Benchling vs Labguru vs QBench: Which LIMS is Best?

For modern labs, especially those in biotech and pharma, a LIMS is a must if you wish to scale your operations and speed up processes while also meeting strict compliance standards.

But which LIMS should you choose?

Between three industry leaders, QBench, Benchling, and Labguru, you have excellent options to help your lab scale. In this article, we will compare QBench, Benchling, and Labguru to help you see how these platforms stack up and which one is the best fit for your lab.

What to Look for in a LIMS

Selecting the right LIMS for your lab can be a daunting process. If this is your first time, we recommend looking for the following: 

• Cloud-based: Cloud-based LIMS are far superior to on-prem LIMS, which require effort and investment from your team to maintain them. While on-prem LIMS offer more control, they can cost far more than cloud-based software in the long run.
• Configurable, not customizable: Somewhere in your search for a LIMS, you’ll come across two terms: configurable and customizable. Customizable LIMS often require custom code and development resources to set up and maintain, while configurable LIMS offer no-code solutions in-app for any user on your team to create workflows in your LIMS.
• Automation capabilities: The power of a LIMS lies in its ability to automate tasks, processes, and workflows for your lab. This automation saves time and reduces the room for human error (which can cause further delays or compliance issues). 
• Speedy implementation: Look for a LIMS with a fast, thorough, and efficient implementation so your lab can get set up right away and get things done. 
• Great support: Whenever you buy software, prioritize the support that you’ll get. A LIMS with great support gives you a safety net for your team that you can rely on should you have questions or encounter issues.
• Custom fields and permissions: This is a big one, especially for certain industries and compliance regulations. Look for a LIMS that can adapt to your unique needs and use cases and provides adequate security measures to protect your data.

Now, let’s take a look at how these three LIMS platforms compare.

QBench

QBench is the leading option for labs of all sizes and many industries looking to get more done and scale.

QBench is an excellent LIMS for biotech and life sciences labs thanks to its flexibility, robust suite of QA/QC features, and RESTful API. QBench takes a unique approach to LIMS by creating a highly configurable and flexible LIMS. This puts the power to make changes into your hands. Since all labs operate and evolve differently, they need a flexible LIMS that adapts with them over time.

Many QBench customers have felt the pain of legacy LIMS and how vendor-created, code-driven customizations lead to slow, costly updates. Rather than slow you down, QBench’s deep workflow configurability and flexible, easy-to-use tools allow for quick workflow adjustments, report modifications, and automation tweaks.

It’s no wonder that QBench is the G2 Winter 25 Momentum Leader, won even more badges throughout 2024, and sits at #1 on the Easiest-to-Use and Highest-Rated lists in 2025.

QBench is privately owned by a group of families and software investors with over 30 years of lab experience and a long-term time horizon, meaning that they prioritize building the best culture, continuous innovation, and a business that drives value for customers for many years to come. This is a strong contrast to many LIMS owned by private equity firms, where there’s an explicit goal to cut costs, extract as much value from customers quickly, and then resell the business in 3-4 years. QBench's employees are distributed globally to serve customers worldwide, but most employees (85%) are in North America (as 2025). Critically, roles that work closely with customers are based in North America and share the same time zones as the majority of the customer base.

QBench packs a punch with powerful tools for:

• Configurable workflows
• Reporting tools
• Custom fields
• A Customer Portal
• No-code Automations
• Inventory Management
• QMS (Quality Management System)
• Billing Management
• A Robust API
• Powerful admin controls & user permissions

With all this power, you won’t have to sacrifice ease of use, though. QBench is quick to implement and easy for your entire team to use. QBench is well-reviewed on G2 with 113 reviews and 4.5 out of 5 stars. Over 95% of QBench's reviews are from customers in North America.

Here’s a sample of what customers are saying about QBench:

Benchling

‍Benchling first began as an ELN (electronic lab notebook) and has added more robust LIMS features over the years to round out its offering. 
Today, Benchling offers a suite of features geared towards biotech and life sciences, including:

• Automation
• Integrations
• Data management
• Reporting

And more. Benchling is one of the pricier options on the market and that trend has continued over the years as they have tripled their prices (according to an anonymous source, Benchling does not publish their prices on their website).

Founded in 2012, Benchling is a more recent entry into the cloud-based LIMS space (at least, compared to legacy LIMS platforms that are still implemented locally). Benchling is privately owned by 23 investors. Roughly 87% of its employees are in North America and 11% are in EMEA, according to LinkedIn and as of 2025..

