Qualtrics is excellent for surveys. Clinical studies need more: participants followed over visits, consent with verified signatures, site data, edit checks and a field-level audit trail. Capture is built for that.
Free sandbox · No credit card · 21 CFR Part 11 aligned
Tests
5
Hands-on
4
To confirm
1
Capture vs Qualtrics: 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
A survey asks many people questions and analyses the answers together. A clinical study follows individuals over time, links their answers to clinical data entered by staff, and must show who entered and changed each value. Survey platforms are optimised for the first; clinical data platforms for the second.
If your project involves repeat visits, randomization, adverse events or data that may support a regulatory decision, a survey platform will need workarounds that a study platform provides natively. See REDCap vs Qualtrics for the academic comparison.
What to compare
| Criterion | Why it matters | Capture |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduling | Repeat visits and diaries | Visit anchors, windows and reminders by email or SMS |
| 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 |
| Site data | Clinical data entered by staff | EDC forms with edit checks, SDV and queries |
| Randomization | Allocation and blinding | Stratified randomization with blinded roles |
| Cost | Budget for small studies | Free sandbox; no setup fee; pay only when you go live |
This table shows Capture's answers only. Ask Qualtrics 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
Qualtrics is often the best choice for one-off surveys, large distributions, panels and advanced survey analytics, including in research that is not a clinical trial.
Capture fits studies that follow participants over time, combine questionnaires with site data, need consent and randomization, or must meet Part 11 expectations.
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.
Record the switch in the study documentation so the dataset's history is clear to reviewers.
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 a survey platform. For regulated trial data, check audit trail, signatures, access control and validation evidence carefully, or use a clinical study platform.
For clinical studies with visits, site data, consent and randomization, yes.
Upload an export of the survey or describe it, and the AI drafts the questionnaire for your review.
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 Qualtrics's current offering with them.
Build a study in minutes. Free sandbox.