Comparison
OpenCryo vs. FreezerPro
A side-by-side for biobanks and storage operations weighing a laboratory sample-inventory system against a custody platform built for organizations that store specimens for others.
Two different jobs
FreezerPro is Azenta Life Sciences' sample management software for laboratories: an inventory of samples across freezers, with configurable sample types and user-defined fields, keyword and saved searches, configurable reports, CSV import and export, a REST API, and a choice of Azenta-hosted cloud or on-premises deployment. Its product page lists shipping, workflow status, clinical data and advanced alerts as modules available for a price, and its licensing is per concurrent user on an annual subscription.
OpenCryo is software for organizations that hold specimens in custody for someone else: patients, storage providers, clinics, collection services, and couriers. The record follows the specimen through intake, storage, transfer and release, every step runs as a signed protocol with a performer and a reviewer, clients sign agreements and see their specimens in a portal under your brand, billing is built in, and several organizations can work the same order without seeing each other's data. Everything is included, there are no additional paid modules, and pricing is per organization, not per user.
Capability by capability
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| Capability | OpenCryo | FreezerPro |
|---|---|---|
| Openness and data ownership | ||
| Data ownership and exit | The audit log exports to CSV, receipts and signed agreements are PDFs you keep, and the data model is published. The Business Source License permits free self-hosting, and you can change storage providers and courier partners without losing custody history. A full one-click account export is on the roadmap. Roadmap: Q4 2026 | FreezerPro's product page lists "Easy import and export (via csv)" and an "Excel add-in" among its features, and states you can "Find, track, edit, and export sample and audit trail data in a few clicks." Not described: what a full export contains, or what happens to a lab's records when it stops paying for the subscription. |
| Hosting and source code | OpenCryo Cloud (hosted) or self-hosted on your own infrastructure. The platform is licensed under the Business Source License, which permits free self-hosting and converts each version to a fully open license after four years; the protocol specification is Apache 2.0. Roadmap: Public source repository: Q4 2026 | "FreezerPro can be managed by Azenta as a SaaS offering, hosted in our cloud infrastructure," and it "supports a number of deployment regions in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific." "By default, FreezerPro cloud is backed up to servers in New York, USA and Frankfurt, Germany." An on-premises installation is also offered. No source-code access or open license is described. |
| Open data model and protocol | Globally unique prefixed identifiers, a published data model, and a protocol specification under Apache 2.0, so a record created in one place is meaningful everywhere. | The FreezerPro API Guide documents the product's objects (samples, boxes, locations, sample types, roles) for API users. No published data standard or protocol specification for exchange between systems is described. |
| API and integrations | The web app, the mobile app and the client portal all run on OpenCryo's REST API, and payment webhooks from Stripe, Square, Authorize.net and Revolut are built in. Public API documentation, integration keys and outbound webhooks are on the roadmap, as are EMR connectors. If you have a system to connect, tell us which: integrations get built with the first customer who needs them. Roadmap: Q2 2027 | "Through its representational state transfer application programming interface (REST API), FreezerPro seamlessly connects with Azenta and third-party technologies to reduce manual data entry and streamline workflows." The API Guide (version 7.4.3) documents calls to put samples in and take them out of freezers, import sources, and manage picklists. FreezerPro "interfaces with the ARCON™ Store Controller Software (formerly Strata)" for Azenta's automated storage, and "can integrate with third-party authentication servers using the LDAP or SAML protocol." Not described: webhooks. |
| Bringing existing records in | An import module for bringing in existing inventories from spreadsheets or other systems is on the roadmap. Today an import is a scripted migration our team runs with you. Roadmap: Q4 2026 | "It’s easy to import your existing sample inventory data from Microsoft Excel or other spreadsheet-based methods," and "Our FreezerPro specialists can help you to map your existing data, organize storage locations, and standardize information so you can transition into FreezerPro-centric workflows with confidence." The API accepts CSV or JSON for imports. |
| Multiple organizations | Built for many organizations on one instance: storage providers, clinics, couriers, and collection services each with isolated data, sharing only through orders and transfers. A clinic sees its own clients at the provider; the provider never exposes one clinic's clients to another. Any number of locations, from a single site to a multi-site operation. | FreezerPro is described for use "across your laboratory or multi-lab enterprise," with "Access permissions controls" and roles that define "the access permissions in the system". Not described: separate organizations or tenants on one system with isolated data, or sharing a record between two organizations. |
| Day-to-day operations | ||
