Head-to-Head Comparison · Alternative to Aurelius · 🔬 user research
Aurelius vs CATMA
Collaborative text coding in a browser, built by academics and uninterested in your sales funnel. Here is how CATMA ($0/mo open source) stacks up against Aurelius ($49/mo) across cost, hosting, data privacy, and real-world trade-offs.
Aurelius vs CATMA Specification Matrix
facts verified 2026-08-14
| Dimension | Aurelius (Paid) | CATMA (Replacement) |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $49 / mo | $0 / mo |
| 1-Year Cost (1 seat) | $588 / yr | $0 / yr (Save $588) |
| 1-Year Cost (5 seats) | $2,940 / yr | $0 / yr (Save $2,940) |
| 1-Year Cost (10 seats) | $5,880 / yr | $0 / yr (Save $5,880) |
| Source & License | Proprietary SaaS | open source GPL-3.0 |
| Where It Runs | Vendor Cloud | Local or hosted (your machine or their cloud) |
| Platforms | Web / Cloud | webthey host it |
| GitHub Stars | — | ★ 102 (active jul 2026) |
Deep Dive: Switching from Aurelius to CATMA
Trade-offs, installation & data architecture
What you trade away
It is a serious collaborative text-annotation system, but it lacks Aurelius's researcher-friendly interview repository, rapid synthesis workflow, and product-research reporting.
How to deploy CATMA
Use the free hosted web app, or run the CATMA Standalone Docker image with its bundled GitLab backend
What it takes to run
The hosted app is easy, but private/offline use means running a large Docker container with an embedded GitLab service and managing its volumes and updates
Where your data lives
The public service stores projects in CATMA's server-side GitLab repositories; standalone/self-hosted deployments keep CATMA and GitLab data in Docker volumes, with exports available as text, TEI-XML, CSV and Git repositories
Why fork CATMA instead of vibe-coding a Aurelius clone?
The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Aurelius, organize interview notes, code excerpts, and synthesize themes into findings. The hard boundary is research-specific tagging, collaboration, reporting, and import workflows, plus participant network, synthesis workflow, and collaboration.
Aurelius vs CATMA FAQ
Is CATMA a good free alternative to Aurelius?+
Yes. CATMA is a verified open-source (GPL-3.0) replacement for Aurelius. Collaborative text coding in a browser, built by academics and uninterested in your sales funnel.
What is the catch when switching from Aurelius to CATMA?+
It is a serious collaborative text-annotation system, but it lacks Aurelius's researcher-friendly interview repository, rapid synthesis workflow, and product-research reporting.
How much do you save switching from Aurelius to CATMA?+
Aurelius costs $49/mo ($588/yr) per seat, whereas CATMA is $0/mo. Switching saves $588/yr for a solo user, $2,940/yr for a 5-person team, and $5,880/yr for a 10-person team.
How do I install or self-host CATMA instead of Aurelius?+
Install: Use the free hosted web app, or run the CATMA Standalone Docker image with its bundled GitLab backend. Setup: The hosted app is easy, but private/offline use means running a large Docker container with an embedded GitLab service and managing its volumes and updates
