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Healthcare · head to head

Bahmni vs Phreesia

Bahmni logo

Bahmni

Healthcare

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Phreesia logo

Phreesia

Healthcare

Patient intake, registration and payments platform for medical practices

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.; Phreesia no price is published: the vendor states pricing is customised to organisation size, workflows and products used, and is given only as a tailored quote
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bahmni and Phreesia actually diverge.

Attributes where Bahmni and Phreesia differ
AttributeBahmniPhreesia
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
PlatformsWeb, Linux, AndroidWeb

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 Phreesia

Nothing recorded that Bahmni does not also cover.

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

Phreesia

  • Digital patient intake and registration ahead of an appointmentnot Bahmni
  • Collecting patient payments as part of the intake workflownot Bahmni
  • Automating clinical screening questionnaires at check-innot 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.

Phreesia

  • No price is published: the vendor states pricing is customised to organisation size, workflows and products used, and is given only as a tailored quote
  • The current free access to the Intake platform is time limited and ends on 31 December 2026, with the rate that follows undisclosed
  • A buyer must book a demo before receiving any figure

Pricing, plan by plan

Bahmni

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

Phreesia

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Phreesia 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 Phreesia if

  • You want to start without paying.
Phreesia review

Questions people ask

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

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.

Phreesia: Is there a free version of Phreesia?

Phreesia offers free access to the complete Phreesia Intake platform through December 31, 2026. Standard subscription pricing begins January 1, 2027, with transparent pricing and no per-message charges or hidden fees.

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.

Phreesia: How is Phreesia priced?

Phreesia pricing is customized based on organization size, workflows, and products used. The company offers transparent subscription pricing with no per-message charges. Specific pricing requires contacting the company via their demo request form for a tailored quote.

Source
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.

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