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Healthcare · head to head

Bahmni vs Paige

Bahmni logo

Bahmni

Healthcare

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Paige logo

Paige

Healthcare

Digital pathology AI holding the first FDA De Novo authorisation for a pathology algorithm, now part of Tempus

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.; Paige the FDA authorisation is confined to prostate core needle biopsies, on compatible scanners, viewed through FullFocus, as an adjunct only; every other tissue type and every grading claim is outside that authorisation in the United States.
  • They diverge on capability: Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, Paige covers Paige Prostate Detect.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bahmni and Paige actually diverge.

Attributes where Bahmni and Paige differ
AttributeBahmniPaige
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, AndroidWeb, Cloud, On-premise

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 Paige

  • Paige Prostate Detect
  • Paige Prostate Grade and Quantify
  • Perineural invasion detection
  • Breast and lymph node applications
  • FullFocus viewer
  • Foundation models
  • OmniScreen
  • Paige Alba

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

Paige

  • A reference laboratory processing high volumes of prostate core needle biopsies where a second read on every case is not staffablenot Bahmni
  • A pathology department already digitised that wants a documented safety net against missed small foci of cancernot Bahmni
  • A hospital laboratory struggling to recruit uropathology subspecialists and needing consistency across generalist reportingnot Bahmni
  • A pharmaceutical company needing consistent biomarker scoring across trial sites rather than site-by-site pathologist variabilitynot 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.

Paige

  • The FDA authorisation is confined to prostate core needle biopsies, on compatible scanners, viewed through FullFocus, as an adjunct only; every other tissue type and every grading claim is outside that authorisation in the United States.
  • The algorithm is worthless without a digital pathology programme already running, and slide scanning, storage and workflow typically cost far more than the software licence.
  • Tempus acquired Paige in 2025, so the roadmap now competes for attention inside a genomics-led business, and the pathology-only buyer is no longer the primary customer.
  • Scanner compatibility is a hard constraint rather than a preference, and a laboratory with an unsupported scanner fleet cannot use the authorised indication at all.
  • Pricing is per case or per slide and unpublished, so a laboratory cannot model cost per reported case without entering a sales process.

Pricing, plan by plan

Bahmni

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

Paige

On request
  • Paige clinical applications$undefined/year
    • Priced per case or per slide analysed under annual agreement
    • Prostate, breast and other applications licensed separately
    • Requires compatible whole slide scanner and the FullFocus viewer for the authorised indication

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 Paige if

  • You need paige prostate detect.
  • You work on Web, Cloud, On-premise.
  • You also want paige prostate grade and quantify.
Paige review

Questions people ask

Is Bahmni or Paige better?
Neither clearly leads. Bahmni starts at Free and Paige at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bahmni or Paige?
Bahmni has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bahmni and On request for Paige.
Does Bahmni or Paige run on more platforms?
Bahmni runs on Web, Linux, Android. Paige runs on Web, Cloud, On-premise.
Can I use Bahmni for free?
Yes. Bahmni has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Paige 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 Paige is typically brought in for.
What can Bahmni do that Paige cannot?
Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, Configurable clinical forms, Laboratory integration, Billing and inventory. Paige covers Paige Prostate Detect, Paige Prostate Grade and Quantify, Perineural invasion detection, Breast and lymph node applications.

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.

Paige: What exactly is FDA authorised?

Paige Prostate Detect, as an adjunct for identifying areas of interest on digitised prostate core needle biopsy slides, viewed through the Paige FullFocus viewer on a compatible scanner. Nothing else in the portfolio holds that authorisation in the United States.

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.

Paige: Is the European position broader?

Yes. The Paige Prostate suite including grading and quantification received IVDR certification in 2025, which covers more than the United States authorisation.

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.

Paige: What did the pivotal study measure?

Pathologist cancer detection on individual slide images improved, with reported reductions in false negative and false positive readings. It measured pathologist performance with the tool, not standalone algorithm accuracy.

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.

Paige: Who owns Paige now?

Tempus AI acquired Paige in 2025. Products remain branded Paige.

Bahmni: Where is it used?

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

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