TrialKit alternatives for teams that need participants to stay, not just submit

TrialKit packs an unusual amount of eClinical into one platform, from EDC and RTSM to medical coding and imaging, with a native app on top. If what you actually need is a participant experience people keep using for months or years, under your own brand, with education content, messaging and wearable data built in, that's what WeGuide was built for. It can carry the participant side on its own or sit next to the systems you already run.

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No pressure, no hard sell. A 30 minute walkthrough with a research colleague who's built platforms like yours.

Where WeGuide differs

Engagement built into every program
Your own app, study by study
Native Garmin, including raw sensor data

Used by leading research and medical institutes.

Why research teams look for a TrialKit alternative

The short version

TrialKit, from Reno based Crucial Data Solutions, is built to run an entire study on one eClinical platform. EDC, eCOA, eConsent, eSource, eTMF, RTSM, adjudication, medical coding, televisits and PACS imaging all sit in the same system, and the company offers native iOS, Android and macOS apps.

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Why teams look elsewhere

That breadth is the reason teams choose TrialKit, and for site based trials it's a real strength. One licence, one login, modules you add or remove as the study changes. The reason teams look elsewhere is usually not missing modules. It's the shape of the participant experience. TrialKit's participant tools (forms, diaries, consent, schedules, reminders, virtual visits and wearable data) are designed to get data into the study database cleanly. They're less focused on the things that keep a participant engaged long after the novelty wears off.

WeGuide starts from the other end. We built a participant engagement platform first, delivered as whitelabel native apps under your organisation's brand, with push notifications, in app messaging, patient education content, gamification and native wearable sync configured in a no code Program Builder. If your study is a site based trial that needs RTSM, medical coding and an eTMF in one place, TrialKit is probably the better fit, and we'll say so, because WeGuide offers none of those three. If the hard part is keeping a cohort, registry or decentralised study engaged, read on.

The signals are usually familiar. A registry or cohort is meant to run for years and participation is thinning out. The study needs Garmin data alongside Apple Health. The research organisation wants the study app published under its own name and App Store account. Or the team wants to deliver education content and messages through the same app participants already use for forms. Those are engagement problems more than data capture problems.

None of this makes TrialKit the wrong platform. It makes it a platform optimised for a different job. The useful question is which job is harder in your study: running the site side of a trial with many moving parts, or keeping participants involved over time. Your answer to that usually decides the platform.

Key differences between WeGuide and TrialKit

For teams whose studies depend on long term participant engagement, here's what changes when you move the participant experience to WeGuide.

Engagement built into every program

TrialKit sends email, SMS and push reminders that point participants to their next form, and site staff can send manual or group notifications. WeGuide adds in app messaging, scheduling, patient education content and gamification, all configured per protocol in the Program Builder. Reminders get data in. An engagement program is what keeps participants coming back in year three, when the study has stopped being new and the only reason to open the app is that it still feels worth it.

Your own app, study by study

The standard TrialKit app is published under the TrialKit name, and CDS has delivered a whitelabel version of it as a configured deployment for a partner. With WeGuide, each study can ship as native iOS and Android apps under your own App Store account and name, or use the existing WeGuide app if speed matters more than branding. Either way, the choice is made per study, so your participants know whose study they're in.

Native Garmin, including raw sensor data

TrialKit connects to Apple Health, Google Health Connect and Fitbit, and both platforms cover much of the same ground. The difference is Garmin. WeGuide integrates natively with Garmin, Apple Health, Health Connect and Fitbit Air, and on supported Garmin models it collects raw accelerometer and gyroscope data at 25 Hz through the Garmin Health SDK. If your protocol relies on Garmin devices or needs raw movement data, that matters. Participants connect once in the app and data syncs into the study automatically.

