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Healthcare · head to head

Bahmni vs Cerner

Bahmni logo

Bahmni

Healthcare

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cerner logo

Cerner

Healthcare

Health information technology solutions for healthcare organizations

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Bahmni has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Cerner no published pricing on vendor website; enterprise healthcare software requires custom quotes
  • They diverge on capability: Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, Cerner covers Electronic Health Records.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bahmni and Cerner actually diverge.

Attributes where Bahmni and Cerner differ
AttributeBahmniCerner
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android
FoundedUnknown1979

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 Bahmni

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

Only in Cerner

  • Electronic Health Records
  • Revenue Cycle
  • Population Health
  • Patient Engagement
  • HL7
  • FHIR
  • Lab Systems
  • HIPAA

What people use each for

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

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

Cerner

  • Hospital and acute care EHR for chart review and clinical documentationnot Bahmni
  • Mobile clinical access for physicians and care teams on point-of-care devicesnot Bahmni

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Cerner

  • No published pricing on vendor website; enterprise healthcare software requires custom quotes

Pricing, plan by plan

Bahmni

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

Cerner

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Cerner review.

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Cerner if

  • You need electronic health records.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want revenue cycle.
Cerner review

Questions people ask

Is Bahmni or Cerner better?
Neither clearly leads. Bahmni starts at Free and Cerner at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bahmni or Cerner?
Bahmni has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bahmni and On request for Cerner.
Does Bahmni or Cerner run on more platforms?
Bahmni runs on Web, Linux, Android. Cerner runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Bahmni for free?
Yes. Bahmni has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cerner starts at On request.
What is Bahmni best used for?
Bahmni is most often used for 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 paper, a ministry of health standardising district hospitals on one system and required by donors to use a recognised digital public good, an ngo health network wanting one clinical record across several facilities with reporting that can feed a national dhis2 instance, a hospital that needs the clinical record, laboratory, pharmacy and billing to share one patient identity rather than running four disconnected systems. Of those, 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 paper and a ministry of health standardising district hospitals on one system and required by donors to use a recognised digital public good are not what Cerner is typically brought in for.
What can Bahmni do that Cerner cannot?
Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, Configurable clinical forms, Laboratory integration, Billing and inventory. Cerner covers Electronic Health Records, Revenue Cycle, Population Health, Patient Engagement.

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.

Cerner: Does Cerner publish its pricing?

No, Cerner does not publish standard pricing. As an enterprise healthcare EHR vendor (now acquired by Oracle), pricing is customized per healthcare organization based on size, bed capacity, modules required, and implementation scope. Contact Oracle Health for pricing.

Source
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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