Softwr

Healthcare · head to head

Ambra Health vs Bahmni

Ambra Health logo

Ambra Health

Healthcare

Cloud medical image exchange and vendor neutral archive, now part of Intelerad

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Bahmni logo

Bahmni

Healthcare

Open source hospital information system and EMR for low-resource hospitals, built on OpenMRS

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Bahmni has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Ambra Health intelerad now owns Ambra and ambrahealth.com redirects to Intelerad client support, so a buyer is committing to the Intelerad portfolio roadmap and should get written positioning on Ambra versus Intelerad own cloud PACS before signing.; Bahmni the licence is free and the implementation is not; configuration, data migration, training and multi-year support from a partner routinely cost far more than a small commercial system would have, and hospitals that budget only for hardware stall.
  • They diverge on capability: Ambra Health covers Image exchange, Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ambra Health and Bahmni actually diverge.

Attributes where Ambra Health and Bahmni differ
AttributeAmbra HealthBahmni
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Linux, Android

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Healthcare).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Ambra Health

  • Image exchange
  • Cloud VNA
  • Zero footprint viewer
  • Patient upload portal
  • Identity reconciliation
  • Clinical trials workflow
  • API and HL7 integration

Only in Bahmni

  • OpenMRS clinical record
  • Configurable clinical forms
  • Laboratory integration
  • Billing and inventory
  • Imaging
  • Inpatient management
  • Offline-capable clinical app
  • Reporting

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Ambra Health

  • A trauma centre that receives transfers from regional hospitals and needs outside CT studies readable before the patient arrives, not after a disc is walked innot Bahmni
  • An oncology programme collecting outside imaging for multidisciplinary tumour board review from dozens of referring practicesnot Bahmni
  • A clinical research organisation routing de identified trial imaging from many sites to one central reading facilitynot Bahmni
  • A health system trying to eliminate the CD import desk by giving patients and referring practices a direct upload portalnot Bahmni

Bahmni

  • A mission or charitable hospital in India or East Africa that cannot fund a commercial hospital information system licence but needs a real EMR rather than papernot Ambra Health
  • A ministry of health standardising district hospitals on one system and required by donors to use a recognised Digital Public Goodnot Ambra Health
  • An NGO health network wanting one clinical record across several facilities with reporting that can feed a national DHIS2 instancenot Ambra Health
  • A hospital that needs the clinical record, laboratory, pharmacy and billing to share one patient identity rather than running four disconnected systemsnot Ambra Health

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Ambra Health

  • Intelerad now owns Ambra and ambrahealth.com redirects to Intelerad client support, so a buyer is committing to the Intelerad portfolio roadmap and should get written positioning on Ambra versus Intelerad own cloud PACS before signing.
  • Ambra is built for cross organisation exchange, not for high volume in department diagnostic reading, so a radiology group that expects it to replace a departmental PACS finds the reading ergonomics and hanging protocols thinner than a dedicated PACS client.
  • Pricing scales with study volume and stored capacity, so a health system that turns on patient upload broadly sees storage grow from low value outside studies it never intended to retain, and the renewal reflects that.
  • Identity reconciliation of studies arriving with foreign patient identifiers still needs human review at volume, and sites that budget for zero touch matching end up staffing an imaging records queue.
  • Adoption depends on referring practices actually using the portal, and the vendor cannot make that happen, so image exchange projects frequently stall at the outreach and change management step rather than at the technology.

Bahmni

  • The licence is free and the implementation is not; configuration, data migration, training and multi-year support from a partner routinely cost far more than a small commercial system would have, and hospitals that budget only for hardware stall.
  • There is no single vendor with an obligation to you unless you contract one, so upgrade timing, security patching and defect resolution depend on whichever partner you hired and how long they stay engaged.
  • It integrates four substantial open source systems, which means an upgrade touches OpenMRS, OpenELIS, Odoo and the imaging stack together, and hospitals with heavy customisation often freeze on an old version rather than risk it.
  • Skilled Bahmni implementers are concentrated in a small number of firms in India and a few African countries, so a hospital outside those markets may find nobody local who can support it.
  • Funding for the coalition and its shared engineering comes from donors and member contributions rather than licence revenue, which makes the pace of core development dependent on grant cycles rather than on customer demand.

