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SciNote is for research labs. Seal runs development, the lab, the batch and quality.

Seal, the GxP execution system, is your eBR, your QMS and more. Neil, your AI agent, does the paperwork across your systems. You sign. MiAlgae cut documentation time by 75%. Start with one process beside SciNote.

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Where SciNote falls short.

From SciNote’s own pages.

  • Its structure
    Projects, experiments, tasks
    QC testing, batch records
    Not on its product list
    CAPA, deviations
    Not on its product list

    Built for research.

    SciNote says its projects, experiments and tasks emulate how research happens, and its product list names no QC testing, batch records, CAPA or deviations. In Seal, the lab, the batch and quality are one set of records.

    SciNote, home page
  • SciNote Forms, 2025
    “first official iteration”
    A batch record
    A form in a protocol step
    Seal
    With the lab and quality

    A batch record is a form in a step.

    SciNote Forms, released in April 2025, embeds forms in protocol steps and reaches “routine production batch records”, in what SciNote calls the first official iteration. In Seal, batch records are on the same records as the lab and quality.

    SciNote, April 2025
  • Its industry page
    “Compliance that’s already built in”
    Its regulated page
    “focuses mostly on … your organization”
    Seal
    The check runs at the step

    Compliance rests on your procedures.

    SciNote promises “Compliance that’s already built in”, yet its regulated page says GxP compliance “focuses mostly” on how diligently your organisation applies its procedural controls. In Seal, the check runs at the step.

    SciNote, Regulated environments
  • Create with AI
    A PDF to a protocol template
    Automations
    Update task status
    Neil
    Drafts the change

    Its AI drafts templates. Neil does the paperwork.

    SciNote’s Create with AI turns a PDF or a prompt into a protocol template for review, and its automations update task status. Neil prepares the change itself and the paperwork around it, for your team to approve.

    SciNote, AI and Automations

See it in Seal.

Real Seal screens with fictional test data: a protocol, the experiment run from it, and a release test on the same records.

  1. 1

    A protocol, structured.

    PR-014 defines each parameter, keeps the calculation with its units, and says what it may be used for.

    Protocol PR-014, assay development, in Seal: a preparation instruction, a table of parameters with defined values and what each experiment records, the method reference and its intended use as a research comparison, not a released QC method.
    1. Units and calculation keptDilute to 2 mg/mL in 10 mL, with the calculation retained.
    2. Structured, not free textEach parameter with its defined value and what the experiment records.
    3. Its intended useResearch comparison; not a released QC method.
  2. 2

    The experiment, linked.

    EXP-043 links its protocol and reagent lot, keeps the instrument file, and is compared with earlier runs.

    Experiment EXP-043, incubation comparison, in Seal: linked protocol PR-014 and reagent lot RG-018, the recorded incubation time, relative signal and source file, and a table comparing it with runs EXP-041 and EXP-042.
    1. Linked to protocol and lotPR-014 and reagent lot RG-018, as records.
    2. Values with their source file30 minutes and 0.76 relative signal, from EXP-043-reader.csv.
    3. Runs comparedSame incubation, different reagent lots; cause not yet established.
  3. 3

    Each result with its method and source.

    Release test S-041-12: every result carries its method version, instrument file and limit, and the batch it came from.

    Sample S-041-12, release testing, in Seal: linked to batch B-041 and a potency preparation, a table of results for potency, impurity A and water content with unit, limit, status, method and source, and water content outside its limit with the investigation open.
    1. The batch it came fromB-041, linked to the sample.
    2. Method and source on every rowEach result keeps its method version, instrument file and limit.
    3. The exception, at the resultWater content 0.72% against ≤ 0.50%, with the investigation open.

What Seal’s customers measured.

Each figure links to the customer’s story.

QualityAcclinate and Skye Biologics

−50%
quality cycle times at Acclinate, from a procedure change to everyone trained.Acclinate
−40%
non-conformances at Skye Biologics, with training checked before execution.Skye Biologics

RecordsMiAlgae and Bioventix

−75%
documentation time at MiAlgae, from the lab to commercial production.MiAlgae
−80%
document admin time at Bioventix, after two decades on paper.Bioventix

SciNote and Seal, side by side.

Every source is listed under References.