Benchling is well-reviewed on G2 with 4.5/5 stars. It earns high marks for its suite of features suited for biotech labs (flexible data model, big data management, molecular and DNA features, etc.); however, it may offer limited flexibility for non-biotech labs.

Labguru

Like Benchling, Labguru is a cloud-based platform founded in 2011.

Unlike Benchling and QBench, Labguru skews more towards an ELN with added LIMS features than a fully featured robust LIMS. This may make Labguru a good option for small labs looking to streamline and scale their operations without complex needs.

Like Benchling, Labguru offers a mature ELN solution with added inventory management and reporting features. They also offer API and automation support in their premium tiers (compared to QBenchLIMS, which offers automation support in every tier and API support in its second and third tier). Labguru is well-reviewed on G2; however, most of its reviews revolve around its ELN rather than its LIMS. Labguru’s LIMS earns high marks for ease of use. That said, real-time support from Labguru is limited as much of their support is handled via their knowledge base with an option to fill out a form with a specific request. 

Previously, Labguru was owned by Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, a European publishing house. Holtzbrinck Publishing Group sold Labguru to Titian Software, a UK-based Sample Management business, which is itself owned by Battery Ventures' private equity division. 

Roughly 43% of its staff are located in Europe & the Middle East, 30% in North America, and 28% in Asia (according to LinkedIn and as of 2025). 

QBench vs. Benchling vs. Labguru: A Side-By-Side Comparison

For a deeper comparison of QBench, Benchling, and Labguru, let’s walk through a side-by-side view of how they stack up.

Look For a LIMS With Product Innovation, Customer Input, and Quality of Support

There’s more to choosing a LIMS than a simple table matrix of features and prices. There are three other essential considerations we’d recommend you prioritize:

1. Their product innovation and update cadence.
2. Turning customer feedback into new features.
3. The quality of their support.

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QBench outshines the industry on innovation, listening to customers, and quality of support.

1. QBench releases product updates monthly. We’re working tirelessly to ensure that our LIMS scales with the needs of your lab and the industry.
2. QBench has a customer feedback platform where customers can suggest features, vote on proposed features, and see the roadmap of customer-suggested features. Every QBench release contains features that customers ask for.
3. QBench exceeds the industry average on G2 for quality of support and is one of the top things highlighted in QBench reviews.

All three offer a LIMS that can help automate processes and scale your lab, but as you can see, QBench leads the pack with spectacular G2 ratings, industry-leading approaches to automation, and outstanding support whenever you need it.

Why Labs Love QBench LIMS

There’s a reason that QBench is a consistent leader across categories on G2, labs can get more done with QBench LIMS.

Here are the top reasons why labs of all sizes love QBench LIMS.

• No-code automations: Our no-code automations give you the power to design and create workflows to meet your lab’s needs without a line of custom code.
• Flexible, but not overwhelming: With QBench’s point-and-click interface you can automate and build anything. If your lab can dream it, you can build it in QBench LIMS.
• Robust API Support: Whether you want to integrate instruments or other systems, QBench comes with a robust RESTful API that can power your needs.
• Ease of use: Despite having such a powerful and configurable platform, QBench consistently earns top marks for ease of use.
• Built-in QMS: With QBench LIMS, you get a built-in, tightly integrated QMS experience as opposed to having to purchase and integrate a separate compliance management platform.
• Integrates with dozens of popular software platforms: QBench LIMS integrates with dozens of popular software platforms, including CRMs, accounting platforms, business intelligence platforms, and more. And if QBench doesn’t have a native connection, the robust API allows you to connect anything you want.

QBench consistently earns high marks for its responsive and helpful support on top of its powerful software platform.

Choose A Robust Yet User-Friendly LIMS: Schedule a Demo of QBench LIMS Today

Between these three choices, it can be hard to determine which LIMS is right for your lab. If you’re stumped on features, we’d recommend taking a step back to review your lab’s needs.

 If you are looking for a LIMS that provides:

• Robust integrations and API access
• Automation
• Reporting
• No-code configuration
• Ease of use
• Excellent support

Then look no further than QBench.

Choose a LIMS that helps your lab work smarter with unparalleled flexibility to drive whatever the future brings. It’s one of the reasons we’re so proud that this commitment continually gets recognized by G2 and why QBench ranks among the best LIMS of 2025. Click the button below to schedule a demo and see for yourself.