Colony.care vs TOPAZ, Full Comparison for 2026
Summary
TOPAZ Elements is Topaz Technologies' suite of integrated applications for animal, biosafety and human research. On the animal side it covers protocol review, animal orders, census, breeding, billing, cost accounting and veterinary management. Colony.care is a cloud colony management platform: browser-based, usable on a phone, with QR code cage cards, automated per diem billing, SSO/SAML, SCIM and an audit trail kept indefinitely. TOPAZ fits an institution that wants protocol review and animal operations in one suite. Colony.care fits a team that wants to manage its colonies today, with published pricing.
What TOPAZ Is
Topaz Technologies has built research software for more than 40 years. TOPAZ Elements is a suite of applications that share one workflow, from protocol review and staff training through animal procurement to census, billing and veterinary care.
- Operations: Animal Orders, Animal Census, Animal Breeding, Animal Billing, Cost Accounting and Veterinary Management
- Protocol reviews and staff training
- Health and treatment records with reporting
TOPAZ details are taken from topazti.com (October 2026).
What You Get with Colony.care
Colony.care runs in the browser, with nothing to install and no server to provision. Staff use it at a desk, on a tablet during rounds, or on a phone at the cage. QR code cage cards print from any browser and scan with a phone camera.
- 25 species with the right reproduction model for each
- Breeding calendar, interactive pedigree with genotype overlay, and consanguinity checks
- Automated per diem billing with multiple rates and chargeback reports
- Procurement orders, pharmacy inventory, surgery records and environmental monitoring
- Training and competency records with certification expiry
- CCAC and IACUC annual reports, animal-to-protocol linking and an audit trail kept indefinitely
- SSO/SAML, SCIM provisioning and a REST API in the Lab plan
- A fully bilingual interface, in English and French
Colony.care links animals to approved protocols and tracks expiry dates. It does not run the committee side: protocol submission, review and approval routing are outside its scope, as are biosafety and human research.
Colony.care Pricing
The Starter plan is free: 1 project and up to 100 animals. The Lab plan is CA$549.99/month, or CA$439.99/month billed yearly, with unlimited animals and members and 10 projects included. Additional projects are CA$34.99/month each. The Lab plan starts with a 14-day trial, no credit card required.
When to Choose
TOPAZ may fit if: your institution wants animal protocols, biosafety and human research compliance in the same suite as animal orders, census and billing.
Colony.care may fit if: you are setting up a new facility or replacing spreadsheets, your staff need to work from a phone, you manage several species, and you want to try the software on your own animals before you pay.
FAQ
Can we bring our existing records into Colony.care?
Yes, as CSV files. Export your records to CSV, or to a spreadsheet you save as CSV. The import wizard detects your column headers, suggests a mapping you can correct, shows a dry-run preview, and lets you commit or roll back.
Does Colony.care require a server?
No. Colony.care is a cloud platform: you open a browser, log in and work. There is no server to provision and no software to install. It needs an internet connection.
Is Colony.care suitable for large facilities?
Yes. The Lab plan has no limit on animals or members and includes 10 projects. The Organization plan covers several teams and sites with central administration. Contact sales for a configuration that matches your scale.