The Best LIMS for Materials Testing Labs
A single tensile test on carbon fiber generates thousands of data points, yet most labs still rely on spreadsheets and manual methods unchanged since the 1990s.
In an industry where misplaced data can mean a failed ASTM audit, a scrapped production run, or even a lawsuit, outdated systems are dangerous and not mere nuisances. Modern materials testing labs need a LIMS built for today’s throughput, standards, and compliance environment.
In this guide, we’ll break down exactly what materials labs should demand from a LIMS and which platforms deliver.
Why Materials Testing Labs Need a LIMS
We could list simple facts and figures to showcase why proper data management and integrity matter for materials testing labs, such as:
- The materials testing market hit $6.8B in 2024, and it’s only growing as throughput increases, raising the risk of errors and compliance failures.
- Failure to meet compliance standards can result in lost accreditation, damaging your lab's reputation in the process.
- Violations can result in fines of five or six figures for compliance and safety failures (depending on your industry, these could come from the EPA, OSHA, DOT, etc.).
But it’s easy to get lost in abstract numbers, so here’s a real example of an internal materials testing lab to manage production quality for its larger parent company.
This lab plays a key role in the parent company’s product development process, running tests before products go to market as well as analyzing post-market failures. In their own words, this lab used a “big Excel spreadsheet” to manage data, samples, and inventory. They track everything manually and rely on staff to update the appropriate records in a shared file.
The result is predictable: engineers waste time managing logistics, samples are unnecessarily re-tested while others fall through the cracks, and staff spend endless hours trying to reconcile test data. As throughput increases, they are falling behind and are constantly fearful of falling out of ISO 17025 compliance.
Tens of thousands of labs worldwide continue to rely on outdated, manual, and error-prone systems, missing out on the opportunity to automate their workflows and prevent errors with a LIMS.
What Materials Testing Labs Should Look for in a LIMS
A quick Google search for “best LIMS” yields 24 recommendations, before you even consider self-hosted, open source, or free platforms.
While many LIMS could fit the bill, materials testing labs have specific needs they must consider when selecting a platform. We recommend you look for the following capabilities when evaluating a LIMS for your lab:
- Workflow automation: Materials testing labs need a LIMS that can handle diverse testing protocols across different material types (metals, polymers, composites, ceramics, etc.). Look for a LIMS that accommodates both standardized tests (tensile, compression, fatigue, and hardness) and custom protocols, with the flexibility to modify workflows as testing requirements evolve.
- Compliance support: Choose a LIMS that supports compliance with multiple testing standards simultaneously, such as ASTM, ISO, EN (European Norms), DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normung), and industry-specific standards. You’ll need to store standard test methods, automatically populate test parameters based on selected standards, and track standard versions to ensure that tests are performed according to the current specifications.
- Sample and specimen tracking: Materials testing often involves complex sample hierarchies, so look for a LIMS that can track parent-child relationships, maintain a chain of custody, and handle specimen preparation steps (cutting, machining, conditioning). Barcode or RFID integration is also essential for high-volume operations.
- Instrument integration: Direct integration with testing equipment (universal testing machines, hardness testers, impact testers, spectroscopy equipment) is mission-critical. Select a LIMS that captures data automatically from your lab’s instruments, reducing transcription errors and improving efficiency. Bonus points if your vendor supports a RESTful API.
- Certificate and report generation: Look for a LIMS that produces professional test certificates and reports that meet customer and regulatory requirements. Ideally, you’ll also get customizable report templates, the ability to include graphs and images, support for multiple languages if needed, and electronic signature capabilities for report approval.
- Data management and calculations: Materials testing generates substantial numerical data requiring complex calculations (stress-strain curves, statistical analysis, uncertainty calculations). Be sure to choose a LIMS that can handle large datasets and supports calculations on the fly.
Not all LIMS will meet these standards, so read on for our top five platforms we’d recommend to materials testing labs.
The 5 Best LIMS Platforms for Materials Testing Labs
With so many LIMS on the market, which should you choose? To save time, here are the top cloud-based options we’ve identified
We ranked these based on an assessment of:
- Their G2 rankings and reviews
- Their feature set and how well-suited they are to modern labs
- Their flexibility and adaptability
- Their implementation timeframe
Here are the top five LIMS on the market. We’ll walk you through each one so you can compare them side-by-side.
- QBench
- LabWare
- LabVantage
- Thermo Fisher Scientific Sample Manager
- Lockbox LIMS
1. QBench
QBench is the leading option for materials testing labs looking to manage samples at scale while meeting a host of rigorous compliance standards.
Like many industry-leading LIMS, QBench offers a comprehensive suite of features for sample management, barcode scanning, test management, COA generation, and more. But what truly sets QBench apart from the rest is its highly configurable, flexible approach that puts customization power directly in your hands — no coding required.
