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Some labs need versatility, others need focus. That’s why you need to understand what kind of LIMS your lab requires. CloudLIMS covers multiple industries with a broad toolkit, while 1LIMS sticks to the essentials that food & beverage labs use every day. Let’s compare these LIMS in terms of industry focus, rollout speed, integrations, support, and pricing, so you can see which system delivers real value for your lab.
If you’re weighing CloudLIMS against 1LIMS, know that they aren’t direct substitutes. Both platforms do their job well. But they’re developed with different priorities in mind.
You either need a solution purpose-built for food manufacturing QC labs, and that is 1LIMS, or a broad system with a bunch of functions for various industries, which is CloudLIMS.
As a team behind 1LIMS, we are likely to sound biased. But we won’t do that on purpose and want to state right away that 1LIMS delivers the most value only when used in its sweet spot: food and manufacturing quality control. Outside of that, other solutions might serve you better.
That said, here’s our review of both LIMSs from technical and business perspectives, so you don’t end up paying for the wrong choice.
CloudLIMS and 1LIMS both shine, but in different test tubes. We’ll present facts and let you choose the system that reacts best with your workflow.
This choice comes down to scope. Depending on it, you will choose either an all-in-one LIMS or a specific type.
→ An all-in-one LIMS is designed to support multiple industries at once. It comes packed with a wide range of general features and modules, some relevant to your lab, others not.
→ A specific LIMS is built for one industry or application area. It focuses on the workflows, compliance standards, and pain points unique to that industry, but doesn’t come with any tools unnecessary for this industry.
You might think, “If a broad LIMS has everything, why not just go for it?” You may, but you’ll pay for features you’ll never touch. Worse, you bloat your system with functions that confuse staff and slow down adoption.
From a business standpoint, this isn’t only about convenience. It’s also about ROI. A solution built for your industry shortens training time and helps you stay compliant without workarounds.
Let’s bring this back to the two systems we’re comparing and look at their industry focus.
CloudLIMS is a web-based SaaS LIMS with modules spanning 14 different industries. Its strongest focus is on biobanks, clinical, research, and analytical testing labs, but it also offers modules for veterinary, food and beverage, genomics, and more. It’s a good fit for organizations running multiple types of studies or combining different research areas under one roof. Like Colibri Scientific.
It’s a UK-based company that provides clinical services to clinical investigators, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical organizations running early-phase clinical studies. They chose CloudLIMS because it could cover their wide-ranging needs, like tracking samples across multiple sites, managing storage locations, linking samples with donor or patient information, and many more. For labs like theirs, the flexibility of CloudLIMS makes sense.
1LIMS is built specifically for manufacturing and F&B QC labs. We’re not trying to be everything for everyone. If you’re working in food labs or managing production, 1LIMS is the kind of system that actually gets the job done.
Consider Zweifel Chips & Snacks AG as an example. They went with 1LIMS because it had exactly the tools they needed to keep quality control reliable, including centralized master data, sample labeling, test plans, and audit trails.
When you decide to digitize your lab workflows, implementation speed is more than a technical detail. The longer a system takes to roll out, the more resources it consumes, and the longer you wait before seeing the improvements you invested in.
1LIMS can be up and running in 30 days. If you’re still on the fence, you can start with a quick lab evaluation, no strings attached. Once you’re ready to move forward, 1LIMS will run a LabCheck. It’s a structured audit of your current workflows to estimate ROI for the new system and create a step-by-step rollout plan tailored to your lab.
CloudLIMS states that their cloud-based system can be implemented in 4–6 weeks, while an on-premise deployment may take much longer: from several months to over a year, depending on infrastructure and customization.
Both systems set clear expectations. The difference lies in how quickly you can get from planning to working with the platform. And that speed impacts how soon your lab sees business value.
More features usually mean higher costs. And that’s fine if they help streamline your lab operations or speed up workflows. But why pay for features you don’t need? That’s why you should pick a LIMS with the right features for your lab, not the most features possible.
CloudLIMS is packed with a ton of tools, including patient, physician & client portals, sample lifecycle & source management, test management & reporting, regulatory compliance, staff & training management, study management, and many more. Overall, we’ve counted 16 feature sets on their website. If you need patient portals, biobank modules, or clinical trial management, stop reading and go with CloudLIMS. Seriously.
1LIMS also provides many of these capabilities, but it includes only what F&B QA labs need:
➡️ Centralized data storage → all lab data in one intuitive dashboard.
➡️ Sample tracking → full traceability with barcodes, labels, and chain-of-custody logs.
➡️ Electronic sign-off → secure digital approvals for test results.
➡️ Automated audit trails → complete activity logs for compliance.
➡️ One-click reports → customizable templates for COAs, technical sheets, and more.
➡️ Integration → seamless data flow between instruments, external labs, and other software.
So what’s the takeaway?
→ CloudLIMS gives you almost everything under the sun. It’s great if your lab handles a variety of workflows and industries.
→ 1LIMS sticks to the essentials, saving money, cutting complexity, and maximizing ROI for manufacturing and F&B QC labs.
Modern labs run on a mix of ERP platforms, lab instruments, and external testing services. Integrations keep it all in sync. Here’s how each LIMS helps your lab stay connected.
With 1LIMS, you can integrate with internal business software (CRM, ERP, MES), laboratory instruments, and external service labs, like Eurofins, SureScreen Scientifics, INTERLAB Belp, and more. That’s a nice bulk to meet the needs of a QC lab in food and beverage or manufacturing. You don’t have to manually transfer any data and, therefore, reduce manual errors and easily access any data regardless of its source.
