Comparison
Open Lab vs Pavlovia
Pavlovia hosts PsychoPy / jsPsych studies via Git. Open Lab gives you a managed dashboard, recruitment, and data export without needing to manage repositories.
| Feature | Open Lab | Pavlovia |
|---|---|---|
| Experiment ecosystem | lab.js (visual + code) | PsychoPy, PsychoJS, jsPsych |
| How studies are hosted | Upload JSON via dashboard, no Git knowledge required | Git-backed; you push to a Pavlovia repository |
| Pricing model | Free tier + transparent paid plans + 50% academic discount | Per-participant credit-based pricing |
| Recruitment + collaboration | Built-in participant management, projects, collaborators | Bring-your-own recruitment; less collaboration tooling |
| Hosting region | Germany (EU) | UK / EU |
| Best for | Researchers who want a managed platform end-to-end | PsychoPy / jsPsych users comfortable with Git workflows |
Pricing snapshot
Open Lab
Free · Basic €100/yr · Pro €250/yr · Team €1,000/yr · Enterprise
Academic prices, billed annually — equivalent to €8.33/mo (Basic), €20.83/mo (Pro), €83.33/mo (Team). The 50% academic discount is applied automatically when you sign up with a verified institutional email. Non-academic and monthly billing are also available; Pro includes a 14-day free trial for new accounts. Cost is predictable as your participant counts scale.
See full pricing →Pavlovia
Subscription + per-participant credits
Pavlovia uses two paywalls in parallel: an annual subscription for hosting (individual or lab/group, with tiered academic vs commercial rates) plus per-participant credits when you run a paid study. Verify current prices on their store page — academic credits historically ~£0.20 per participant, commercial ~£1.
Pavlovia pricing page →Pricing checked 2026-05. Always confirm on the vendor's own page before quoting in a grant application — rates change.
When Pavlovia is the better choice
Pick Pavlovia if your lab is already standardised on PsychoPy / PsychoJS / jsPsych and your team is comfortable with Git-based workflows.
When Open Lab is the better choice
Pick Open Lab if you prefer lab.js, want a dashboard-first workflow without Git, and value built-in participant management and project collaboration.