Unlike vendor-created, code-driven customizations that lead to slow, costly updates, QBench offers deep workflow configurability and flexible, user-friendly tools for quick workflow adjustments, report modifications, and automation enhancements.
That plus a tightly-integrated QMS means your data, SOPs, documents, and tests are all under one roof and perfectly synced.
QBench has earned impressive recognition in 2025, ranking #1 on G2's Highest-Rated LIMS list, Easiest to Use LIMS list, and Highest-Rated LIMS in North America list. As a G2 Momentum Leader, QBench has demonstrated exceptional growth, as evidenced by its user satisfaction scores, employee growth, and digital presence, outperforming competitors across the Customer Satisfaction dimension.
What is a Momentum Leader?
G2 states, "Our Momentum Grid shows the growth trajectory that products have had in their respective spaces over the last year. The Momentum Grid identifies products that are on a high-growth trajectory based on user satisfaction scores, employee growth, and digital presence."
Second-time LIMS buyers consistently choose QBench after experiencing the limitations of legacy systems. In fact, one client picked QBench as their top choice among 15 vendors!
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 they prioritize building the best culture, continuous innovation, and a business that drives value for customers for many years to come. And unlike other platforms owned by private equity firms (which prioritize cost-cutting and profits), QBench is committed to generating customer value first.
QBench's employees are distributed globally to serve customers around the world, but the majority of critical-role employees (88%) are located in North America.
Price: Starts at $249/user/month with a discount for 20+ users.
QBench offers multiple tiers, though its base tier packs a punch: its Starter tier includes access to workflow tools, reporting tools, no-code configurations, custom fields, user permissions, and more.
Notable features for materials labs:
- Sample registration and tracking, including support for barcode scanning
- Chain of custody tracking
- Test scheduling and batch processing
- Instrument and software integrations
- Built-in calculations
- Equipment calibration management
- Audit trails
- Support for ISO 17025, FDA CFR 21 Part 11, and HIPAA
- Workflow automations
- Certificate generation
- Billing and invoicing support
- Inventory management
- Configurable automations
- Reports and data visualizations
- Robust API support
- WYSIWYG report template editor
- Integrated QMS
2. LabWare
LabWare was founded in 1987 and excels at on-premises deployments, serving many large pharmaceutical companies.
The product is a solid option for larger companies looking to digitize their operations, thanks to its built-in ELN and LIMS automation features. LabWare boasts several automation capabilities along with QA/QC features and instrument integrations. LabWare is customizable and even has its own programming language called LIMS Basic. The latest version of LabWare, LabWare 8, was released on June 12, 2020.
Price: No public pricing available. The product is likely priced for large enterprises (e.g. $100,000 per year or more). The pricing available is part of the GSA Advantage program, which typically offers the lowest price and is exclusive to government contracts. These prices are unlikely to be available to businesses, but they can help a lab building a vendor shortlist understand the price range they might encounter.
GSA Advantage pricing schedule: Perpetual license GSA Advantage price from 2021 of $7,043.22/user + 14% maintenance fee of $986.05/user/year for continued patches and product enhancements after year 1 + additional costs for access to technical support + additional costs for hardware and IT staff if you choose on-premises deployment.
Notable features:
- Automation capabilities
- QA/QC features
- Instrument integrations
- Sample management
- Reporting tools and data visualizations
3. LabVantage
LabVantage is a solid option for labs looking to get started with automation and streamlining their operations.
LabVantage offers a cloud-based LIMS and ELN solution with sample management, inventory management, and reporting features among its broader feature set. Similar to LabWare, they excel at large, on-premises deployments and serving pharmaceutical companies. The latest version of LabVantage, LabVantage 8.8, was released on December 7, 2022.
Founded in 1981 as Laboratory MicroSystems, LabVantage was sold in 1990 to Instron, which later sold the company to The Chatterjee Group in 1997. It is now believed to be owned by a combination of The Chatterjee Group, the private equity firm Bregal Sagemount, and the private equity firm Apollo Investment Corporation.
Roughly 62% of its staff are located in Asia, 19% in North America, and 18% in Europe (according to LinkedIn). LabVantage has 19 reviews and 3.8/5 stars on G2 (as of January 2025). That said, they haven't had a new review on G2 since October 2022, which is why they rank a bit lower on our list.
Price: No public pricing is available, but the product is likely priced for large enterprises (e.g., $100,000 per year or more). The pricing available is part of the GSA Advantage program, which typically offers the lowest price and is exclusive to government contracts. These prices are unlikely to be available to businesses, but they can help a lab building a vendor short list understand the price range they might encounter.