Compare

Full comparison: WeGuide vs TrialKit

REDCap

Feature

Request a Demo

Primary use case

Participant engagement platform with eCOA, eConsent, registries and telehealth

All in one eClinical platform for site based, hybrid and virtual trials

Hosting model

Managed cloud, included in the project

Cloud platform hosted on AWS

Participant mobile app

Native iOS and Android, shipped under your own App Store account and name, or through the existing WeGuide app

Native iOS, Android and macOS TrialKit app, with a whitelabel version delivered as a configured deployment

eCOA and ePRO

Native, with a library of validated instruments

Native, with a library of standardized assessments, BYOD or provisioned devices

eConsent

Built in, with version control, reconsent workflows and audit trail

Built in, remote or on site handoff mode, versioning, reconsent and multimedia

eScreening

Built in eligibility screening before consent

Eligibility forms built in the EDC after subject registration, with screen failure tracking

Wearable integration

Native Garmin, Apple Health, Health Connect and Fitbit Air

Apple Health, Google Health Connect and Fitbit, other devices on request

Raw sensor data

Raw accelerometer and gyroscope at 25 Hz through the Garmin Health SDK on supported Garmin models (Garmin only)

Data as provided by Apple Health, Health Connect and Fitbit

Device model

Bring your own device, or sponsor provisioned devices

BYOD or provisioned devices

Participant engagement

Push notifications, in app messaging, scheduling, patient education content, gamification

Email, SMS and push reminders, manual and group notifications from the site, automated participant reimbursements

Telehealth

Built in televisits

Built in televisits (TrialKit Engage) with visit scheduling

No code configuration

Program Builder for the participant journey, Medical Form Builder with conditional logic

Drag and drop study builder, plus Floyd AI that turns protocol requirements into study configuration

Site side modules (RTSM, eTMF, coding, adjudication, imaging)

Not offered (no RTSM or IRT, eTMF, medical coding, adjudication or imaging), connect other systems through the Integration Engine

RTSM, eTMF, MedDRA and WHODrug coding, clinical adjudication and PACS imaging built in

Integrations

Two way REDCap sync, Salesforce, HL7 and FHIR, REST API and webhooks

RESTful API with more than 1,000 calls

Multilingual studies

Built in translation management (used on the INHERIT study)

Multiple languages, with eConsent translations in 16 languages

Security and compliance

ISO 27001:2022, HIPAA (BAA available), GDPR, FDA 21 CFR Part 11, TGA registered Class I medical device software

21 CFR Part 11, HIPAA, GDPR, EMEA Annex 11, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO 9001:2015, SOC 2, CSA STAR

Pricing

Project based, quote on request, includes hosting, support and modules

Subscription model (launched March 2025) with access to the whole platform and no per study contracts, quote via demo request, no price list on the website

REDCap

Top alternatives to TrialKit in 2026

Here's the shortlist of platforms most teams evaluate alongside or instead of TrialKit. Most are EDC led suites like TrialKit itself, and WeGuide is the one built around the participant. If you're replacing TrialKit's site side modules, look at Medrio, Viedoc, OpenClinica or Medidata Rave. If you're rethinking the participant experience, start with WeGuide.

Alternative #1

Where WeGuide goes further

For teams that want the participant side of a study in one platform, here's what changes when you move to WeGuide.

An engagement program, not just reminders

Your own app, or ours

Garmin raw sensor data alongside Apple Health and Health Connect

A no code Program Builder for the whole journey

eScreening and eConsent in one onboarding flow

Built for registries and cohorts that last years

Multilingual studies managed in one place

Integrations for research and health systems

A regulated medical device foundation

Built for regulated research

Every WeGuide study runs on our managed infrastructure. Your IT team doesn't patch servers, manage backups, or run disaster recovery drills.

TGA Registered

Registered Class I medical device software with the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

ISO 27001

Certified information security management covering access, audit, and incident response.

Data Hosted in Australia

Participant data is hosted in Australian data centres with sovereign data controls.

GDPR Compliant

GDPR, HIPAA, and 21 CFR Part 11 ready for multi-country and US-based studies.

Biometric Security

Participant access protected by PIN code and biometric authentication on device.

256-bit AES Encryption

All data encrypted at rest and in transit with automated backups and disaster recovery.

Where TrialKit excels

Breadth in a single platform. EDC, eCOA, eConsent, eSource, eTMF, RTSM, clinical adjudication, MedDRA and WHODrug coding, televisits and PACS imaging all live in TrialKit. For a sponsor or CRO that wants one vendor for the whole site side of a trial, very few platforms at this price point cover as much.

