Lab Management Software for Research Groups: A 2026 Guide

Lab management software is not one product. For an academic research group it is usually four kinds of tool: an electronic lab notebook (ELN) for experiments and data, a LIMS for tracking samples at volume, an inventory and ordering system for reagents and supplies, and a group management tool for the people side (student updates, 1:1s, milestones and deadlines). Most small labs need an ELN and a group tool first, and add the others when volume makes the pain obvious.

That split matters because the tools rarely overlap well. A notebook that is excellent at recording a western blot tells you nothing about which PhD student is blocked, and a task board knows nothing about the freezer. Buying "lab management software" without naming the job is how groups end up with four logins and the same spreadsheet they started with.

The four jobs a lab needs software for

Job	What it holds	Typical owner	Common examples
Record the science	Protocols, results, raw data, versions	Every researcher	LabArchives, Benchling, eLabFTW
Track samples at volume	Sample IDs, chain of custody, instrument runs	Core facility or lab manager	A LIMS
Keep the shelves stocked	Reagents, locations, orders, approvals	Lab manager	Quartzy, eLabFTW's inventory
Run the group	Updates, 1:1s, milestones, papers, equipment, grants	PI and supervisors	LabTab, LetRelay

The rest of this guide takes each row in turn, then shows how a small lab can combine them without paying for things it will not use.

1. Electronic lab notebooks: recording the science

An ELN replaces the paper notebook. Entries are searchable, timestamped and versioned, which is the point: you can show what was done, when, and by whom, years later.

LabArchives is a cloud ELN that many universities license centrally, so researchers at those institutions often get it at no cost to the lab. University research offices describe it as a place to create, store, share and manage research data, and it is also used for teaching lab courses.
Benchling offers its Notebook and its molecular biology tools (sequence design, alignments, primer design, CRISPR) free for academics. It is strongest in life sciences, where sequences and plasmids are daily work.
eLabFTW is open source (AGPL licence) and self-hosted, first released in 2012 and still maintained. It suits groups with IT support who want their records on their own servers. It also includes a database for tracking materials and equipment, and professional hosting is available from its maintainers if you do not want to run it.

Before choosing, ask your research office which ELN the institution already pays for. A licensed, supported tool beats a slightly nicer one you have to defend in a data management plan.

2. LIMS: when samples outgrow a notebook

A laboratory information management system tracks samples through a workflow: accessioning, storage, processing, instrument runs and results, with an audit trail. Core facilities, clinical labs and high-throughput groups need one. A theory group or a five-person wet lab usually does not; a well-kept ELN plus an inventory list covers it.

The warning sign that you need a LIMS is not size but volume: when you spend more time finding and relabelling samples than running them, or when a funder or partner asks for a chain of custody you cannot produce.

3. Inventory and ordering: keeping the shelves stocked

The classic lab failure is two people ordering the same antibody while the one already in the freezer expires. Inventory tools fix that with a shared list of what exists, where it lives, and what has been requested.

Quartzy combines inventory (items and storage locations) with ordering: requests from every lab member go onto one shared list, and the lab manager approves or declines them. That shared list is what stops duplicate orders.
eLabFTW can hold an inventory alongside the notebook, which is enough for many groups.

Whatever you use, set a low-stock level for the items you cannot run out of, and make "reorder" a request someone approves, not a message someone forgets.

4. Group management: the people side

This is the category most labs are missing, because it is the one nobody sells to departments. It covers the work a PI actually spends their week on:

knowing where every student stands without asking each one;
running 1:1s that remember last time's action items;
degree milestones (qualifying exam, proposal, annual review, defense) with reminders;
paper deadlines, which for many fields are counted in AoE, anywhere on Earth;
equipment booking, training records and lab chores;
grants, recommendation letters and annual progress reports.

Two tools built for this:

LabTab describes itself as a productivity tool for group leaders: lab members, their projects and tasks, and the group's papers in one place, with past meeting notes and tasks to review before each meeting.
LetRelay runs a weekly rhythm for the whole group: students write a three-minute update on Friday, supervisors get a Monday digest with blockers first, 1:1 notes turn into tasks, and milestones remind the student and the supervisor 30, 7 and 1 days ahead. It also covers equipment booking with per-resource limits, inventory with reorder requests, grants and a recommendation-letter queue. The method behind it is described in how to manage PhD students without chasing them.

General project tools (a shared doc, a kanban board, a chat channel) can cover some of this. They break down in two places: nothing reminds anyone of a milestone months away, and nothing keeps a student's wellbeing note or a grant budget private from the rest of the lab.

How to choose: questions that settle it fast

What does the institution already license? Start there for the notebook. It is usually free to you and already approved for research data.
Where is the pain this month? Lost samples point to a LIMS, duplicate orders to inventory, and "I didn't know she was blocked for three weeks" to group management. Fix the loudest one first.
Who has to keep it up to date? A tool that needs the PI to enter data will die in a busy term. Prefer tools where each person maintains their own part (their update, their booking, their order request).
What must stay private? Students should not see each other's evaluations or the grant budget. Check that the tool enforces this, not just hides it in the menu.
What happens when someone leaves? Records should stay with the group, and offboarding (keys, data, equipment) should be a checklist, not a memory.
What does it cost at your size? Many of these tools are free for academics or for small groups. Check the limit that matters to you: people, storage, or features.

A sensible stack for a small academic lab

For a group of five to fifteen people, a combination that covers almost everything:

the institution's ELN for experiments and data;
one group management tool for updates, 1:1s, milestones, papers, equipment and chores;
inventory inside the group tool or the ELN until ordering volume justifies a dedicated system;
your existing Overleaf, Google Drive and GitHub, linked from the group tool rather than replaced.

Add a LIMS only when sample volume forces it. The same "one front door" idea that helps offices with an internal request desk applies to labs: one place to ask, one place to see what is waiting.

How LetRelay does it

LetRelay has a Research group or lab workspace. The PI's home is one list of who needs them this week, ordered by urgency: blockers from updates, missing updates, overdue 1:1s, milestones due soon, paper deadlines, funding or visa dates ending, and approvals waiting. Students book equipment within the rules you set, training certificates carry expiry dates, and Reorder on a low-stock item files a purchase request on the lab's own request desk, where it is routed and tracked like any other request. Visibility is enforced by row-level security in the database. The full feature list is on the LetRelay for research groups page.

FAQ

What is the difference between an ELN and a LIMS?

An ELN records experiments: protocols, observations, results and data, written by researchers as they work. A LIMS tracks samples through a defined workflow with IDs, locations, instrument runs and an audit trail. Individual research groups usually need an ELN; core facilities and high-throughput labs need a LIMS.

Is there free lab management software for academics?

Yes. Benchling's notebook and molecular biology tools are free for academics, eLabFTW is free and open source if you host it, many universities license LabArchives centrally, and several group management tools have free plans for small labs. Check each tool's current limits on people and storage.

Does a small lab need lab management software at all?

A lab of three can live on a shared drive. The need appears when the PI can no longer hold everything in their head: several students at different stages, papers on different deadlines, shared equipment and a budget. That is usually around five people.

Can one tool do everything?

Rarely well. Notebook tools are built around experiments, inventory tools around orders, and group tools around people and time. Pick the best tool for each job you actually have, and make sure they link to each other.

What should a PI track for each student?

Their weekly progress and blockers, 1:1 notes and action items, degree milestones with dates, papers in progress, and administrative dates such as funding end and visa expiry. Keep wellbeing and evaluations visible only to the student and their supervisors.