CommCare is a mobile data collection platform from Dimagi, widely used by health programmes working with frontline workers and patchy connectivity. Clinical trials add consent, randomization, queries and an audit trail with reasons. Capture covers those in one study.
Free sandbox · No credit card · 21 CFR Part 11 aligned
Tests
5
Hands-on
4
To confirm
1
Capture vs CommCare: 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 wedge
CommCare earned its place in global health because it solves a real problem: collecting structured data in places where connectivity is unreliable and staff are not data managers. Forms run on a phone, data sync when a connection returns, and cases let a worker follow a household or a patient over time. For community health research, surveillance and programme evaluation, it is often the natural tool.
A clinical trial asks for a different set of things on top of capture. Participants are randomised under a defined procedure, consent is documented before any trial activity, site data are queried and corrected on record, and a monitor needs to see what is open. Teams often meet these needs by combining systems, for example mobile data entry that passes data to a separate EDC. That can work, and it has been described in the literature, but each handoff is an interface to build, validate and reconcile, and the audit trail is split across tools. The data integrity principles apply to the whole chain.
Capture keeps those pieces in one place: site-entered EDC data with edit checks, participant questionnaires on their own phones, eConsent with verified signatures and randomization, under one field-level audit trail. If your study is mainly field-based with weak connectivity, ask honestly whether browser-based entry will work at your sites; Capture does not claim offline entry, so test connectivity conditions in the free sandbox before deciding.
Possibly. A programme that already uses a mobile tool for household visits may keep it for that, while the trial participants and clinical data sit in a study system. Define clearly which system is the source for each data point, document the transfer, and keep the number of manual copies to a minimum. For a similar open-source field tool see Capture vs ODK and KoboToolbox.
What to compare
| Criterion | Why it matters | Capture |
|---|---|---|
| Offline use | Work at sites with poor connectivity | Browser-based entry and ePRO; offline entry is not claimed, so test your sites' connectivity in the sandbox |
| Audit trail | Who changed what, when and why | Field-level, append-only, with user, time, old and new value and reason; exportable |
| Randomization | Allocation under a defined procedure | Randomization and kit management in the same study as the data |
| Data checks | Clean data at entry | Range and custom-value edit checks raise auto-queries when a site enters a value that breaks a rule |
| Signatures | Consent and investigator sign-off | Verified eConsent; re-authenticated investigator signatures with a meaning statement |
| Participant questionnaires | Diaries without an app | Questionnaires open from a secure link on the participant's phone, no app to install, with reminders and completion windows |
| Multi-site operation | Several sites on one study | QR-code enrollment, site-level numbering, site coordinator portal, by-site filtering and exports |
| Monitoring | See what is open and overdue | Query management, SDV per field, monitoring dashboard |
| Data export | Analysis-ready datasets and a data dictionary | CSV or Excel with an automatic codebook; SDTM as SAS XPT with Define-XML |
| Commercial model | Budget for a small study | Free sandbox with every feature; no setup fee; pay only when you go live |
This table shows Capture's answers only. Ask CommCare 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
CommCare is often the right choice for community-based programmes, field surveys and case follow-up where workers need to collect data offline on a phone or tablet. Confirm with Dimagi which compliance documentation and plan covers a regulated trial.
Capture fits trials, from Phase 1 to Phase 3, that need EDC, patient-reported data, consent and randomization together and can rely on browser access at sites, with an audit trail covering all of it.
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 your form definitions or describe the forms; Capture's AI drafts the eCRFs for review and nothing is saved until you approve it. Then add edit checks, visit schedule and randomization.
Keep data already collected in its original export, documented, and start new collection in Capture on a defined date. Record the cut-over in the data management plan.
Test the full flow free in the sandbox, including on the devices and networks your sites actually use, before you decide.
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 has been used for data collection in research, including a pilot where tablet entry fed an EDC. Whether it fits your trial depends on randomization, consent, query handling and validation needs. Check with Dimagi against your protocol.
Dimagi describes CommCare as "Part 11-ready", meaning it has the technical features while the study provides procedures, validation and documentation. Confirm the current wording with Dimagi. Capture offers Part 11-aligned controls; compliance is a shared responsibility.
Offline entry is not claimed. Capture runs in the browser, and participants answer questionnaires on their own phone with no app. If your sites have unreliable connectivity, test it in the free sandbox first.
CommCare is a mobile data collection and case management platform. An EDC is built around the trial: eCRFs on locked forms, edit checks, queries, audit trail, monitoring and often randomization and consent.
It can be, for studies where sites have reliable browser access. It is hosted in the EU (Frankfurt) and the USA (N. Virginia). Test usability on your actual devices and networks.
You can, if you define which system is the source for each data point and document the transfer. Fewer handoffs mean fewer reconciliations.
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 CommCare's current offering with them.
Keep exploring
Capture vs ODK and KoboToolbox
Free open-source field data tools.
EDC for Phase 3 clinical trials
Multi-site, regulated trials.
Clinical trial randomization software
Allocation in the same study.
ePRO software for clinical trials
Participant questionnaires on phones.
Capture vs Qualtrics
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Capture vs SurveyMonkey
Online survey tool.
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