| Storage hierarchy | Configurable container types and nesting rules that match your equipment, from building and room down to tank, canister, cane and position, with capacity at every level and occupancy rollups. Racks, boxes and plates are container types like any other, wells included. If you require grid addressing, tell us and we will work with you to implement your specific requirements: OpenCryo is in active development and responsive to the people who run it. | FreezerPro's storage list includes "Automated and manual freezers" and "Cryogenic storage systems," and its data model records "The specific position of the vial within the box it is stored in." "This laboratory sample tracking software makes it easy to add freezers and other storage equipment, reorganize layouts, update locations, and change sample owners without disturbing physical samples." Not described: canisters, canes or tanks as a hierarchy. |
| Specimen identification and labels | Architected for every identifier: DataMatrix, QR, barcode and RFID share one label layer, so the tag technology is a hardware choice, not a platform choice. Shipping today: DataMatrix and QR issuance, and camera reads of DataMatrix, QR and Code 128 on the phones and printers you already own. If you use or prefer RFID, OpenCryo is ready to support you: the label layer was built with RFID in it from the start, and we switch it on with you. | "Label / barcode printers" are listed as included, and the API's box object carries a "Unique RFID tag of the box." Picklists take vials "specified via RFID, Barcode, Custom ID or Vial ID". Not described on the pages reviewed: which scanners or 2D tube readers are supported. |
| Sample types and custom fields | Tissue types are a list each organization defines; the default set is reproductive (embryo, oocyte, sperm, ovarian and testicular tissue). Organizations define their own specimen fields in settings, with data entry against them being built now; until then additional attributes travel as free-form metadata on the record, and we map your fields with you at setup. | "Configurable sample types & user-defined fields." The API lists "all sample types within the system along with any relevant information." |
| Aliquots and lineage | The hierarchy records where every specimen is, from tank to vial, and specimens that arrive together sit on the same order. What it does not record yet is derivation: that six straws came from one collection, or that a biopsy came from one embryo. If you track lineage today, tell us how, and we will work with you to implement it. | "Easy aliquoting & lineage tracking." |
| Search, reports and exports | Containers filter by parent, tissue type and placement state; clients search by name or external ID; any label scans straight to its record; the audit log filters by specimen, container, actor, event type and date range and exports to CSV. Occupancy shows on every container and LN2 consumption has its own analytics. Inventory reports and saved searches are on the roadmap. | "Search options: keyword, advanced, batch," "Saved & shared searches," and "Configurable reports," plus "Easy import and export (via csv)" and an "Excel add-in." |
| Chain of custody and audit trail | An append-only audit log (the application adds events and never edits or removes one), every event timestamped and attributed to an account, with an optional witness, filterable and exportable to CSV. Every movement is recorded against the specimen in that log. | "Audit log (USFDA CFR 21 Part 11 compliant)," and the product page states you can "Find, track, edit, and export sample and audit trail data in a few clicks." The data model records "The current owner of the sample" and "the user who last removed the sample from a freezer", and deleted samples go to a recoverable trash bin. Not described: whether the audit log itself is append-only. |
| Intake, release, dispatch and destruction | Configurable step-by-step protocols run on the mobile app with a qualified performer and a separate qualified reviewer, dual signatures, and review queues. Destruction requires the client's signed authorization plus dual staff signatures. Each signature records who signed, their typed name and title, and when. | The API documents calls that "Puts samples as specified by ID back in a freezer" and "Takes samples as specified by ID out of their current freezer." A "Workflow status module" is listed as available for a price. Not described: a performer-and-reviewer protocol, dual signatures, or a destruction authorization step. |
| Consent and documents | Agreement templates signed electronically during intake, with pre-signing directive questionnaires, two-signer agreements for partners, signed PDFs in the client portal, and online authorization for transfers and destruction. | Not described. A "Clinical data module" is listed as available for a price; its function is not described beyond the name. |
| Client portal | A white-label portal on your own domain: overview, stored specimens, orders and receipts, billing and subscriptions, agreements, authorizations, test results, updates, and documents. Passkey or emailed magic-link sign-in, with a password available as a convenience. | Not described. Azenta's "Cryo Monitoring Portal" is a separate equipment-status product, not a client or patient portal for FreezerPro. |
| Billing | Configured per organization. Checkout through Stripe, Authorize.net, Square, or Revolut; recurring storage subscriptions with renewal, failed-payment, and lapse handling (Stripe today); promotion codes; ACH; receipts. One-off charges through the provider, and recurring billing through providers other than Stripe, are on the roadmap. Roadmap: Q3 2026 (one-off charges), Q4 2027 (non-Stripe recurring billing) | Not described as a FreezerPro feature. FreezerPro is an inventory system; invoicing the owners of stored samples is outside what its public materials describe. |