Perpetual license GSA Advantage price from 2020 of $4239.29/user + 15% support & maintenance fee of $635.89/user/year for patches and updates, and upgrades after the first 90 days + additional costs for hardware and IT staff if you choose on-premises deployment
Notable features:
- Integrated ELN
- Reporting features
- Sample management
- Data management
- Data privacy and security
4. Thermo Scientific SampleManager
Thermo Scientific is a well-known name in lab equipment, so it’s no surprise that their LIMS would appear on any “best of” list. The Thermo Scientific SampleManager LIMS includes many of the features you’d see in any other LIMS, such as automations, sample management, workflows, instrument integration, and reporting. Their LIMS is ranked the ninth-easiest to use on G2.
Thermo Scientific is a large public company with over 65,000 employees. It’s unclear how many of them work on the SampleManager product or where that employee group is located. Thermo Scientific has 111 reviews on G2 (as of January 2025) and 4.3/5 stars. SampleManager LIMS is a truly global product with 37 reviews from customers in North America, 35 from customers in Asia, 12 from customers in Australia, 10 from customers in Europe, and more.
Price: No public pricing available, but it is likely the product is priced for large enterprises (e.g. $100,000 per year or more).
Notable features:
- Sample management
- Lab automation and workflows
- Instrument management
- Inventory management
- Collaboration
- Dashboards and data visualizations
- Compliance features
5. Lockbox LIMS
Lockbox LIMS (by Thirdwave Analytics) is a well-regarded player in the LIMS space. Lockbox LIMS boasts a series of features that help labs digitize and automate their operations. Lockbox LIMS is built as a Salesforce app and is available on the Salesforce AppExchange. Lockbox LIMS is privately owned. Roughly 95% of its employees are located in North America and 5% in Europe (according to LinkedIn). Lockbox LIMS is well-rated on G2 with 4.9/5 stars.
Price: No public pricing available.
Notable features:
- Sample management
- Inventory management
- Integrations
- Instrument management
- Freezer management
- Customer portal
Why Materials Testing Labs Love QBench
There’s a reason that QBench is a consistent leader across categories on G2; modern labs can get more done with QBench LIMS.
Megan, a supervisor at EO Science Lab, says it best when sharing why she chose QBench among seven other LIMS vendors:
“QBench is easy to use and understand, allowing Laboratory Management to configure almost everything with minimal support needed. It is highly configurable while not overwhelming. Implementation is much faster than other systems due to the ease of use and configuration. Plus, QBench is constantly enhancing the product with new features and providing easily accessible help tools.”
Megan, EO Science Lab Supervisor
Here are the top reasons why materials testing labs love QBench LIMS:
- Time-saving automations
- A wide range of test support
- Full compliance support
Time-Saving Automations
Automation is critical for high-throughput labs, but it’s just as important to select a LIMS that automations things the right way.
Many legacy LIMS offer custom-coded automation support, but we’ve heard numerous horror stories where this can result in five-figure bills for even the simplest adjustments.
QBench, on the other hand, takes a configurable view towards automation. With QBench, you can:
- Trigger processes for your lab.
- Easily update a process or roll out new processes.
- Run calculations, generate reports, and notify customers when results are ready.
- Set up workflows between tools such as a client portal, billing, QuickBooks, inventory management, and quality management systems.
There is no need for complex development work or custom code — if you can dream it, you can build it in QBench.
A Wide Range of Supported Tests
Anyone can claim their LIMS is optimized for the specific needs of materials testing labs, but we can certify that QBench supports dozens of test types, ranging from chemical analysis, corrosion testing, fatigue testing, tensile testing, and many more. This baked-in support enables your lab to hit the ground running faster and accomplish more, rather than being hindered by cumbersome systems.
That, combined with the ability to track samples, inventory, and custom metadata, makes QBench the ultimate source of truth for your lab.
Full Compliance Support
As we shared above, lives hang in the balance of the work that materials testing labs do, whether you’re testing consumer products or industrial materials.
QBench helps labs align with ISO 17025:2017 and supports compliance with USDA, EPA, and FDA standards to scale their operations while meeting strict standards. With chain of custody management, role-based access, and secure audit trails, your lab is always inspection-ready and can trace any test or sample within seconds.
Given all this, it’s not hard to see why QBench is the best LIMS for materials testing labs!
Schedule a Demo to See the Power of QBench for Yourself
The LIMS market is growing, but don’t get overwhelmed by the options.
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.
A LIMS should help your lab work smarter and with unparalleled flexibility to handle 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 for materials testing labs.
If you’re still managing tensile tests in spreadsheets, every week puts your lab closer to audit risk. Book a QBench demo and see how fast you can pull your lab to safety.