A genuinely native app for staff and participants. TrialKit has been a native mobile app since at least 2017, when CDS announced Android support to follow iOS, and it added a native macOS app in 2025. Study teams can capture and review data, manage participants and do source documentation from a phone or tablet. CDS announced Core Motion and HealthKit support for iPhone and Apple Watch data back in 2017.

Fast, do it yourself study builds. The drag and drop builder is designed for teams to build studies without programming, CDS says new users can get started in less than a day, and Floyd, its own AI model, can turn protocol requirements into eCRFs, visit schedules, edit checks and diaries. In April 2026 CDS added study simulation with virtual participants and study validation to TrialKit AI, which won the 2024 SCDM Innovation in Health Technology Solutions Award.

Independent, with simple contracting. Crucial Data Solutions has been privately held and self funded since 2010. In March 2025 it moved to a subscription model that gives access to the whole platform without per study contracts, so teams don't renegotiate every time a study needs another module. CDS lists Verily, Google, ICON and Catalyst Clinical Research among its customers.

A serious compliance list. CDS states compliance with 21 CFR Part 11, GDPR, HIPAA, EMEA Annex 11 and ICH Q9, and its trust center lists ISO/IEC 27001, ISO 9001, SOC 2 and CSA STAR, with the platform hosted on AWS. Procurement and security reviews tend to go smoothly with that list in hand.

If your study is a site based or hybrid trial that needs RTSM, coding and an eTMF in one place, TrialKit is a defensible choice and staying put may be the right call. We'd rather say that plainly than sell you something you don't need.

Should you run WeGuide alongside TrialKit?

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Usually not, and we'd rather be upfront about it. TrialKit already has a participant app, ePRO, eConsent and televisits, so running both often means two participant tools doing overlapping jobs. The case where a hybrid can make sense is narrower: a sponsor keeps TrialKit for site side work such as EDC, RTSM, coding and eTMF, and uses WeGuide for a long running engagement program, a branded registry or a cohort that TrialKit's participant tools weren't designed to carry. TrialKit publishes a RESTful API and WeGuide's Integration Engine supports a REST API and webhooks, so the data flow is possible. We don't have a prebuilt TrialKit connector, so we'd scope it with you and tell you honestly if one platform is simpler.

How the switch works

For teams that are ready to move the participant experience from TrialKit to WeGuide, here's how a typical onboarding plays out.

Discovery Call

A 30 minute discovery call with our research delivery team. We look at your protocol, how you use TrialKit today, and which parts of the participant experience aren't working. If TrialKit is the better fit for what you need, we'll tell you.

Study Configuration

Our team configures the study in WeGuide alongside yours: screening, consent, schedules, forms, wearables, education content and messaging. If TrialKit stays for site side modules, we map the data flow at this stage. Typical timeline: two to four weeks.

Participant Onboarding

The whitelabel app goes live under your organisation's brand. Your coordinators invite participants, who download the app, screen, consent and start the program. Push notification templates, education content and consent flows are ready from day one, and wearable connections are set up by participants inside the app.

Ongoing Support

You get a named delivery contact, not a ticketing queue. We stay involved for the life of the study, through protocol amendments, reconsent and new languages.

Case studies: research programs built around participants

BRACE Trial (Murdoch Children's Research Institute)

An international randomised trial testing whether the BCG vaccine could protect healthcare workers during COVID-19, run with Murdoch Children's Research Institute across several countries with thousands of participants. It was a hybrid design: vaccination and blood collection happened in person, and WeGuide supported the participant facing side of the study between those site contacts.

GenV (Generation Victoria)

Generation Victoria (GenV) is a whole of state longitudinal birth cohort in Victoria, Australia, following roughly 124,000 people: about 50,000 children and 74,000 parents. A cohort like that needs an app families keep on their phones for years, with push notifications and scheduling doing the work that coordinator phone calls cannot do at that scale. WeGuide is the platform GenV chose to do that.