| Transport and transfers | Dispatch protocols for shippers (preflight checklist, seals, temperature logs), inter-organization transfers with custody preserved across the boundary, and live shipping quotes with carrier and tracking on the record. A courier on OpenCryo runs as its own organization, so the transport leg stays inside the same custody record. | A "Shipping module" is listed as available for a price, and the product lets you "Easily generate pick lists with a few clicks." Not described: what the shipping module records, or a transfer of a sample's record to another organization. |
| Equipment monitoring and validation | LN2 fill logs with consumption intelligence and anomaly detection, threshold alerts on logged values, scheduled maintenance rounds, and validation protocols with dual-signature review and revalidation reminders. Readings are entered by staff today; a monitor or alarm feed would write the same maintenance record, so if you run one, tell us which and we will talk through connecting it. | An "Advanced alerts module" is listed as available for a price, and the API includes a call to set a sensor. Azenta sells freezer monitoring as a separate product line. Not described: fill logs, maintenance rounds, or validation protocols inside FreezerPro. |
| Services and assurance | ||
| Regulatory and certifications | No third-party certifications yet; a SOC 2 Type 1 audit is on the roadmap. HIPAA-aligned controls are built in: protected health information is a separate permission from operational access, the audit log is append-only, backups are encrypted, and sign-in is passkey-based. If your quality system asks for 21 CFR Part 11, the audit trail, dual signatures and passkey sign-in are where that conversation starts, and we will go through your checklist with you. Roadmap: SOC 2 Type 1 audit: Q3 2027 | "Supports GDPR, HIPAA, FDA 21 CFR Parts 11, 21, 58, 210, 211, 820, and cGLP/cGMP guidelines." "Multi-layered security, 1028-bit encryption, SSL/TLS protection, and ongoing security testing help safeguard sensitive information." Azenta's informatics quality management system "is DEKRA certified to ISO 9001:2015." Not described: SOC 2 or ISO 27001. |
| Pricing and licensing | OpenCryo Cloud is $250 a month in US dollars for unlimited specimens and users, with no per-user fee. Self-hosting is free to deploy. | No price is published. FreezerPro is sold on "shared concurrent licenses" with "predictable annual subscriptions": "if your laboratory has 25 users, and only 5 people typically use FreezerPro at the same time, the lab may only need 5 concurrent licenses." Six modules (advanced alerts, shipping, communication, workflow status, clinical data, AutoCryo) are marked "available for a price." |
| Study and trial management | OpenCryo is a custody and storage platform rather than a study management system: it does not run clinical protocols, visits or enrolment, and it is built to sit beside the system that does. If you run studies, tell us what you use and we will show you where the custody record hands off. | The data model records a sample source type such as "Patient", and a "Clinical data module" is listed as available for a price. Not described: studies, visits or enrolment. |
FreezerPro statements in quotation marks are taken from Azenta Life Sciences' public FreezerPro product page, its FreezerPro integration brochure page for automated storage, and the FreezerPro 7.4.3 API Guide, as of September 23, 2026. "Described as" and "listed as" summarize their materials without quoting them. "Not described" means our research checked that topic and found nothing in their public materials; it may still exist.
Roadmap quarters are targets we are working toward, not commitments. We update this page as items ship.
What this means for a lab that already runs a LIMS
If your problem is bench inventory, FreezerPro is the fuller tool today: aliquots with lineage, user-defined fields on every sample, saved searches and configurable reports across a research lab's freezers, and a large installed base. OpenCryo does not model aliquots, plates or wells today, and its search and reporting are narrower; if those are your daily tools, say so when you book a demo and we will show you exactly where the line sits and what is coming.
If your problem is holding specimens for other people, OpenCryo is built for exactly that and FreezerPro is not: a custody record that follows the specimen across organizations, protocols with a performer and a reviewer on every intake, release, transfer and destruction, agreements and authorizations signed by the client, a portal under your brand, and billing, all included rather than sold as modules, for one flat monthly price instead of a per-seat license.
Some operations run both: the LIMS for the bench, OpenCryo as the custody and client layer. Ask either vendor the same three questions: a) who can export the full specimen record, and in what form? b) what does a second organization see when it works one of our orders? c) which of the things we need are extra modules?
FreezerPro, Azenta, ARCON, SampleArc and BioArc are trademarks of their respective owner, used here for identification only. This page reflects Azenta Life Sciences' public product pages and API guide as of September 23, 2026. If something here is out of date or wrong, email hello@opencryo.io and we will correct it.