CloudLIMS goes broader. It integrates with instruments and ERP systems, plus a wide range of third-party tools, including billing software, EMR/EHR/HIS, LIS, Jotform, REDCap, temperature monitoring systems, specimen catalogs, and online research surveys. External integrations extend to smart reporting software, a mobile phlebotomy and specimen collection service provider, a bio-infrastructure platform, and other tools useful for labs handling multiple types of research or clinical workflows.
1LIMS vs CloudLIMS integrations
Don’t be scared by the red crosses. The total number of integrations isn’t what matters most. You need the ones you’ll actually use. Unused integrations only add complexity and unnecessary costs.
CloudLIMS provides 3 subscription plans designed for:
Pricing is based on the number of users and may vary by country. For instance, labs in developing economies receive discounted rates.
👉 This model works well if your lab is stable in size, you know exactly how many users you’ll need, and you want predictable costs.
With 1LIMS, subscription fees range from $50 to $111 (€43 – €95) per user per month. The final price is based on the module configuration used and the number of analyses or orders the laboratory performs annually. Additional modules cost around $70 per user/month, which can add up as labs expand their feature set. On average, adopting 1LIMS costs our clients from $6,000 to $30,000 (€5,150 - €25,200). But you never buy a pig in a poke. 1LIMS calculates your potential ROI and savings before implementation.
👉 Best for labs that need flexibility, expect to evolve, or want to pay only for the modules they actually use.
Configuration and customization are related, but they’re not the same thing.
Configuration is when you adjust the system using built-in settings and modules without touching the code. It’s faster and gives labs more independence.
Customization is when you modify the existing code base to add new components, build new integrations, create custom data models, or develop unique reporting tools. It offers greater flexibility but usually takes longer and requires more vendor support.
1LIMS is mostly configurable. During the 1-month implementation period, the 1LIMS team helps set up user roles, dashboards, reports, and workflows to match your lab’s test methods, terminology, and reporting formats. We make all the required adjustments to mirror your standard operating procedure.
CloudLIMS also configures the system per the clients’ laboratory workflows. The company’s experts can add and configure test types, set up sample types and custom sample attributes. Also, laboratories can use the embedded easy-to-use configuration tools and customize them to meet their process automation needs. Yet, some clients think CloudLIMS might be difficult at first.
Both systems allow labs to adapt the software to their needs, but 1LIMS keeps it lean and guided, while CloudLIMS offers broader options, which can feel like a lot if you don’t need them all.
A LIMS isn’t something you implement and forget. You have to get support before, during, and after implementation to improve the way you run your lab. 1LIMS experts work closely with your team, covering maintenance, technical support, team training, and ongoing optimization and development. 1LIMS runs in the cloud, so we can introduce new features and fix bugs without any downtime.
CloudLIMS provides a wide range of complementary services with its subscriptions. Clients get training, unlimited technical support (via email/chat/phone), instrument integrations, report template configuration, and even free data migration assistance. Despite that, users sometimes express concerns about slow customer resolutions.
You can scroll through endless reviews, comparison charts, and “top-10” lists, but nothing speaks louder than a real success story. Case studies show you what happens when a company puts a LIMS into action. They’re the closest thing to a behind-the-scenes look at whether the software really delivers. Let’s jump into the stories that show results. First up: 1LIMS.
Zweifel Chips & Snacks AG, the market leader for chips and snacks in Switzerland, replaced paper records and scattered Excel sheets with 1LIMS. After conducting a comprehensive workshop and cost-benefit analysis, we centralized all quality control data on a single platform accessible to the entire team from anywhere. Today, every sample is tracked, no data is lost, and all necessary analyses are completed accurately.
Micarna, Switzerland's leading meat producer with 23 sites, struggled with chaotic paper-based QC processes. We implemented 1LIMS across all 23 locations in four months. Our solution included master data integration, QR code labeling, integration with an external service lab, and comprehensive audit trails. As a result, we helped Micarna achieve a 50% increase in sample throughput and lower per-sample analysis costs.
Interested in the details of the Micarna case? Here is the full story.
Now, let’s look at CloudLIMS cases.
BIRKA BioStorage is a cGMP- and GDP-certified biorepository trusted to store and transport everything, from clinical trial samples to viral products and gene banks. With highly complex sample management processes, they needed a comprehensive solution to automate their workflows, and picked CloudLIMS. As a result of this switch, BIRKA BioStorage experienced a faster turnaround in processing sample storage requests, enhanced data security, improved regulation compliance, and more.
The Sheffield Biorepository, licensed by the UK Human Tissue Authority, manages over 300,000 human tissue samples. At the same time, all sample data, like biographic information, was tracked via spreadsheets. To speed up operations and minimize manual error, they needed an automated data management system. And they decided on CloudLIMS.
Within six months, they securely migrated 230,000 legacy samples, something that previously took over a year for just 60,000. CloudLIMS provided fast data migration, automated tracking, role-based access, and equipment maintenance scheduling, all without heavy IT costs.
These case studies prove: CloudLIMS and 1LIMS each have a unique focus. And picking a LIMS is much easier when you know what your focus is.
We’ve walked through features, integrations, case studies, and everything in between. CloudLIMS and 1LIMS look similar in one thing: they automate sample management, streamline workflows, and reduce chaos. The difference comes down to who they were built for.
CloudLIMS vs 1LIMS
CloudLIMS does everything… maybe too much. 1LIMS does just enough. Pick what actually works for your lab workflow.
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