Both are large specialist vendors for patient-reported and clinician-rated endpoints. This is a different market from general EDC: you are buying measurement science and services as much as software. Here is how to compare them, and where a self-serve ePRO tool is a different answer.
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Vendors
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What to know first
Market
EDC comparisons are mostly about build model and data cleaning. eCOA and endpoint comparisons are about measurement: is the instrument validated for your population, is the electronic version equivalent to the paper one, is it licensed and translated, and will the device and the process produce data a regulator will accept as an endpoint. Vendors in this space therefore sell scientific consulting and operational support, not just a platform.
A third-party listing on eCOA platforms places both vendors among leading eCOA providers and describes a few platforms as unified suites combining EDC, eCOA, eConsent and randomisation. That listing is a secondary source; use it for a longlist, then ask each vendor for evidence, references and scope.
A useful framing is to separate the service question from the software question. Which specialist services does the protocol need, such as centralised rating, imaging or cardiac reading? And which software must the study team run day to day? For a primary or key secondary endpoint measured on a licensed clinician-rated scale, buy the service. For a diary or a patient questionnaire the team can set up, software may be enough.
Evaluation
Send the same list to every vendor and keep the answers in writing.
| Topic | Question | What Capture offers for comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Endpoint science | Do you provide instrument selection, equivalence evidence and regulatory input for our endpoint? On what terms? | Not provided. Capture is software; the study team and its advisers choose and justify instruments. |
| Outcome types | Which are supported: participant-reported, clinician-reported, observer-reported, performance outcomes? | Participant questionnaires and diaries on phones; site-completed measures are eCRFs. No centralised rating service. |
| Licensed instruments | Who obtains licences and translations, and what happens at expiry? | Licence number, holder and expiry can be recorded on patient questionnaires; new tasks stop after expiry. No licence verification and no instrument supplied. |
| Languages | Which languages and which linguistically validated versions are available per country? | Not claimed. Ask us about current language support before planning around it. |
| Devices | Provisioned devices, BYOD or both, and who ships and supports them? | Browser on participants' own phones, opened from a secure link. No provisioned devices. |
| Compliance monitoring | How are missed entries detected, reminded and escalated? | Scheduled tasks and email reminders; compliance views for the study team. |
| EDC link | How does eCOA data reach the EDC, and who reconciles? | Same study and audit trail as EDC, so there is no transfer. |
| Total cost | All charges over 24 months for our scenario, including device logistics, translations and change orders? | See the pricing page; the sandbox is free. |
Capture column is from Capture product pages. Vendor columns are deliberately blank: ask Signant Health and Clario directly.
If your endpoints are diaries and participant questionnaires, build one in the free sandbox and judge whether you need a full endpoint vendor.
Hands-on test
Whatever you choose, test the participant side early: how long a questionnaire takes, what a reminder looks like, what happens when a day is missed. This is a demo-data diary schedule of the kind a self-serve ePRO tool can run next to EDC visits.
| Assessment | Baseline | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 4 | Wk 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily symptom diary | D | D | D | D | D |
| Quality-of-life questionnaire | |||||
| Clinic visit forms (eCRF) |
x = done at visit, D = daily diary
Decision aid
Shortlist full-service endpoint vendors such as Signant Health and Clario and ask for scientific and operational references.
That is a services decision; keep the reading vendor and record results in your study data.
Test a self-serve ePRO tool such as Capture alongside the vendors.
Compare a unified suite with an eCOA specialist plus an EDC integration, on cost and effort.
Weight sandbox access and amendment cost heavily.
Related reading
Single-vendor pages: Capture vs Signant Health, Capture vs Clario, Signant Health alternatives and Clario alternatives. For the wider category, read eCOA software for clinical trials, eCOA vs ePRO and best eCOA platforms.
Licensed instruments need the rights holder's permission for electronic use whichever system you pick. Capture records licence details on patient questionnaires but does not verify them or supply instruments.
Neither wins in general. Both are large specialist vendors; the better fit depends on your outcome types, countries, languages, devices and which services you need. Compare them with the same written scenario and references from similar studies.
As the vendors describe themselves, Signant Health provides patient and site technology including eCOA, eConsent and randomisation, while Clario combines eCOA with cardiac safety and imaging services. Confirm current scope and ownership with each.
We do not state either vendor's pricing because it is not published in a form we can verify. Ask both to price the same scenario, including device logistics and translations.
Only for part of the need. Capture runs participant questionnaires and diaries in the same study as EDC, but it does not provide endpoint consulting, central rating, imaging or cardiac reading, provisioned devices, or licence verification. Verify your endpoint requirements first.
Site staff can complete them as eCRFs. Capture does not record or enforce licences on site-completed forms and does not supply licensed instruments; the licence stays with your study documents.
Yes. The free sandbox has every feature, with no credit card and no time limit; you pay only at go-live.
Keep exploring
Build a diary and a questionnaire in Capture, free. No credit card; you pay only at go-live.