FSHD Global

FSHD Global runs a longitudinal patient registry for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy on WeGuide, combining patient reported outcomes with wearable integration. Registries like this live or die on whether participants keep contributing, which is why engagement sits at the centre of the program rather than at the edge.

Helping researchers transform ideas into discoveries.

Hear what our clients have to say!

"GenV trusted WeGuide to run a multi-year population health study with roughly 124,000 Victorians, about 50,000 children and 74,000 parents. Longitudinal engagement at this scale requires push notifications, multi-modal data capture, and a whitelabel app that families will keep on their phones for years.""

Susan Clifford

Senior Research Officer

“The main benefit of WeGuide is its convenience. I can’t imagine how we would follow thousands of participants and collect their data without WeGuide!”

Kaya Gardiner

Trial Project Manager

"WeGuide has transformed how we manage our patient registry. The ease of digital screening and obtaining eConsent has significantly improved our workflow."

Emma Weatherley

Managing Director

"The WeGuide trial offers staff a practical tool for recording daily COVID-19 symptoms and temperatures. For those in high-risk areas, daily reminders and alerts provide peace of mind and reassurance about their health."

Kate Cranwell

Manager

"It’s obvious that WeGuide is committed to develop technology that benefits people in the community. WeGuide has been a great partner in achieving this goal within Western Health."

Paul Eleftheriou

Chief Medical Officer

Questions

Straight answers on how WeGuide compares to TrialKit, what moving looks like, and when staying on TrialKit is the right call.

Is WeGuide a full replacement for TrialKit?

Not for every study. WeGuide covers eCOA, ePRO, eConsent, eScreening, telehealth, wearables and forms with conditional logic, which is the core of most registries, cohort studies and participant led trials. It doesn't offer RTSM or IRT, medical coding, clinical adjudication, eTMF or imaging. If your trial depends on those, TrialKit or another EDC led suite is the better home for that work. Where WeGuide replaces TrialKit cleanly is on studies where the participant is the main source of data: registries, cohorts, decentralised observational studies and digital health programs that run for longer than a typical trial.

Does TrialKit have a whitelabel app?

Yes, as an option. CDS can set up and deploy a branded version of the TrialKit app that you publish in the App Store and Google Play under your own name, and it has done this for at least one eClinical partner. The standard TrialKit app carries the TrialKit name. With WeGuide, each study can ship under your own App Store account and name, or use the existing WeGuide app, and the choice is made per study.

Which wearables does TrialKit support compared with WeGuide?

TrialKit lists Apple Health, Google Health Connect and Fitbit, and says other devices can be added on request. WeGuide has native Garmin, Apple Health, Health Connect and Fitbit Air integrations, and on supported Garmin models it collects raw accelerometer and gyroscope data at 25 Hz through the Garmin Health SDK. Raw sensor data in WeGuide comes from Garmin only, not from Apple, Samsung or Fitbit devices. If your protocol depends on Garmin devices or raw movement data, WeGuide supports that natively. If it depends on a range of Fitbit models, check the specifics with both vendors. Both platforms support bring your own device and provisioned devices. In either platform, participants connect a device once from the app and data flows into the study, so the main question is which devices your protocol needs.

How does TrialKit pricing compare with WeGuide?

Neither vendor shows a price list on its website. Since March 2025 CDS has sold TrialKit on a subscription model that gives access to the whole platform without per study contracts, and describes its pricing as transparent, with quotes through a demo request. WeGuide is project based and quoted on request, and the quote includes hosting, support and modules. The fairest comparison is to send both the same protocol and compare what's included.

Can WeGuide connect to TrialKit?

TrialKit publishes a RESTful API with more than 1,000 calls, and WeGuide's Integration Engine supports a REST API and webhooks, so a connection is possible. We don't have a prebuilt TrialKit connector, so it's scoped per project. In many cases one platform is simpler, and we'll say so.

How long does it take to move to WeGuide?

Most studies are configured in two to four weeks after a discovery call, working alongside your team. If TrialKit stays for site side modules, the data mapping is planned in the same window. After launch you have a named delivery contact for the life of the study, rather than a ticketing queue.

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