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What Is Pluto Bio?
Pluto Bio is a cloud-based tool helping researchers manage biological data more efficiently. Pluto Bio assist researchers manage biological data more efficiently. It helps organizse research more effectively. Pluto Bio helps in data visualization which Eliana is also passionate about.
She has shared her insights and reports with me, with no technical expertise. Pluto Bio is passionate about conducting and documenting reproducible research through versioning, audit trails, and data storage. Pluto Bio has a shared collaborative space for each team member.
They can track contributions and build a communication hub for each of their data-driven research projects. It is designed for modern biotechs.
What Is SciNote?
SciNote is designed to help research teams manage, organize, and ensure compliance across different aspects of scientific workflows. It secures protocols to help docs sample, track, and store research records on one platform. It also promotes collaboration through diverse roles, version control, and audit trails.
SciNote task-based workflows facilitate planning, execution, and monitoring of experiments to help researchers efficiently manage. Also, due to its numerous integrations, report generation, compliance tools, and support for FDA 21 CFR Part 11, Scinote has earned its popularity across academia, biotech, and industrial labs as a research management tool of choice.
Pluto Bio vs SciNote: Key Differences
| Aspect | Pluto Bio | SciNote |
|---|---|---|
| Core Purpose | Multi-omics data analysis & visualization platform. | Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) focused on experiment documentation & lab workflows. |
| Target Users | Bioinformaticians, translational researchers, biotech/pharma labs. | Researchers, lab managers, students, regulated labs (GLP/GMP). |
| Data & Analysis Support | Supports NGS data (scRNA-seq, ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq), proteomics, custom pipelines, real-time compute. | Primarily focuses on protocol/task tracking, not for heavy bioinformatics; no built-in intensive data-analysis pipelines. |
| Visualization | Rich biology-specific visualizations: UMAP, volcano plots, Kaplan-Meier, heatmaps etc. | Visualization is more about task progress, project dashboards, not for molecular data plots. |
| Collaboration | Real-time comments, change history, experiment provenance, sharing via embedded apps. | Role-based permissions, commenting, tagging, shared tasks & projects. |
| Automation / AI Features | Provides PlutoAI assistants for gene-info, analysis suggestions, experiment summaries. | AI-powered “Import with AI” to convert SOPs to protocol templates; workspace automations to update statuses. |
| Integrations / API | REST API, Python SDK, R package; integrations with Benchling, Notion, Azure, BaseSpace, etc. | RESTful API; integrates with LIMS, instruments, Office Online, protocols.io, barcode printers etc. |
| Compliance & Security | SOC 2 Type II, encryption in transit & at rest, GDPR readiness. | Audit trails, electronic signatures, FDA 21 CFR Part 11, 2-factor auth, data encryption, backup. |
| Project Management / Tracking | Not focused on project-task-experiment hierarchy; more on data-centric research pipelines. | Has project canvas, tasks, experiments, a “Project Insights” dashboard for workload & bottlenecks. |
| Inventory Management | Primarily data management rather than physical lab inventory. | Full inventory module: reagents, samples, equipment, traceability. |
| Scalability | Designed for large bio-datasets, cloud autoscaling for compute. | Scalable across team sizes; supports both cloud and self-hosted deployments. |
| Pricing | Enterprise / bespoke pricing (requires demo) | Has free (“Essential”) and paid plans; cost depends on features & team. |
Pricing & Scalability
| Category | Pluto Bio | SciNote |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | Custom / quote-based plans — no fixed per-sample or per-user cost. | Tiered: Free for individuals + paid “Premium” / Enterprise plans. |
| Academic Pricing | Available (special academic pricing on request) | Has academia-tailored plans for research labs. |
| Enterprise Plan | Yes — includes multi‐team support, SSO, custom integrations, single-tenant cloud. | Yes — enterprise plan available (custom quote) with advanced compliance, security, and integrations. |
| Scalability | Highly scalable for large-scale bioinformatics: supports big multi-omics datasets, automated pipelines, and collaboration at scale | Scalable across lab sizes: from individual researchers (free) to large regulated labs; supports team collaboration, project management, and inventory at scale. |
| Cost Transparency | Does not publicly list fixed prices; requires demo / quote | Very low starting cost reported (≈ $0.01 / user-year on some sources) |
Which Platform Is Best for You?
