Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. The largest vendors in clinical trial management software
cannot hold places 1 to 3. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category,
wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. How it works: placement disclosure ·
editorial process.
The 12 tools, reviewed
#1 SimpleTrials
Subscription CTMS and eTMF with published monthly plans · United States · simpletrials.com
Published prices CTMS and eTMF Oakland
SimpleTrials is a CTMS and eTMF sold as a subscription, with no multi-year contract and a price list that fits on one screen. Standard covers up to ten studies and five users for $849 a month, and Premium Plus reaches 100 studies and ten users at $3,599. A site-focused plan starts at $599.
- Pricing: Flat monthly / user groups. Published monthly plans: Premium for Sites from $599, Standard $849, Premium $2,399, Premium Plus $3,599, each with a startup fee and a 20% annual discount. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Small sponsors, CROs and single sites
- Strengths: Studies, sites and subjects; eTMF with reference models; Contracts and payments.
Where it falls short
Every plan requires a startup fee, and the page does not state its amount. Users are sold in groups of five, and the Standard plan stops at ten users.
Wrong for
A multinational sponsor that needs regional hosting, native EDC, randomization and payments in one contract should look at Veeva, Medidata or Ennov instead.
Visit SimpleTrials →
#2 Medrio CTMS
CTMS for growing sponsors and CROs, linked to EDC · United States · medrio.com
EDC-linked Growing sponsors San Francisco
Medrio built its CTMS for sponsors and CROs that have outgrown spreadsheets and do not want an enterprise project. The page says studies are configured without programmers or vendor support, that monitoring visit reports carry open findings forward, and that investigator payments follow milestones recorded in the EDC. Subject and visit data from Medrio EDC reaches the CTMS without manual reconciliation.
- Pricing: Quote only. No prices published; the site directs buyers to contact sales. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Growing sponsors and CROs on Medrio EDC
- Strengths: Study planning and site management; Monitoring visit reports; Milestone and enrollment tracking.
Where it falls short
The CTMS pays off mainly when the EDC is also Medrio, since the integration is the selling point. Medrio publishes no price or pricing tiers.
Wrong for
A research site, a hospital or an academic center that needs scheduling, billing and participant payments should look at Clinical Conductor, RealTime or OnCore instead.
Visit Medrio CTMS →
#3 Ennov CTMS
Configurable CTMS on a unified compliance platform · France · en.ennov.com
Cloud or on-premises Single-tenant Paris
Ennov, a life science software company with its listed office in Paris, offers a CTMS on the same platform as its quality, regulatory and pharmacovigilance suites. The page describes a configurable data model, directories of investigators, hospitals and suppliers, recruitment, deviation, adverse event and budget tracking, and dashboards that can be filtered by study, country or site and exported.
- Pricing: Quote only. No prices published; the site lists no plans. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Teams that need on-premises or local hosting
- Strengths: Configurable data model; Investigator and site directories; Recruitment tracking.
Where it falls short
The page lists IMPACT CTMS in its menu but gives no description of it, so the difference between the two products is unclear. No pricing is shown.
Wrong for
A small sponsor that wants a price list, a self-serve sandbox and a first study in a few weeks should look at SimpleTrials or Medrio instead.
Visit Ennov CTMS →
#4 Veeva CTMS
Enterprise CTMS inside the Veeva clinical suite · United States · veeva.com
Enterprise Veeva suite Pleasanton
Veeva CTMS manages insourced and outsourced trials in one system, with dashboards that drill into enrollment and milestones, monitoring visit reports with branching questions, and issue and deviation workflows that run until closure. The Clinical Transfer function automates a daily data exchange between CROs and sponsors, and trip reports are filed in Veeva eTMF.
- Pricing: Quote only. No prices published; the page offers contact with sales only. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Large sponsors on the Veeva clinical suite
- Strengths: Dashboards and reports; Monitoring visit reports; Trip reports filed to eTMF.
Where it falls short
Veeva publishes no price, and a sponsor outside the Veeva suite pays for integration work. The security overview says production runs in third-party data centers but names neither providers nor locations.
Wrong for
A small sponsor or a single site with one or two studies should look at SimpleTrials, Medrio or Clinical Conductor, which are lighter to run.
Visit Veeva CTMS →
#5 Medidata CTMS
CTMS connected to Rave EDC and Medidata eTMF · United States · medidata.com
Enterprise Rave EDC New York
Medidata CTMS combines monitoring, issue management, study start-up and reporting in one workspace for CRAs and study teams. The monitoring workspace shows in-context data feeds and lets users raise issues from anywhere, and documents uploaded once update the eTMF while monitoring reports are filed to the TMF automatically. Dashboards pull enrollment data from Rave EDC, and Visual Analytics combines data across studies.
