Comparison

Research Hive vs Research Notes

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Research Hive

This application streamlines clinical trial recruitment for research sites, physicians, and pharmaceutical companies. It provides quick access to study information, simplifies referral tracking, and enhances communication among study teams. The app prioritizes data security and HIPAA compliance.

Highlights
  • Access study information
  • Track referrals efficiently
  • Improve candidate quality
  • Enhance team communication
  • Secure and HIPAA compliant
Features
Read full description

Designed by coordinators, this app helps save the site time and recruit more high quality patients for clinical trial research. This ground-breaking app was requested by physicians, clinical trial researchers, research sites, and pharmaceutical companies – making it one of the few apps to be pre-sold in advance of build! All trial info available right at your fingertips to vastly improve clinical trial enrollment with minimal effort. KEY FEATURES & BENEFITS - SAVE TIME: Quickly and efficiently access all study info - LESS EFFORT: Sending and tracking referrals is transformed into a few touches. - BETTER QUALITY: Refer more candidates of higher quality to the enrolling research team or medical staff. - IMPROVE COMMUNICATION: Referrals, SAEs, study updates, documents, I/E criteria, contacts – all configurable to be shared among study team from the exam room, patient's bedside, or anywhere else. - SECURE: Data encryption and other built-in safeguards ensure HIPAA compliance, protecting patient privacy and organizational security.

About

Research Notes

Access RSS feeds from hundreds of scientific journals across various subject categories. Download PDFs and utilize a text-to-speech feature for articles. Organize your favorite journals and discover new ones.

Highlights
  • Hundreds of journal RSS feeds
  • Subject category filtering
  • PDF download functionality
  • Text-to-speech for articles
  • Favorite journals section
  • New journal additions
Features
Read full description

Research Notes brings the latest articles from the journals you follow into one clean reading list. FOLLOW JOURNALS • Choose from nearly 700 journals across 29 fields, from cardiology and oncology to genomics and public health • Start with the must-reads, or follow a whole field in a tap • Find any journal by name or publisher TODAY • The latest articles, newest first and grouped by day, each with a short summary • Switch to By journal for a table of contents, one journal at a time • A dot marks what you haven't seen yet, and each journal shows its count for the week • Search everything you follow READ • Read the summary, then the full article on the publisher's site, without leaving the app • Share an article in a tap SAVED • Save the articles you want to come back to • Your journals and saved articles stay on your device, with no account to create MADE FOR iPHONE AND iPAD • On iPad, your journals sit in a sidebar and the article opens beside your list • Clear, large type in light or dark mode Free, with ads.

Screenshots

Research Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Research Hive at 4.5 against Research Notes's 4.0. Research Hive also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ads (none vs shown). Research Notes's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). On price, ratings volume, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Research Notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.49 per 6 months. Research Hive asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Research Hive holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Research Hive's written reviews are positive against 71% of Research Notes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Research Hive ships an update every 2 months, Research Notes weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Research Hive versus Research Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterResearch HiveResearch Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (8 ratings) — better4.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better71.4% of reviews
Number of ratings8 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB6 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperResearch Hive, LLCOmelette, Inc

Customer experience

Research Hive

All ratings8 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Research Notes

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral14.3%
Negative14.3%

In-app purchases

None

Research Hive

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Research Notes

Subscriptions2
  • PDF to Audio for 6 months$7.496 Months
  • PDF to Audio for 12 Months$11.991 Year
One-time1
  • Research Notes$4.99

Questions

Is Research Hive free?
Research Hive is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Research Notes free?
Research Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Research Hive or Research Notes?
Research Hive is rated higher. Research Hive averages 4.5 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while Research Notes averages 4.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Research Hive or Research Notes have ads?
Research Notes shows ads; Research Hive does not.
Which is updated more often, Research Hive or Research Notes?
Research Hive ships an update every 2 months, and Research Notes weekly. Most recently, Research Hive was updated on October 8, 2026 and Research Notes on October 20, 2026.

Other comparisons