Softwr

Healthcare · head to head

Bahmni vs NextGen Healthcare

Bahmni logo

Bahmni

Healthcare

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
NextGen Healthcare logo

NextGen Healthcare

Healthcare

Integrated EHR and practice management solutions

From
$150/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.; NextGen Healthcare no pricing published on website
  • They diverge on capability: Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, NextGen Healthcare 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 NextGen Healthcare actually diverge.

Attributes where Bahmni and NextGen Healthcare differ
AttributeBahmniNextGen Healthcare
Starting priceFree$150/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android
FoundedUnknown1997

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 NextGen Healthcare

  • Electronic Health Records
  • Practice Management
  • Revenue Cycle Management
  • Telehealth
  • Analytics
  • Labs
  • Pharmacies
  • Clearinghouses

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

NextGen Healthcare

  • Cloud-based EHR and practice management for ambulatory and specialty practicesnot Bahmni
  • AI-assisted clinical documentation to reduce after-hours charting timenot 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.

NextGen Healthcare

  • No pricing published on website

Pricing, plan by plan

Bahmni

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

NextGen Healthcare

$150/month

No published plan breakdown. See the NextGen Healthcare 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 NextGen Healthcare if

  • You need electronic health records.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want practice management.
NextGen Healthcare review

Questions people ask

Is Bahmni or NextGen Healthcare better?
Neither clearly leads. Bahmni starts at Free and NextGen Healthcare at $150/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bahmni or NextGen Healthcare?
Bahmni has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bahmni and $150/month for NextGen Healthcare.
Does Bahmni or NextGen Healthcare run on more platforms?
Bahmni runs on Web, Linux, Android. NextGen Healthcare runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Bahmni for free?
Yes. Bahmni has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. NextGen Healthcare starts at $150/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 NextGen Healthcare is typically brought in for.
What can Bahmni do that NextGen Healthcare cannot?
Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, Configurable clinical forms, Laboratory integration, Billing and inventory. NextGen Healthcare covers Electronic Health Records, Practice Management, Revenue Cycle Management, Telehealth.

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.

NextGen Healthcare: How much does NextGen Healthcare cost?

NextGen Healthcare does not publish pricing on its website. The company directs customers to schedule a meeting, request a demo, or chat with sales to receive custom 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.

Share

Related pages

More on Bahmni

More on NextGen Healthcare

Keep looking

Other head to heads