Choose Pluto Bio if you:
- Need value-added embedded bioinformatics and are dealing with complex multi-omics data (scRNA-seq, ATAC-seq, proteomics) .
- Need cloud scaled compute power as you will need to analyze large volume, raw data sets with no need to manage any backend infrastructure .
- Wish to have interactive, publication-quality visualizations (e.g. UMAP, volcano plots, Kaplan-Meier, etc) without having to write any code .
- Work in pharma or biotech R&D and need the ability to share and collaborate in a secure fashion with both bioinformaticians and wet-lab scientists .
- Want to create and maintain standard entity databases (e.g., cell lines, patient cohorts) to ensure metadata uniformity across your experiments .
Choose SciNote if you:
- Need a comprehensive electronic lab notebook (ELN) to capture information such as experiments, protocols, and samples.
- Work in a regulated environment (GLP, GMP) and need to adhere to** FDA 21 CFR Part 11** as SciNote offers audit trails, electronic signatures, and secure logins.
- Want to manage inventory (reagents, samples, equipment) on the same platform as your experiments .
- Are collaborating across multiple institutions or running an academic lab. SciNote supports large teams and data traceability as well as easy data sharing and is designed for users of all sizes as it easily scales to accommodate any number of users.
- Prefer a platform that is easy to implement (cloud or self-hosted) and offers templates and project/task management features.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | Pluto Bio | SciNote |
|---|---|---|
| Data Management & Ingest | – Upload raw sequencing data (FASTQ) or processed (CSV) directly. – Bulk import from cloud storage like AWS, GCS. | – Project / experiment / task-based structure. – Centralized protocols repository and cross-referencing with inventory / people. |
| Bioinformatics / Analysis Pipelines | – Built-in automated NGS pipelines (RNA-seq, scRNA-seq, ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq etc.). – Custom pipelines are supported. ( – Real-time status tracking of pipeline runs. | – Not a full bioinformatics compute platform; more focused on documenting experiments rather than running data-intensive pipelines. |
| Visualization | – Rich, biology-specific visualizations: UMAP, volcano plots, Kaplan-Meier, heatmaps, IGV, etc. – Publication-quality figures via a no-code canvas. | – Visualization is more about workflow status (tasks, project dashboards), not molecular data plots. – Results can be attached (files, tables) and linked to experiments. |
| Collaboration & Sharing | – Real-time collaboration: share datasets, plots, and analysis with role-based permissions. – Integration with Benchling enables embedding Pluto plots directly into notebooks. | – Commenting, tagging team members, and notifications to keep everyone updated. – Custom user permissions and team-sharing policies. |
| Workflow / Task Management | – Less task-management; more focused on data-driven experiments and analysis. – Projected more for data interpretation than lab task coordination. | – Strong project management: tasks, due dates, visual workflow canvas. – Templates for experiments and workflows. |
| Inventory Management | – Not primarily built for managing physical lab inventory. | – Full inventory module: reagents, samples, equipment, with traceability. – Barcode support and custom inventory fields. |
| Regulatory Compliance / Security | – Strong data security: encryption, SOC 2 Type II, GDPR compliance. – Role-based access and auditability. | – Compliance support for FDA 21 CFR Part 11, GLP / GMP. – Audit trails, electronic signatures, user management, and logs. |
| Scalability & Compute | – Cloud-scaled compute for large multi-omics datasets. – No per-sample or per-user cost; one platform fee. | – Suitable for labs of all sizes: from individual researchers to large teams. – Self-hosted or cloud-based deployments possible. |
| Integrations & API | – API access, integrates with Benchling, Notion, Azure AD, BaseSpace, etc. – Developers can programmatically access data. | – REST API available. – Integrates with barcoding systems, inventory tools, and protocols. – Templates import from protocols.io. |
| Reporting & Analytics | – Summary analyses, pathway analyses (GO, KEGG), functional enrichment. – Methods section saved dynamically with parameters, for reproducibility. | – Auto-generated project reports. – Advanced search for past data / experiments. |
Pros & Cons Pluto Bio vs SciNote
Pros & Cons Pluto Bio
Pros:
- Some users appreciate the user-friendly no-code platform for bioinformatics where users can perform complex analyses such as RNA-seq without programming.
