tinysamples

Comparison ·

A Benchling alternative for labs that only need sample tracking.

Benchling is an R&D platform — ELN, molecular biology tools, registry, API — priced by custom quote, with a free academic plan for its Notebook and Molecular Biology products. tinysamples does one job from that list: track samples, from a phone, at $0 for 100 samples and $12/month after. If you need the platform, use Benchling. If you need the one job, you do not need the platform.

Who should stay on Benchling?

You, if you need any of this — Benchling has it and tinysamples does not:

  • A full electronic lab notebook (ELN) for protocols and experiment write-ups
  • Molecular biology tools: CRISPR design, primers, alignments
  • A structured registry, automation and an API (Benchling Connect)
  • A free academic plan covering the Notebook and Molecular Biology products
  • Enterprise scale, compliance options and implementation support

That is not a grudging list. Benchling is what a molecular biology platform looks like done seriously, and if your lab lives in sequences and protocols, close this tab and use it.

So where does tinysamples fit?

In the gap the platform leaves for small labs. Benchling’s free academic plan covers its Notebook and Molecular Biology products — its Inventory and Registry products are not part of it, by their own description, because they were built for industry requirements. Which means the lab that only wants to know where sample S-142 is and who touched it last is choosing between an enterprise quote and a spreadsheet.

tinysamples is the third option: the sample record alone, set up in minutes, on a public price. No schema configuration, no rollout, no sales call — and honestly, no ELN, no sequences and no API either.

Side by side, scoped to sample tracking

Benchling facts from their published pricing and academic pages, verified 2026-08-14. If their pages have changed since, their pages win.
Benchlingtinysamples
Built forR&D platform: ELN, molecular biology, LIMS, registrySample tracking only
PricingCustom quotes — contact sales$0 · $12/mo · $29/mo, all public
Free tierAcademic: Notebook + Molecular Biology (not Inventory/Registry)100 samples, 1 user, anyone
SetupImplementation and training offeredRegister a sample in minutes
ELN / protocolsYesNo
Sequence toolsYes (CRISPR, primers, alignments)No
APIYes (Benchling Connect)No API today
Team of 20By quote$29/mo flat
Start for Free

Free for 100 samples. No card.

Fair questions

Is tinysamples an ELN like Benchling?
No. tinysamples stores no protocols and no experiment write-ups. If your lab needs a notebook, Benchling has a real one — including free for academics — and we do not.
I have never heard of you. Who is using this?
Nobody you have heard of — tinysamples is new, and we are not going to show you logos we have not earned. What we can show you instead is on this page: the product itself, every price and every limit, and an address that reaches the people who built it.
No API, no integrations. Dead end.
Correct: there is no API today. It is on the roadmap for the Team plan, and we would rather tell you that than ship a bad one. If an API is the thing between you and signing up, tell us — it moves the roadmap.
Per-seat pricing punishes me for having students.
Team is $29 a month flat for up to 20 users. A student who joins in October costs nothing. One who graduates in May saves nothing. We think counting seats in a lab that turns over every year is a tax on doing science, so we do not.

Two minutes. One sample.

Register one real sample and see whether it sticks.

Register your first sample