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Healthcare · head to head

Bahmni vs DHIS2

Bahmni logo

Bahmni

Healthcare

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
DHIS2 logo

DHIS2

Healthcare

Open source health information platform run from the University of Oslo and used by national ministries

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; DHIS2 the licence is free and the implementation is not; national rollouts routinely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in configuration, hosting, training and support, and budgets built on the word free fail immediately.
  • They diverge on capability: Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, DHIS2 covers Aggregate data reporting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bahmni and DHIS2 actually diverge.

Attributes where Bahmni and DHIS2 differ
AttributeBahmniDHIS2
PlatformsWeb, Linux, AndroidWeb, Android, Self-hosted, Cloud

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), free tier (Yes), 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 DHIS2

  • Aggregate data reporting
  • Tracker
  • Android capture app
  • Dashboards and analytics
  • Metadata packages
  • Data quality tools
  • GIS mapping
  • Interoperability

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

DHIS2

  • A ministry of health replacing paper monthly reporting from thousands of facilities with a national routine systemnot Bahmni
  • A donor-funded HIV or tuberculosis programme that must report standard indicators across several districtsnot Bahmni
  • A disease surveillance unit needing weekly case reporting with outbreak alerting and mappingnot Bahmni
  • An NGO running individual patient follow-up in a programme where facilities are frequently offlinenot 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.

DHIS2

  • The licence is free and the implementation is not; national rollouts routinely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in configuration, hosting, training and support, and budgets built on the word free fail immediately.
  • HISP UiO introduced a Shared Services Fee in 2025, so organisations that depend on DHIS2 are now being asked for an annual contribution that did not previously exist in their plans.
  • Development funding comes from a small set of donors including Norad, the Global Fund and the Gates Foundation, which concentrates the platform's long-term direction in the priorities of those funders.
  • Implementation capability is concentrated in regional HISP groups, so a country whose local HISP group is overstretched has few alternative suppliers with equivalent expertise.
  • Analytics performance depends heavily on how metadata was designed at the outset, and a poorly structured initial configuration produces slow dashboards and bad indicator definitions that are painful to correct years later.

Pricing, plan by plan

Bahmni

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

DHIS2

Free
  • DHIS2 softwareFree
    • BSD licence
    • All modules including Tracker
    • No user or facility limits
  • Shared Services Fee$undefined/year
    • Voluntary annual contribution introduced by HISP UiO
    • Funds shared global infrastructure and platform sustainability
    • Amount agreed with the HISP Centre
  • Implementation and support$undefined/year
    • Delivered by regional HISP groups or private implementers
    • Configuration, metadata design, hosting, training and support
    • Quoted per programme, commonly the dominant cost

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 DHIS2 if

  • You need aggregate data reporting.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Android, Self-hosted, Cloud.
  • You also want tracker.
DHIS2 review

Questions people ask

Is Bahmni or DHIS2 better?
Neither clearly leads. Bahmni starts at Free and DHIS2 at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bahmni or DHIS2?
Bahmni starts at Free and DHIS2 at Free.
Does Bahmni or DHIS2 run on more platforms?
Bahmni runs on Web, Linux, Android. DHIS2 runs on Web, Android, Self-hosted, Cloud.
Can I use Bahmni for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 DHIS2 is typically brought in for.
What can Bahmni do that DHIS2 cannot?
Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, Configurable clinical forms, Laboratory integration, Billing and inventory. DHIS2 covers Aggregate data reporting, Tracker, Android capture app, Dashboards and analytics.

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.

DHIS2: Who owns and develops DHIS2?

The HISP Centre at the University of Oslo, funded by donors including Norad, the Global Fund, the Gates Foundation and Wellcome.

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.

DHIS2: Is DHIS2 free?

The software is free under a BSD licence. Implementation, hosting, training and support are not, and are the dominant cost.

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.

DHIS2: What is the Shared Services Fee?

A voluntary annual contribution introduced by HISP UiO in 2025 to fund shared global infrastructure and long-term platform sustainability.

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.

DHIS2: Can I buy commercial support?

Yes, from regional HISP groups or private implementers such as Devotta, which is contracted by HISP UiO for core platform development and also works independently.

Bahmni: Where is it used?

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

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