Which LIMS is Most Configurable? Updated for 2026
Let’s talk about a buzzword: configurability.
For decades, legacy LIMS have offered customizable platforms that could be modified through code and custom features to suit each lab’s specific needs. It was a system that worked well for labs and, pretty well, for these vendors, since they charged for the services.
But software these days doesn’t need to be customizable. Modern software is configurable, meaning you don’t need to build bespoke customizations; instead, you can toggle settings on or off based on your lab size, workflows, or industry.
The trouble is, how can you be certain they are telling the truth? Even legacy vendors now sometimes hide behind the marketing lingo of configurability while still requiring custom development services to make changes on your behalf.
In this guide, we’ll examine what configurability really means and share the most configurable LIMS available today.
Configurable vs Customizable LIMS: Why The Distinction Matters
A customizable LIMS allows for more extensive modifications to the system's functionality and appearance. That may sound great initially, but it’s important to note that these extensive modifications come at a cost. And the cost can be quite steep.
Yes, customizable LIMS provide greater flexibility but will require more technical expertise and resources to implement and maintain. Not only that, but if you need to make any changes as your processes change, you will either need engineering resources to make them or pay a vendor for development work.
A configurable LIMS, on the other hand, allows your lab to modify the system's functionality and appearance with built-in tools and settings without requiring changes to the underlying code.
Thanks to pre-built settings and no-code workflows, your lab can modify the LIMS to suit your needs without advanced customization work or costly development resources. A configurable LIMS lets you tailor the software to your lab’s needs without complex development, from user permissions to accessioning steps to automated workflows.
If your team doesn’t have the budget or time for customization to your LIMS, then a configurable LIMS is often the best choice. But that’s why you’re here.
What Can You Configure in a LIMS?
We’ll admit, it seems a bit far-fetched to claim that a configurable LIMS is just as flexible as a customizable LIMS. After all, with the latter, vendors can create custom features, brand the software, and even set up custom API endpoints.
Yes, it’s easier to configure your software than wait on a vendor to make changes in code, but what exactly can you configure? We can’t speak for every platform, but here are the sorts of things that QBench customers are able to configure without the need for any technical support from us:
- Fields for orders, samples, and inventory
- Sources for orders and samples (say, patient or product)
- COAs
- Worksheets
- Hidden fields, to hide fields from orders from view
- IDs for samples and orders
- Branding and functionality for a customer-facing portal where internal and external customers can submit orders and check statuses.
- Statuses for tests, invoices, and inventory
- Email alerts (with templates you can create) to share a digest for test results
- Orders of fields for orders, samples, and tests
All of this and so much more can be configured in QBench without a single line of code. Next, we’ll walk you through the top configurable LIMS you can choose from.
The Best Configurable LIMS
There are dozens of LIMS to choose from, but only a fraction are truly configurable. We based this on an assessment of each vendor’s website functionality and customer reviews.
- QBench
- CloudLIMS
- Sapio Sciences
Read on for an in-depth review of each platform.
QBench
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, putting the 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. Being industry-agnostic, we liken QBench to a LEGO set: if you can dream it, you really can build it and adapt our LIMS to your needs and workflows.
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, and has outperformed competitors across the Customer Satisfaction dimension.
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.
Here’s what one customer has to say about QBench:
“QBench has been instrumental for our lab, allowing us to generate custom protocols and reports with a sleek and modern user interface. The filter tools are excellent, and creating custom fields is a breeze. The report templates and automations are also extremely easy to configure and modify.”
CloudLIMS
CloudLIMS is a cloud-based SaaS LIMS designed primarily for biobanking, clinical research, diagnostics, and analytical testing laboratories.