SciNoteSeal
What it isCloud ELN with inventory¹The GxP execution system: your eBR, your QMS and more
Built forResearch labs¹Process development, the lab, manufacturing, batch release and quality
Data modelProjects, experiments and tasks¹Primitives your team composes: record types, their relationships, steps and checks
AICreate with AI: PDFs and prompts to protocol templates²Neil, Seal’s AI agent, prepares changes to the process; your team approves them
ProtocolsRich steps, checked off, with forms since 2025³⁴Protocols with fields, units and calculations
Batch recordsA form in a protocol step⁴On the same records as the lab and quality
Quality systemNo CAPA or deviations listed¹Deviations, CAPA, change control, training
Regulated usePart 11 add-on in Premium plans⁵Controls to support Part 11, built in
Getting startedFree plan for individual users¹A 48-hour evaluation of one process, once the scope is agreed and the inputs received

Summary

The story
SciNote is good for research. It launched in 2015 on Kickstarter as free, open-source notebook software for life science students, researchers, technicians and lab managers,⁶ and Gilson owns it today.⁷ Its model is still projects, experiments and tasks, which it says emulates how research happens.¹ Its industry page promises “Compliance that’s already built in”,⁸ yet its regulated page calls Part 11 a Premium add-on and says GxP compliance “focuses mostly” on how diligently your own organisation runs its processes.⁵ Forms with predefined fields arrived in 2025, pitched as far as “routine production batch records”,⁴ and its AI turns PDFs and prompts into protocol templates for review.² If you need a notebook for research, it can work well. Most companies need the method, the test, the batch and the quality system on the same records, changed as fast as the work changes.

1What SciNote offers.

SciNote is a cloud ELN with lab inventory, compliance and team management tools.¹ Work is organised as projects, experiments and tasks: scientists write notes, assign inventory items, add a protocol and check off its steps, and a report is generated from the record. A free plan is available to individual users, and Premium plans add regulated features,¹⁸ including a 21 CFR Part 11 add-on.⁵ Its protocol repository keeps team and personal protocols with versions, and each step can be marked complete, recording when and by whom.³ SciNote Forms, released in 2025, embeds templates with predefined fields and numeric ranges in protocol steps.⁴ Create with AI converts text-based PDFs or a text prompt into a protocol template for review and import, and Workspace Automations update task, experiment and project status from user activity.²

2Running Seal alongside SciNote.

Teams start Seal on one process while existing notebooks stay where they are. Seal’s SciNote connection is set up per project on SciNote’s REST API, using an account-generated API key, to turn selected experiments and inventory records into a research brief. In scope is the project, experiment and inventory information supported by the enabled SciNote API endpoints; confirm API availability and the supported resources for your deployment. Seal does not yet have a guided connector for SciNote.

Start with read access; any change in SciNote needs separately configured actions and controls. Once API access and mappings are configured, Neil can:

  • bring selected experimental records together with references to the original work;
  • identify differences in recorded methods and materials across selected experiments;
  • prepare a list of missing records or follow-up experiments for the researcher to review.

Agree which system is the source of truth for each record. Instrument files can also come to Seal directly through the installable Seal IoT agent, which watches an export folder and uploads supported files to a configured Seal record.

3Moving from SciNote to Seal.

Start with one protocol. Nothing else has to move first.

  1. Choose a protocol whose runs your team needs to compare, or one approaching controlled use.
  2. Bring the protocol, a few representative runs and the files behind their results. Start with sample material, or arrange an NDA before sharing confidential records.
  3. Neil configures the protocol from the SciNote protocol or your SOP: required inputs, units, calculations and sample and material links. Your scientists check it. Once the scope is agreed and the inputs received, Seal prepares the first working process and its validation pack to evaluate within 48 hours. Production timing then depends on scope, interfaces, migration and your release requirements.
  4. Test a normal run, missing data, a deliberate variation and a changed protocol.
  5. If records move, scope SciNote’s exports, attachments, metadata, permissions and history first. SciNote exports all data in human-readable form with attachments in folders;⁵ map reusable fields from it where possible, preserve the source records and keep gaps visible, since a PDF rendition is not a recovered native experiment.

Retention obligations continue for the records that stay in SciNote. The ELN blueprint shows the protocol and experiment model in detail.