- Pricing: Quote only. No prices published; the page tells buyers to contact a specialist. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Sponsors and CROs already on Rave EDC
- Strengths: Visit monitoring workspace; Issue management; Oversight and reporting.
Where it falls short
The CTMS page gives no price and no hosting or security statement, only a link to a trust section. Most of the value depends on running Rave EDC and the Medidata eTMF too.
Wrong for
A sponsor with a modest study count and no Rave contract should look at Medrio or SimpleTrials rather than paying for suite breadth.
Visit Medidata CTMS →
#6 Cloudbyz CTMS
Salesforce-based CTMS with portals and AI agents · United States · cloudbyz.com
Salesforce Portals Warrenville
Cloudbyz builds its eClinical suite on Salesforce, and the CTMS covers study planning, budgets, start-up, monitoring and close-out. The page lists customizable feasibility surveys, risk-based monitoring with key risk indicators, protocol deviation tracking, budget templates, site payments and portals for sites, sponsors and CROs. It also describes AI agents that must be approved by a person and leave an audit trail.
- Pricing: Quote only. No prices published on the pages we read. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Teams that already run Salesforce
- Strengths: Feasibility surveys; Study budget management; Site payments.
Where it falls short
The pages give no price, hosting region or legal entity name, and the Salesforce platform sits under the contract. The CTMS page has no security section of its own.
Wrong for
A team with no Salesforce footprint that wants a printed price and a short setup should look at SimpleTrials or Medrio instead.
Visit Cloudbyz CTMS →
#7 Clinical Conductor
Site CTMS for networks, hospitals and health systems · United States · advarra.com
Research sites Scheduling Columbia
Clinical Conductor is the Advarra CTMS for sites, networks, hospitals and health systems. It manages billing and tasks across locations, supports budgets and enrollment goals per site, flags gaps between expected and actual revenue, schedules participants, runs check-in and check-out, and plans staff capacity. Optional modules add two-way text messaging inside the CTMS and debit-card payments to participants and caregivers.
- Pricing: Quote only. No prices published; buyers request a demo. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Research sites and site networks
- Strengths: Site-specific budgets and enrollment goals; Visit and non-visit financial workflows; Patient scheduling and check-in.
Where it falls short
No price is published. The page describes the site side of a trial, so a sponsor looking for monitoring visit reports and multi-site oversight will not find them here. Text messaging and payments are optional modules.
Wrong for
A sponsor or CRO that manages monitoring and issues across many sites should look at Veeva, Medidata, Medrio or Ennov instead.
Visit Clinical Conductor →
#8 Advarra OnCore
Enterprise CTMS for academic medical centers · United States · advarra.com
Academic Cancer centers Columbia
OnCore is the Advarra CTMS for academic medical centers and cancer centers. The page says it manages studies from protocol setup through participant tracking, billing compliance and reporting, exchanges subject, protocol and billing data with Epic and Cerner, and supports Cancer Center Support Grant and CTSA reporting.
- Pricing: Per module and protocol volume. Annual subscription; the licence depends on licensed modules and protocol volume. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Academic medical centers and cancer centers
- Strengths: Protocol lifecycle management; Participant tracking; Financial oversight and billing compliance.
Where it falls short
Biospecimen and several other modules are licensed separately, so the annual fee grows with every module. The page does not describe hosting or security controls, and the 21 CFR Part 11 claim refers to other Advarra products.
Wrong for
A commercial sponsor, a CRO or a small independent site should look at SimpleTrials, Medrio or Clinical Conductor instead.
Visit Advarra OnCore →
#9 Sitero Mentor CTMS
CTMS with embedded eTMF from a services-led vendor · United States · sitero.com
Embedded eTMF Open API Coral Gables
Sitero sells Mentor CTMS together with an eTMF, so one purchase covers operational tracking and the document repository. The page lists site visit monitoring reports, dashboards, automated workflows, contract-based reimbursement tracking, and native links to Mentor EDC, RTSM and site payments. It describes an open API framework and states 800-plus integrations and 40-plus clients, both vendor claims.
- Pricing: Quote only. No prices published; buyers request a demo or contact Sitero. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Sponsors who also want outsourced services
- Strengths: Embedded eTMF; Site visit monitoring reports; Reports and dashboards.
Where it falls short
The page states 'cloud hosting delivered globally' but names no certification, hosting provider or data region, and gives no price. The page defines no target customer segment.
Wrong for
A buyer that needs published security attestations or a printed price should look at Medrio, Ennov or SimpleTrials instead.