- Excellent data visualization and interactive customizable plots such as volcano, UMAP, and heatmap.
- Services many assays such as bulk RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq, proteomics, and multi-omics.
- Enables collaboration amongst biologists and bioinformaticians and data-sharing.
- High-quality control as users describe the detailed QC metrics that are used for quick problem analysis.
- Cloud-hosted, scalable, and secure that can handle big data and high-compute workloads.
- Quick and helpful support in biological community.
Cons:
- Some users reported a lack of variety of analysis in the statistical performances of the product.
- Reviewers mention a lack of quality in the documentation, explaining gaps, tutorials, and guides.
- Users are not satisfied with the alert systems.
- Some users mentioned there can be sluggishness in the interface when performing some larger analyses.
- Some users mentioned that graphs may have some issues such as decimal precision not being available in plots and legends not being adaptable.
Pros & Cons SciNote
Pros:
- Excellent Structured ELN with strong support for project/experiment / task hierarchies which facilitates effective lab organization.
- Excellent Inventory management for reagents, samples, equipment, and experiments.
- Excellent support for regulatory compliance with audit trails, electronic signatures and support for FDA 21 CFR Part 11, GLP / GMP.
- Excellent support for collaboration with role-based permissions, team sharing policies, comments, and notifications.
- System is easy to learn and many users feel it is intuitive once they become accustomed to the structure.
- Excellent client support and onboarding.
- System improves traceability and reproducibility of lab data.
Cons: - System can be inflexible. Some users report limitations in customizing templates or adding new columns to the protocol.
- New users report an interface learning curve. Some users may need to work through a tutorial or may need to learn via trial and error.
- Some users report updates seem to be frequent, but do not seem to be incurring substantial improvements.
- Some users feel that the system is not that flexible and is not all that easy to navigate.
Conclusion
To conclude, SciNote and Pluto Bio products aim to address different yet somewhat overlapping aspects of the life-science research ecosystem. If you require a specialized, powerful, no-code bioinformatics program for advanced computational workflow execution and analysis of multi-omics data, Pluto Bio is the best option.
In contrast, for an electronic lab notebook (ELN) with a clear structure that documents, tracks, and manages your experiments and inventory, ensuring data traceability and quality in accordance with GLP/GMP, SciNote is the best option, as it also integrates with regulatory-compliant data-keeping functionality.
In the end, it comes down to your lab’s needs. Suppose intense data analysis and bioinformatics across your teams are your priorities. In that case, Pluto Bio is your best bet, or if you prioritize documentation, regulatory compliance, and experiment management, then SciNote is best. For many laboratories, the best complementary option is to use both in parallel.
FAQ
What is the main difference between Pluto Bio and SciNote?
Pluto Bio is primarily a multi-omics data analysis and visualization platform, designed for bioinformaticians and researchers working with NGS, proteomics, etc.
SciNote is an electronic lab notebook (ELN) and lab management tool, focused on documenting experiments, managing tasks, inventory, and compliance.
Can Pluto Bio handle large datasets and heavy compute workloads?
Yes — Pluto supports large-scale datasets using cloud-scaled compute for workflows, and is designed to upload raw data like FASTQ files securely.
Is SciNote suitable for regulated labs (GLP / GMP / 21 CFR Part 11)?
Yes — SciNote includes compliance features such as audit trails, electronic signatures, timestamps, and role-based access, making it suitable for labs under regulatory requirements.
