandbox with every feature, no time limit
EU + US
hosting in Frankfurt or N. Virginia
The comparison
The ability to add a column or change a field type in seconds is what makes no-code databases productive. In a trial, the same ability means the data structure can drift silently during the study, which undermines comparability and makes inspections harder. Trials need changes to be deliberate, approved and recorded.
Capture gives study teams a no-code builder with that discipline: forms move from draft to approved, approved forms are locked for live use, and every data change is recorded with a reason. See how to design an eCRF.
What to compare
| Criterion | Why it matters | Capture |
|---|---|---|
| Form changes | Structure that does not drift | Draft and approved states; approved forms locked; changes recorded |
| Audit trail | Who changed what, when and why | Field-level, append-only, with user, time, old and new value and reason |
| Signatures | Consent and investigator sign-off | Verified eConsent; re-authenticated investigator signatures |
| Identity separation | Minimum necessary access | Names at the site; coded IDs for researchers and sponsors |
| Scheduling | Repeat visits and diaries | Visit anchors, windows and reminders by email or SMS |
| Cost | Budget for small studies | Free sandbox; no setup fee; pay only when you go live |
This table shows Capture's answers only. Ask Airtable for theirs, and confirm current capabilities and terms directly with them.
Compliance controls
Every change is written to an append-only, hash-chained audit trail with user, time, old and new value and reason. Electronic signatures require password re-authentication and carry a meaning statement. Roles separate sites, and identifying data is segregated from study data at the database layer.
Weight changed 68.0 to 68.5 kg
Site coordinator · Reason: Transcription error
Query Q-0014 answered on Weight
Site coordinator · Reason: Source checked
Vital signs form locked
Data manager · Reason: Visit cleaned
Longitudinal studies
Each visit is anchored to screening, a milestone, an earlier visit, a fixed study day or a date recorded on a form, with a window and an enforcement mode. Questionnaires follow the schedule, reminders go out by email or SMS, and the status overview shows every participant against every visit.
Window -3 / +3 days around the anchored target date
Soft window
Stays available with a protocol deviation flag
Hard window
Locks outside the window
Warning only
Stays available with a warning
Auto-close
Marked missed when the window closes
Describe it or upload it, and let the AI draft the questions in the free sandbox.
Fit
Airtable is often a great fit for study operations and tracking: recruitment pipelines, logistics, internal project management. Keep clinical data elsewhere.
Capture fits the clinical data itself, with no-code building and the controls trials require.
Identity and access
Site coordinators see participant names; researchers and sponsor-side users work with coded IDs. Identifying data is segregated at the database layer, sites see only their own participants, and data is encrypted with AES-256 at rest and TLS in transit, hosted in the EU or US.
Site coordinator
Jane Peterson
DOB: 04-Mar-1978
Subject 01-004
Sees direct identifiersResearcher
Subject 01-004
DOB: withheld
Coded ID only
Sees coded ID onlySame record, two roles. Row-level security enforces the split.
Switching
Export the questions from your current tool and upload them, or describe the form; Capture's AI drafts it for your review, and you add codes, edit checks and a schedule. Keep data already collected in its original export, documented, and start new collection from a defined date.
Many teams keep Airtable for operations tracking and move only the clinical data to Capture.
Evaluation
Agreements, access control and hosting checked.
Schedules, windows and reminders needed.
Audit trail with reasons required.
Consent or investigator sign-off needed.
Site separation and roles needed.
Part 11 or GCP expectations apply.
All comparisons
Every comparison uses the same approach: what to test, where each option fits, and Capture's own answers. See all of them on the comparisons hub at /compare.
It is flexible but lacks trial controls such as locked forms, per-field audit trails with reasons and verified signatures by default.
Yes. Studies are built in a visual builder with AI drafting.
Yes. Many teams use Airtable for operations and Capture for clinical data.
Yes. The free sandbox includes every feature with sample data, no credit card and no time limit. You pay only when you go live.
From public positioning and the criteria teams tell us matter. We state only Capture's own capabilities as fact; confirm Airtable's current offering with them.
Build a study in minutes. Free sandbox.