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Healthcare · head to head

Amwell vs Bahmni

A

Amwell

Healthcare

Telehealth platform connecting patients with providers

From
$99/visit
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: Amwell listed on UK G-Cloud 14 at £6.25 per user for SilverCloud by Amwell, submitted directly by American Well Corporation UK Limited; 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: Amwell covers Video Consultations, Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amwell and Bahmni actually diverge.

Attributes where Amwell and Bahmni differ
AttributeAmwellBahmni
Starting price$99/visitFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, MobileWeb, Linux, Android
Founded2002Unknown

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 Amwell

  • Video Consultations
  • Phone Consultations
  • Mental Health Services
  • Prescription Services
  • Digital Prescriptions
  • EHR Systems
  • Health Plans
  • HIPAA

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.

Amwell

  • Patient Carenot Bahmni
  • Medical Recordsnot Bahmni
  • Practice Managementnot Bahmni
  • Telehealthnot 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 Amwell
  • A ministry of health standardising district hospitals on one system and required by donors to use a recognised Digital Public Goodnot Amwell
  • An NGO health network wanting one clinical record across several facilities with reporting that can feed a national DHIS2 instancenot Amwell
  • A hospital that needs the clinical record, laboratory, pharmacy and billing to share one patient identity rather than running four disconnected systemsnot Amwell

Where each one falls short

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

Amwell

  • Listed on UK G-Cloud 14 at £6.25 per user for SilverCloud by Amwell, submitted directly by American Well Corporation UK Limited

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

Amwell

$99/visit
  • On-Demand Visit$99/visit
    • 24/7 availability
    • Board-certified doctors
    • Digital prescriptions

Bahmni

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Amwell if

  • You need video consultations.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want phone consultations.
Amwell 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 Amwell or Bahmni better?
Neither clearly leads. Amwell starts at $99/visit and Bahmni at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amwell or Bahmni?
Bahmni has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $99/visit for Amwell and Free for Bahmni.
Does Amwell or Bahmni run on more platforms?
Amwell runs on Web, Mobile. 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. Amwell starts at $99/visit.
What is Amwell best used for?
Amwell is most often used for patient care, medical records, practice management, telehealth. Of those, patient care and medical records are not what Bahmni is typically brought in for.
What can Amwell do that Bahmni cannot?
Amwell covers Video Consultations, Phone Consultations, Mental Health Services, Prescription Services. Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, Configurable clinical forms, Laboratory integration, Billing and inventory.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

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.

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.

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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