Visit Sitero Mentor CTMS →
#10 RealTime-CTMS
Site operations CTMS with recruitment and finance tools · United States · realtime-eclinical.com
Site operations Recruitment San Antonio
RealTime-CTMS is the core of the company's SOMS suite for research sites, site networks and academic centers. The page describes visit templates with target date calculation and window enforcement, searchable patient databases for recruitment, and dashboards for earnings, receivables and payables. Stipends are handled through SitePay. The page also mentions an API and integrations.
- Pricing: Quote only. No prices published; the pricing page uses a request form that asks for average trials per month. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Site networks and academic centers
- Strengths: Study and subject dashboards; Protocol visit templates; Visit window enforcement.
Where it falls short
The pricing page promises transparency but shows no figures. No certification such as SOC 2 or ISO 27001 appears on the pages we read.
Wrong for
A sponsor or CRO that needs monitoring visit reports and cross-site oversight, or a Phase I unit, should look at Veeva, Medrio or eSourceOne instead.
Visit RealTime-CTMS →
#11 Octalsoft CTMS
CTMS within a wide eClinical module catalogue · United States · octalsoft.com
Multi-currency eClinical suite Herndon
Octalsoft sells its CTMS next to EDC, IWRS, ePRO, eConsent and eTMF, and the CTMS page lists a single dashboard for timelines and milestones, site profiles with credentials and training records, subject enrollment and visit tracking, budget forecasting, investigator grants and reimbursement, and reconciliation across currencies. It targets sponsors, CROs and hospitals, and advertises 24/7 support and onboarding.
- Pricing: Quote only. No prices published; buyers request a demo. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Sponsors and CROs buying several modules
- Strengths: Study dashboard and milestones; Site profiles and credentials; Subject enrollment and visits.
Where it falls short
The CTMS page names no hosting location and no certificates, and shows no price. The company does not label a headquarters: it lists offices in Herndon, Virginia and Ahmedabad. The legal entity name is not stated.
Wrong for
A team that needs verified security attestations or a clear pricing page should look at Medrio, Veeva or SimpleTrials instead.
Visit Octalsoft CTMS →
#12 Clinion CTMS
CTMS module of an AI-oriented eClinical platform · India · clinion.com
EDC-linked AI platform Hyderabad
Clinion is an eClinical platform whose product card describes the CTMS as tracking milestones, monitoring sites and managing budgets, integrated with the EDC and randomization system.
- Pricing: Quote only. No prices published; the site offers a demo request. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Sponsors and CROs using Clinion EDC
- Strengths: Milestone tracking; Site monitoring; Budget management.
Where it falls short
The CTMS page gives only a short description, with no feature list, price or hosting detail.
Wrong for
A buyer that wants a detailed CTMS feature list or a confirmed SOC 2 report should look at Medrio, Veeva or Clinical Conductor instead.
Visit Clinion CTMS →
Questions and answers
What is the best clinical trial management software in 2026?
SimpleTrials ranks first of 12, best for small sponsors, CROs and single sites. Medrio CTMS is second (growing sponsors and CROs on Medrio EDC) and Ennov CTMS third (teams that need on-premises or local hosting). Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands, wherever the category has them.
What is the difference between a CTMS and an EDC?
An EDC stores the clinical data collected from each participant, such as case report forms and queries. A CTMS tracks the operations around it: sites, monitoring visits, milestones, deviations and payments.
How much does clinical trial management software cost?
SimpleTrials prints its prices: $599 a month for sites, $849 for Standard, $2,399 for Premium and $3,599 for Premium Plus, with a startup fee. OnCore says its licence depends on modules and protocol volume.
Do I need a CTMS if I run a single study?
Often not. One investigator-led study with a few sites can run on a tracker and a shared drive, provided someone owns the monitoring log and the payment schedule.
Is a CTMS regulated by the FDA or EMA?
Regulators treat the CTMS as a computerized system that supports a regulated study, so records, audit trails and electronic signatures should meet 21 CFR Part 11 and EU Annex 11 expectations.
Which CTMS is built for research sites rather than sponsors?
Clinical Conductor and RealTime-CTMS are written for the party that sees participants. Clinical Conductor covers site billing, scheduling, text messaging and participant payments, while RealTime adds recruitment search and financial dashboards.
Can a CTMS integrate with the trial master file?
Yes, and several vendors sell the two together.
How long does it take to implement a CTMS?
It depends on the product and the number of integrations. Medrio says teams can launch in weeks, and Sitero describes a quick-start deployment with hands-on support.
What should a CTMS do with investigator payments?
A good CTMS ties payments to completed visits or milestones, so the finance team does not rebuild the list from spreadsheets.
Is cloud hosting acceptable for clinical trial data?
Cloud hosting is normal, provided the vendor documents its controls and the sponsor has validated the system.
What happens to the records if we change CTMS vendor?
Plan for it in the contract. Ask for a full export of study, site, monitoring, issue and payment records plus the audit trail, in a documented format.