References

  1. 1Electronic Lab Notebook, SciNote. https://www.scinote.net/ (read 5 November 2026)
  2. 2SciNote AI and Automations, SciNote. https://www.scinote.net/product/ai-and-automations/ (read 5 November 2026)
  3. 3Protocol & SOP Management for Laboratories, SciNote. https://www.scinote.net/product/protocol-sop-management/ (read 5 November 2026)
  4. 4SciNote Forms are Here: Revolutionize How You Capture, Structure, and Use Lab Data, SciNote, 22 April 2025. https://www.scinote.net/blog/scinote-forms-standardize-your-data-capture/ (read 5 November 2026)
  5. 521 CFR Part 11 Compliance & GLP, GMP (GxP), SciNote. https://www.scinote.net/product/scinote-in-regulated-environments/ (read 5 November 2026)
  6. 6sciNote - First Open Source Scientific Notebook Released on Kickstarter, BioSistemika via Newswire, 25 November 2015. https://www.newswire.com/news/scinote-first-open-source-scientific-notebook-released-on (read 5 November 2026)
  7. 7About the SciNote team, SciNote. https://www.scinote.net/about-us/ (read 5 November 2026)
  8. 8Plans for government, industry and startup labs, SciNote. https://www.scinote.net/premium/ (read 5 November 2026)

AQuestions and answers

Is Seal better than SciNote?

Yes. SciNote is good for research. It launched in 2015 on Kickstarter as free, open-source notebook software for life science students, researchers, technicians and lab managers, and Gilson owns it today. Its model is still projects, experiments and tasks, which it says emulates how research happens. Its industry page promises “Compliance that’s already built in”, yet its regulated page calls Part 11 a Premium add-on and says GxP compliance “focuses mostly” on how diligently your own organisation runs its processes. Forms with predefined fields arrived in 2025, pitched as far as “routine production batch records”, and its AI turns PDFs and prompts into protocol templates for review. If you need a notebook for research, it can work well. Most companies need the method, the test, the batch and the quality system on the same records, changed as fast as the work changes. Seal has no fixed model of one kind of work. It is built from primitives: record types, the relationships between them, and the steps and checks that use them, which your own team composes into your process, with Neil able to prepare each change for approval. So one platform runs process development, the laboratory, manufacturing, batch release and the quality system, and each change becomes a new version, released once its selected tests pass, while earlier runs keep theirs. Moving from paper, MiAlgae cut documentation time by 75% and went from the laboratory to commercial production on one platform.

Is Seal an alternative to SciNote?

Yes. SciNote is designed for research. Seal is an ELN whose protocols define required fields, units and calculations, so runs can be queried and compared, and the same platform runs QC, batch records and quality. Each change is released once its selected acceptance tests pass. Teams usually start with one protocol, connected to SciNote through its REST API.

Is Seal a LIMS as well as an ELN?

Yes. The same platform runs the ELN, LIMS, sample management, stability, electronic batch records and the QMS, on one set of linked records. A protocol developed in research becomes a controlled QC method without moving to another system, and each change to it is released with its acceptance tests.

Can Seal connect to SciNote?

Yes. Seal’s SciNote connection is set up per project on SciNote’s REST API with an account-generated API key, covering the project, experiment and inventory information the enabled endpoints support. It starts with read access, so Neil can summarise project evidence, compare experiment context and list missing work.

Does SciNote run QC testing or batch records?

SciNote is designed for research: a cloud notebook organised around projects, experiments and tasks. Its product list names no QC testing, batch records, CAPA or deviations. Its Forms feature, released in 2025, embeds forms with predefined fields in protocol steps, and SciNote describes them reaching routine production batch records. Its Part 11 features come in an add-on included in its Premium plans. In Seal, the ELN, LIMS, batch records and the QMS run on one set of linked records, with controls to support Part 11 built in.

How does SciNote’s AI compare with Neil?

SciNote’s Create with AI converts a text-based PDF or a text prompt into a protocol template for review and import, and its Workspace Automations update task, experiment and project status from user activity. Neil prepares changes to the process itself, with their tests, for your approval, and each change is released as a new version. Neil is not used in GMP execution.

How long does it take to start with Seal?

Once the scope is agreed and the inputs received, Seal prepares a first working process and its validation pack to evaluate within 48 hours, configured from one of your protocols or procedures. Production timing then depends on scope, interfaces, migration and your release requirements.

Start beside SciNote.

Start with one protocol your team needs to compare. Seal’s SciNote connection is set up per project on SciNote’s REST API and starts with read access, so nothing has to move on day one.

Book a demo