Pricing, plan by plan

Ambra Health

On request
  • Ambra Health$undefined/year
    • Priced by annual study volume and stored capacity
    • Exchange partner connections and upload portals scoped per deployment
    • Zero footprint viewer licensed with the platform

Bahmni

Free
  • BahmniFree
    • AGPL open source, no licence fee
    • All modules included
    • Community support via forum and documentation

Which should you pick?

Choose Ambra Health if

  • You need image exchange.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want cloud vna.
Ambra Health review

Choose Bahmni if

  • You need openmrs clinical record.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Android.
  • You also want configurable clinical forms.
Bahmni review

Questions people ask

Is Ambra Health or Bahmni better?
Neither clearly leads. Ambra Health starts at On request and Bahmni at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ambra Health or Bahmni?
Bahmni has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Ambra Health and Free for Bahmni.
Does Ambra Health or Bahmni run on more platforms?
Ambra Health runs on Web, iOS, Android. Bahmni runs on Web, Linux, Android.
Can I use Bahmni for free?
Yes. Bahmni has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Ambra Health starts at On request.
What is Ambra Health best used for?
Ambra Health is most often used for a trauma centre that receives transfers from regional hospitals and needs outside ct studies readable before the patient arrives, not after a disc is walked in, an oncology programme collecting outside imaging for multidisciplinary tumour board review from dozens of referring practices, a clinical research organisation routing de identified trial imaging from many sites to one central reading facility, a health system trying to eliminate the cd import desk by giving patients and referring practices a direct upload portal. Of those, a trauma centre that receives transfers from regional hospitals and needs outside ct studies readable before the patient arrives, not after a disc is walked in and an oncology programme collecting outside imaging for multidisciplinary tumour board review from dozens of referring practices are not what Bahmni is typically brought in for.
What can Ambra Health do that Bahmni cannot?
Ambra Health covers Image exchange, Cloud VNA, Zero footprint viewer, Patient upload portal. Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, Configurable clinical forms, Laboratory integration, Billing and inventory.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ambra Health: Is Ambra Health still sold under its own name?

Yes. Intelerad still markets Ambra Health as a named product line, but the standalone website redirects to Intelerad, and support and contracting run through Intelerad.

Bahmni: Is Bahmni free?

The software is, under an open source licence. Implementation, hosting, configuration, training and support are charged by whichever partner you engage.

Ambra Health: Can Ambra replace our PACS?

For image exchange, archiving and clinical viewing, yes. For high volume diagnostic radiology reading it is generally deployed alongside a departmental PACS rather than instead of one.

Bahmni: Who owns and governs Bahmni?

Thoughtworks transferred ownership in October 2017 to the Bahmni Coalition, under the fiscal sponsorship of the non-profit OpenMRS Inc. Thoughtworks remains on the governing committee.

Ambra Health: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted by annual study volume, stored capacity and the scope of exchange connections.

Bahmni: What does an implementation actually cost?

It varies by hospital size and country, but expect the dominant costs to be partner services, training and multi-year support rather than software or hardware. Get a fixed-scope quote covering upgrades, not just go-live.

Ambra Health: Does the viewer require software on referring physician machines?

No. The viewer is zero footprint HTML5, which is the main reason referring practices adopt it at all.

Bahmni: Is it a recognised Digital Public Good?

Yes, Bahmni is on the Digital Public Goods Alliance register, which is increasingly a condition of donor funding for health information systems.

Bahmni: Where is it used?

More than 500 implementations across roughly 50 countries, concentrated in South Asia and Africa.

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