Please refer to the following table for a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of canisters, gas sampling bags, and solvent desorption tubes (thermal desorption tubes).
| Canister | Gas Sampling Bag | Solvent/Thermal Desorption Tube | |
| Media Type | whole air | whole air | adsorption |
| Sensitivity | ppt-ppb | ppb-ppm | ppb-ppm |
| Technique | passive (no pump) | active | active/passive |
| Sample Type | grab or integrated | grab or integrated | grab or integrated |
| Analyte | wide range of VOCs & permanent gases | wide range of VOCs & permanent gases | sorbent specific |
| Applications | ambient, IAQ, emergency response, IH | ambient, IAQ, emission | ambient, IAQ, IH |
| Durability | reusable | one-time use | solvent: one-time use; thermal: reusable (performance is solvent specific) |
| Inertness | excellent | fair | fair |
| Stability | 30 day | 48 hrs | varies by analyte |
| Sample Volume | 0.4–15 L | 0.5–100 L | varies by analyte |
| Sampling Time | seconds to days | minutes to hours | minutes to hours |
