Large endpoint technology providers serve large global programmes well. Smaller sponsors, academic teams and CROs often want something they can build themselves, with ePRO in the same system as EDC. Here is what to compare and where Capture fits.
Free sandbox · No credit card · 21 CFR Part 11 aligned
At-risk participants
The short version
Why teams compare
Full-service eCOA providers typically design, build, translate and support questionnaires for you, often on provisioned devices, which suits large global trials with many licensed instruments. For a 60-participant Phase 2 study or an academic trial, that model can mean longer timelines and costs that are hard to justify, plus a separate system to reconcile with the EDC.
A unified platform takes a different approach: your team builds the questionnaires, participants answer on their own phones, and the answers land in the same study database and audit trail as site data. See best ePRO software for a vendor-neutral guide to the categories.
If your trial relies on centralised ECG reading or imaging core labs, those remain specialist services. A unified EDC and ePRO platform can hold the results you receive from them, but it is not a replacement for the reading service itself.
Evening diary
Question 3 of 8
How would you rate your fatigue today?
0 = no fatigue, 10 = worst imaginable
Criteria
| Criterion | Why it matters | Capture |
|---|---|---|
| Device model | BYOD lowers cost and friction; provisioned devices control the environment | Browser-based BYOD with no app; clinic devices supported |
| Build ownership | Who builds and amends questionnaires, and how fast | Your team, in a visual builder; AI drafts from a description or file |
| Licensed instruments | Licence tracking and faithful migration | Licence number, holder and expiry per form; collection blocked if lapsed |
| Scheduling and reminders | Compliance depends on them | Visit-based or recurring; reminders when due, next day and before the window closes |
| EDC integration | Two systems need reconciliation | ePRO, EDC and eConsent in one study |
| Cost and set-up | Small studies cannot absorb large set-up fees | Free sandbox; pay when you go live |
Capture ePRO
Participants open a secure link on their own phone with no app to install. Diaries and questionnaires follow the schedule with windows and reminders that respect quiet hours, and compliance is visible by study, country and site, with at-risk participants flagged.
From: Capture.Study · Sleep and Recovery Study
Your questionnaire is ready
Hi Anna, your evening diary is open until midnight. Tap the button to start. The link signs you in, no password needed.
Open my tasksQuestions? Reply to reach your study site.
My tasks
Evening diary
Due tonight
Week 4 questionnaire
Opens Monday
Free sandbox with every feature, no credit card.
Switching
Licensed instruments cannot simply be copied between systems. The licence holder usually needs to approve the electronic version, and migration from one electronic format to another may need a check that the questions look and behave the same. Plan time for that, especially for instruments with many translations.
For ongoing studies, switching mid-study is rarely worth the risk; new studies are the natural point to change. See how to switch EDC vendors mid-study for the trade-offs.
Evaluating a shortlist
Not a vendor-prepared demo.
From a link, on the device participants will use.
Check windows and reminders.
How approvals and expiry are managed.
Codes, labels and timestamps.
Set-up, per-participant, per-site and device costs.
Sponsors, CROs and academic teams comparing eCOA options, including teams using or evaluating Clario, who want to see a self-serve, unified option alongside it.
No. Vendors change their offerings, so we describe what to evaluate and where Capture fits. Confirm current capabilities and terms directly with Clario.
Yes. The free sandbox has every feature with sample data, no credit card and no time limit.
No. Capture is software for data capture, not a core lab. It can hold results you receive from specialist reading services.
Yes. Questionnaires open in the phone browser from a secure link, with no app to install.
Keep exploring
Build a questionnaire in the free sandbox today.