CloudLIMS offers configurable workflows that allow labs to define and enforce SOPs for different assays, with customization available without coding. This includes support for configurable workflows and CAPA management, helping clinical labs improve compliance. That said, CloudLIM's configuration capabilities are also not as adaptable to other industries. The platform is more structured than others on this list, and configurable options tend to follow predefined templates rather than being free-form. One environmental lab mentions struggling to adapt the LIMS to their needs:
“The initial configuration was not set up for an environmental laboratory; many of the built-in fields on the sample and test screens had to be modified by CloudLIMS during the setup process. This gives the impression that they are new to environmental labs.”
Sapio Sciences
Sapio Sciences positions itself as an enterprise-focused solution, offering a unified platform that combines LIMS, ELN, and a Scientific Data Cloud.
Like CloudLIMS, Sapio delivers a modern, highly configurable, and scalable informatics platform tailored specifically for life sciences and pharmaceutical industries, with full no-code/low-code capabilities that enable labs to easily adapt workflows, data models, and features. This also includes a drag-and-drop workflow builder, an English sentence rules engine, a configurable user interface, and an AI-powered assistant.
With all this power comes a cost in ease of use. Sapio Sciences has one of the steeper learning curves of the LIMS on this list.
QBench vs CloudLIMS vs Sapio Sciences
The three platforms above all offer a similar feature set and mix of configurable options, so here’s a quick side-by-side comparison to evaluate them further:
Between these three platforms, you have a few great options to choose from. If having an industry-specific platform for clinical or biotech labs is an absolute must, then CloudLIMS or Sapio Sciences is probably a good bet.
If your goal is flexibility and a modern, no-code platform that adapts to your needs, it’s hard to find a better option than QBench. Next, we’ll share why modern labs trust QBench with their data.
Why Modern Labs Trust QBench LIMS
If you’re looking for a LIMS to automate and optimize your lab’s processes, we’d recommend QBench. Here’s a snapshot of why modern labs trust QBench with their data and processes:
- Industry-agnostic and flexible
- Fast time-to-value
- Built-in QMS
Industry-agnostic & Flexible
QBench is industry-agnostic, which many labs see as a strength. Rather than hyper-focusing on a single set of lab workflows like CloudLIMS, QBench is built to be adaptable for a variety of needs, giving your lab full flexibility to set things up the way you want.
The diversity of our customer base is a testament to this: we have a beloved West Coast burger chain, a premier athletic apparel company, a food safety testing lab, and a medical lab flying kidneys across the country; QBench adapts to your needs rather than you adapting to it.
Fast Time-to-Value
Even the most intuitive LIMS will need time and care to implement; no matter what a vendor may claim, no LIMS comes out of the box.
While implementation will take time, that doesn’t mean you need to wait months to see value. After working with hundreds of labs, we've found that there's a temptation to get everything configured perfectly before going live (you may have heard this referred to as a “Big Bang” approach).
We understand that mindset when working in regulated industries. However, we've seen that mindset work against getting value quickly over and over again. Rather than try to implement everything in one go, we prefer to implement a subset of methods quickly; we find this creates a virtuous cycle for the remaining test methods and builds confidence and positive momentum.
A phased approach to implementation prevents project teams from biting off more than they can chew and from experiencing “implementation fatigue”. This also helps with change management, which typically begins after implementation. By starting change management earlier in the process, you can increase staff adoption, making for a smoother transition post-implementation.
Built-In QMS
For labs in highly regulated industries, a QMS is essential. The trouble is, no matter how configurable your LIMS is, you’ll still run into the same vendor issues if your QMS cannot keep up.
Fortunately, QBench includes a built-in QMS, enabling you to manage compliance and documentation at scale. With an integrated QMS, you can store SOPs and compliance documentation, enabling you to accomplish much more than with a LIMS alone. QBench is proud to be SOC 2 compliant and to support labs in meeting 21 CFR Part 11 and ISO 17025 standards.
For the above reasons, modern labs that are looking to spend more time on higher-value work and less time double-checking their data or waiting for vendors consistently choose QBench. And with a G2 rating of 4.5, they’re in good company.
See QBench for Yourself: Schedule a Demo Today
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 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 2026. Click the button below to schedule a demo and see for yourself.
