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Healthcare · head to head

Bahmni vs Healthie

Bahmni logo

Bahmni

Healthcare

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Healthie logo

Healthie

Healthcare

EHR, scheduling and client engagement for nutrition, wellness and virtual-first care

From
$19/month
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.; Healthie the Core plan is capped at ten active clients, which no working practice stays under, so the real entry price for anyone with a caseload is the 49 dollar Essentials tier or higher.
  • They diverge on capability: Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, Healthie covers Active client based tiers.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bahmni and Healthie actually diverge.

Attributes where Bahmni and Healthie differ
AttributeBahmniHealthie
Starting priceFree$19/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer month by active client count
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android, API

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 Healthie

  • Active client based tiers
  • Charting and templates
  • Telehealth
  • Food and symptom journalling
  • Programmes and courses
  • Public API
  • ePrescribing
  • Insurance claims

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

Healthie

  • A registered dietitian in private practice who needs charting, scheduling, superbills and a client food journal in one subscriptionnot Bahmni
  • A virtual care startup using the API as a compliant clinical backend rather than building charting and scheduling from scratchnot Bahmni
  • A wellness group practice selling packaged twelve week programmes with group video sessions and course contentnot Bahmni
  • A health coaching business that bills clients directly and needs card payment, intake forms and messaging without insurance complexitynot 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.

Healthie

  • The Core plan is capped at ten active clients, which no working practice stays under, so the real entry price for anyone with a caseload is the 49 dollar Essentials tier or higher.
  • Insurance billing is not native: claim submission runs through a separately priced ClaimMD integration starting around 30 dollars a month, so a practice that bills payers is buying and reconciling two systems.
  • Costs stack quickly beyond the headline plan, with ePrescribing at 40 dollars per clinician per month, inbound fax at 10 dollars, additional Group clinicians at 50 dollars each and card processing at 2.9 per cent plus 30 cents.
  • Client counting is based on active clients, and the definition of active is set by the vendor rather than by you, so seasonal or intermittent caseloads can push a practice into a higher tier for clients it is barely seeing.
  • It is built around ambulatory wellness and virtual care, so specialties needing lab ordering, imaging, in house dispensing or complex care coordination will find the clinical model too thin and will not find those modules to buy.

Pricing, plan by plan

Bahmni

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

Healthie

$19/month
  • Core$19/month
    • Up to ten active clients
    • Scheduling and payments
    • Charting and telehealth
  • Essentials$49/month
    • Up to 250 active clients
    • Custom forms
    • CMS 1500 generation
  • Plus$129/month
    • Unlimited active clients
    • Group telehealth
    • Online programmes
  • Group$149/month
    • Unlimited active clients
    • Shared calendar and team management
    • Roles and permissions

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 Healthie if

  • You need active client based tiers.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
  • You also want charting and templates.
Healthie review

Questions people ask

Is Bahmni or Healthie better?
Neither clearly leads. Bahmni starts at Free and Healthie at $19/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bahmni or Healthie?
Bahmni has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bahmni and $19/month for Healthie.
Does Bahmni or Healthie run on more platforms?
Bahmni runs on Web, Linux, Android. Healthie runs on Web, iOS, Android, API.
Can I use Bahmni for free?
Yes. Bahmni has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Healthie starts at $19/month.
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 Healthie is typically brought in for.
What can Bahmni do that Healthie cannot?
Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, Configurable clinical forms, Laboratory integration, Billing and inventory. Healthie covers Active client based tiers, Charting and templates, Telehealth, Food and symptom journalling.

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.

Healthie: Is the API available without an enterprise contract?

Yes. API access is available on standard published plans, which is why digital health startups use it as a clinical backend.

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.

Healthie: Can Healthie submit insurance claims?

Only through the separately priced ClaimMD integration. Native CMS 1500 generation is included, but submission is an add-on.

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.

Healthie: What does an active client mean for billing?

It is a client with recent activity in the platform, not everyone in your database. Tiers are set by that count, not by seats.

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.

Healthie: Is it HIPAA compliant?

Yes, and a business associate agreement is available. The client-facing mobile app and portal are covered.

Bahmni: Where is it used?

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

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