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Healthcare · head to head

Bahmni vs OpenMRS

Bahmni logo

Bahmni

Healthcare

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
OpenMRS logo

OpenMRS

Healthcare

Open source electronic medical record platform for low-resource settings, with no vendor and paid implementers instead

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.; OpenMRS there is no vendor and no support contract from OpenMRS itself, so a procurement that requires a named supplier with a service level must instead contract an implementer, and the quality of that implementer determines the outcome more than the software does
  • They diverge on capability: Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, OpenMRS covers Concept dictionary.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bahmni and OpenMRS actually diverge.

Attributes where Bahmni and OpenMRS differ
AttributeBahmniOpenMRS
PlatformsWeb, Linux, AndroidLinux, Web, Windows

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 OpenMRS

  • Concept dictionary
  • Modular architecture
  • Modern front end
  • FHIR support
  • Offline tolerance
  • Patient matching and registration
  • Distributions

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

OpenMRS

  • A ministry of health standardising HIV treatment records across hundreds of facilities where per-patient licensing would be unaffordablenot Bahmni
  • A hospital network in a country where no commercial vendor supports the local language, clinical forms or reporting requirementsnot Bahmni
  • An NGO running a tuberculosis programme that must report into DHIS2 and needs the clinical record beneath it to be modifiablenot Bahmni
  • A health system that wants to own its clinical data model outright rather than depend on a vendor to extend itnot 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.

OpenMRS

  • There is no vendor and no support contract from OpenMRS itself, so a procurement that requires a named supplier with a service level must instead contract an implementer, and the quality of that implementer determines the outcome more than the software does
  • It is a framework rather than a ready product, so a deployment requires clinical content, form design, concept dictionary work and integration before a single patient is registered, and that work is months of skilled effort
  • Funding comes largely from donor programmes, which makes the pace of core development dependent on grant cycles rather than on a commercial roadmap, and priorities can shift when a funder does
  • Distribution choice, core OpenMRS against Bahmni against Ozone, locks in a different set of components and a different implementer pool, and migrating between distributions later is close to a fresh implementation
  • The people cost never goes away: a national deployment needs permanent internal informatics capacity or a permanent support contract, and organisations that budget only the zero licence fee run out of money at the point the system becomes clinically critical

Pricing, plan by plan

Bahmni

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

OpenMRS

Free
  • OpenMRSFree
    • Openly licensed, no licence fee and no seat limits
    • Community support through forums and the OpenMRS Talk platform
    • No support contract available from OpenMRS itself

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 OpenMRS if

  • You need concept dictionary.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Web, Windows.
  • You also want modular architecture.
OpenMRS review

Questions people ask

Is Bahmni or OpenMRS better?
Neither clearly leads. Bahmni starts at Free and OpenMRS at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bahmni or OpenMRS?
Bahmni starts at Free and OpenMRS at Free.
Does Bahmni or OpenMRS run on more platforms?
Bahmni runs on Web, Linux, Android. OpenMRS runs on Linux, Web, Windows.
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 OpenMRS is typically brought in for.
What can Bahmni do that OpenMRS cannot?
Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, Configurable clinical forms, Laboratory integration, Billing and inventory. OpenMRS covers Concept dictionary, Modular architecture, Modern front end, FHIR support.

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.

OpenMRS: Who supports OpenMRS if it breaks?

Not OpenMRS itself. Support is bought from implementers such as Mekom Solutions, which offers long-term production service level agreements for OpenMRS, Bahmni and Ozone deployments, or from regional partners.

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.

OpenMRS: Is it really free?

The software has no licence fee. Hosting, configuration, clinical content, integration and support are the real cost, and they are ongoing.

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.

OpenMRS: What is the difference between OpenMRS, Bahmni and Ozone?

OpenMRS is the core platform. Bahmni and Ozone are distributions that package it with billing, laboratory and inventory components. Choosing a distribution constrains your implementer options.

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.

OpenMRS: Does it support FHIR?

Yes. FHIR support is the standard route for integrating laboratory, pharmacy and national reporting systems.

Bahmni: Where is it used?

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

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