AACT
Worth it
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you're a researcher or data analyst who needs ClinicalTrials.gov data in bulk and can write SQL . it's free and the de facto standard.
New check
Comparison
AACT vs ClinicalTrials.gov
AACT lands on Worth it, and ClinicalTrials.gov lands on Depends.
ClinicalTrials.gov
Depends
Confidence: Medium
If you sponsor FDA-regulated trials, you have no choice: it is free and legally mandatory.
| Compare | AACT | ClinicalTrials.gov |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Worth it | Depends |
| Best for | Clinical trial researchers | Sponsors of FDA-regulated US trials |
| Who it's not for | Non-technical users wanting a search UI | Patients wanting simple, guided trial matching . the UX will fight you |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.⁵ | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed. |
| Support quality | No support evidence in sources | NLM help desk exists; quality undocumented. |
| Public sentiment | User chatter is sparse; the loudest signal is a connectivity complaint, not complaints about the data itself.⁴ | Practitioners treat it as the indispensable canonical registry but consistently complain the search and navigation are painful. |
| Biggest gotcha | Bring your own PostgreSQL client and SQL skills . onboarding is entirely DIY.⁴ | FDAAA makes registration and results posting mandatory for applicable US trials; FDA issues violation notices.15 |
Pick AACT when
- Clinical trial researchers
- Data-savvy meta-analysts
- Health policy analysts
- BI teams comfortable with SQL
When AACT is not a fit
- Non-technical users wanting a search UI
- Patients browsing trials for themselves
- Teams needing vendor support or SLAs
- Buyers shopping for trial-management software
Pick ClinicalTrials.gov when
- Sponsors of FDA-regulated US trials
- University research compliance offices
- Systematic-review researchers
- Patient power-users hunting trials
When ClinicalTrials.gov is not a fit
- Patients wanting simple, guided trial matching . the UX will fight you
- Anyone expecting curated, quality-vetted listings
- Sales or marketing teams . nothing here for you
- Small clinics lacking staff to handle mandatory reporting duties
Sources
- AACT Archive (before November 15, 2021)aact.ctti-clinicaltrials.orgofficial
official
review
- Can't connect to AACT publicly available PostgreSQL database (Progress Community)community.progress.comreview
- AACT product security pageaact.ctti-clinicaltrials.orgsecurity
news
- Home | ClinicalTrials.govclinicaltrials.govofficial
- Frequently Asked Questionsclinicaltrials.govofficial
- FDAAA 801 and the Final Ruleclinicaltrials.govofficial
- Data and APIclinicaltrials.govofficial
- Expert Searchclinicaltrials.govofficial
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