Looking at Clinical ink alternatives? Compare how data gets captured
Whether data is entered by sites, participants or clinicians, the questions are the same: how fast can you build, where does the data live, and what does it cost at your study size. Here is what to compare and where Capture fits.
- Site, participant and clinician data in one study
- Self-serve build
- Free sandbox
Free sandbox · No credit card · 21 CFR Part 11 aligned
Patient-reported
Participant, own phone
Observer-reported
Caregiver
Clinician-reported
Site staff, clinic tablet
Performance outcome
Site-run test, e.g. chair rise
The short version
- Clinical ink provides technology for capturing clinical trial data at sites and from patients, including eSource and eCOA.
- Teams compare alternatives when they want to build studies themselves, keep site and participant data in one system, or need pricing that fits smaller studies.
- Key questions: who builds and amends forms, how clinician-rated scales are handled, what device model participants use, and how data reaches analysis.
- Capture keeps EDC forms for sites, ePRO for participants, clinician-rated site forms, eConsent and randomisation in one study with one audit trail.
- Test with your own protocol before deciding.
Why teams compare
Where the data is entered matters less than where it ends up
Clinical trial data comes from several places: site staff entering visit data, clinicians rating scales, participants completing questionnaires at home. Some tools specialise in one of these; others combine them. The more systems involved, the more reconciliation, the more audit trails to review, and the more contracts to manage.
Capture handles clinician-reported outcomes as site forms, participant-reported outcomes on participants' own phones, and performance outcomes as site forms with units and range checks, all in the same study. See clinical outcome assessment types for how these fit together.
Direct entry at the site
Many sites enter data into the EDC during or straight after the visit, with paper or electronic health records as the source. Define in your monitoring plan what the source is for each data point, so monitors know what to verify.
Criteria
What to compare
| Criterion | Why it matters | Capture |
|---|---|---|
| Build ownership | Speed of builds and amendments | Your team builds; AI drafts visits and forms from the protocol |
| Clinician-rated scales | Rater data needs the same controls as site data | Site forms with permitted values, rater recorded, audit trail |
| Participant questionnaires | Device model and compliance | BYOD in the browser, reminders and windows |
| Data in one place | Reconciliation and audit burden | EDC, ePRO, eConsent and randomisation in one study |
| Monitoring | Verification effort | SDV per field, queries at entry, site risk monitor |
| Cost | Fit for your study size | Free sandbox; pay when you go live; no per-site fee |
In Capture
Every outcome type in one study
Sites enter visit data and clinician ratings on locked, approved forms with edit checks that raise queries at entry. Participants complete questionnaires on their own phones. Monitors verify the fields that matter, set per field, and every change is in one field-level audit trail.
- ClinRO, PerfO and ObsRO as site forms.
- PRO on participants' phones.
- SDV per field and queries at entry.
- Date of birth
- Systolic blood pressure
- Diastolic blood pressure
- BMI (calculated)never verified
- Position during measurement
- Comments
Changed by Data manager · reason: critical safety value added
Upload a protocol and compare the draft
See your visits and forms drafted in the free sandbox.
Switching
Planning a move
The natural time to switch is between studies. Export your form specifications and instrument lists from the current system, and use them to draft the new study: Capture's AI can draft forms from an uploaded file or description for your review. Licensed instruments need licence holder approval for the new electronic version.
Keep historical data in its original export and merge it at analysis if needed, rather than migrating mid-study. See how to switch EDC vendors mid-study.
Source data
Planning source documents
Wherever data is captured, sponsors must know what the source is. When sites enter data directly into the EDC during the visit, the eCRF itself can be the source for some data points; FDA has published guidance on electronic source data in clinical investigations. When data is transcribed from medical records, those records are the source.
Document the source for each data point in a source data agreement or the monitoring plan, so monitors know what to verify and where. SDV set per field then focuses verification on the data that matters. See source data verification.
Evaluating a shortlist
Evaluation checklist
Build from your protocol
Compare how long a real build takes.
Enter a clinician rating
Check permitted values and attribution.
Complete a questionnaire on a phone
As a participant would.
Raise and close a query
Check the site workflow.
Export the data
Codes, labels and data dictionary.
Get a full price
Set-up, per-site and per-participant costs.
Can the eCRF be the source document?
For data entered directly during the visit it can be; document the source for each data point.
Is there guidance on electronic source data?
Yes. FDA has published guidance on electronic source data in clinical investigations.
Who is this Clinical ink alternatives page for?
Sponsors, CROs and academic teams comparing eCOA and site data capture options, including teams using or evaluating Clinical ink, who want to see a self-serve, unified option alongside it.
Does this page compare features line by line?
No. Vendors change their offerings, so we describe what to evaluate and where Capture fits. Confirm current capabilities and terms directly with Clinical ink.
Can I test Capture before deciding?
Yes. The free sandbox has every feature with sample data, no credit card and no time limit.
Can clinician-rated scales be captured in Capture?
Yes, as site forms with permitted values, the rater recorded and a field-level audit trail.
Are EDC and ePRO in one system?
Yes. EDC, ePRO, eConsent and randomisation share one study and one audit trail.
Keep exploring
Related pages
All your outcome data in one study
Build from your protocol in the free sandbox.