ResearchOS

Free and open source

Open-source versions of the research software your lab pays for.

Clone, run stats, draw molecules, build trees, make figures and keep your notebook in one app. It runs on your computer, saves to a folder you own, and costs nothing to use.

Get ResearchOSSee what it replaces

Mac and Windows · Open source (AGPLv3)

SnapGene, cloning and sequence maps, $350 / yr. Replaced by ResearchOS Sequences and cloning, $0.
GraphPad Prism, statistics and graphs, $260 / yr. Replaced by ResearchOS Data analysis and plots, $0.
ChemDraw, chemical structures, $700 / yr. Replaced by ResearchOS Chemistry, $0.
BioRender, scientific figures, $35 / mo. Replaced by ResearchOS Scientific figures, $0.
iTOL, annotated trees, €60 / yr. Replaced by ResearchOS Phylogenetics, $0.
LabArchives, lab notebook, $330 / yr. Replaced by ResearchOS Lab notebook, $0.
Quartzy, orders and inventory, $50 / mo. Replaced by ResearchOS Orders and inventory, $0.
Total$2,660 / yr

Seven programs, one free app.

SnapGene, GraphPad Prism, ChemDraw, BioRender, iTOL, LabArchives and Quartzy are trademarks of their owners. ResearchOS is not affiliated with them.

Research tools

One app for all your research needs.

Notes with live tables, maps and trees.Read the guide

Sample data

Mobile companion

Paid extra

A desktop app, with a mobile companion for the bench.

The mobile companion pairs with the desktop app, so your methods, captures and inventory come with you to the bench.

Illustration with sample data.

What it costs

Free on your computer. Pay only for the cloud extras.

Free

  • Every research tool on this page
  • Unlimited projects, notes and data
  • Your notebook stays in a folder you own
  • Bring in a LabArchives notebook

Optional paid extras

  • Your methods on your phone at the bench
  • Scan paper notes and inventory barcodes with your phone
  • Lab sharing and cloud backup
  • BeakerBot, the AI helper

See pricing for what the beta includes.

ResearchOS grew out of work begun during a UW-Madison Distinguished Research Fellowship.

Why we built it

Research software costs too much.

I built ResearchOS because I was frustrated by the limited competition in research software and the prices researchers were expected to pay.

Documenting and analyzing your research should be straightforward. You should be able to store all your data yourself and stay in control of it, without handing that control to a software company.

Grant R. Nickles, co-founder

  • Your notebook is a folder on your computer. Nothing leaves it unless you share it.

  • Open source under AGPLv3, so anyone can read how it stores and computes your data.

  • Every statistic is checked against R, scipy and Prism, and the checks are public.

    How we validate our tools
Wisconsin
Built in MadisonA registered Wisconsin LLC, independent and Midwest based.

Questions

Still stuck? We're researchers too, and we read every message.

Yes. Every research tool is free to use on your computer, with no limit on projects. Lab sharing, the phone companion and BeakerBot AI are optional paid extras. See pricing for what the beta includes.

The research tools run on your computer, not on our servers, so giving them away costs us very little. The optional cloud extras are paid, and they cover what it costs to run them. ResearchOS grew out of work begun during a UW-Madison Distinguished Research Fellowship.

Yes. Import a LabArchives Offline Notebook ZIP and map its folders to ResearchOS projects. This is a one-way import, not live two-way sync. Some externally hosted images need a separate recovery step.

In a folder on your computer. Sharing and publishing are separate choices you make. Cloud backup setup is being finalized for the desktop beta, using storage you choose with your provider.

No. You can use the notebook, analysis and research tools without BeakerBot. Hosted AI requests send the messages and context needed for that request to the model provider.

Use the desktop app to write notes, analyze data, and build figures. Use your phone to scan notes, take photos, and update inventory.

Get ResearchOS.

Free for Mac and Windows. Your notebook stays on your computer.

See desktop downloads