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Healthcare · head to head

Bahmni vs Quantum Health

Bahmni logo

Bahmni

Healthcare

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Quantum Health logo

Quantum Health

Healthcare

Healthcare navigation for self insured employers, delivered by pods of human care coordinators

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.; Quantum Health nothing is published: no per employee per month rate, no implementation fee, no minimum eligible lives, so an employer cannot benchmark a Quantum quote against anything before entering a sales process.
  • They diverge on capability: Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, Quantum Health covers Care coordinator pods.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bahmni and Quantum Health actually diverge.

Attributes where Bahmni and Quantum Health differ
AttributeBahmniQuantum Health
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android

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 Quantum Health

  • Care coordinator pods
  • Real time intercept
  • Provider steering
  • Claims and benefits advocacy
  • Embold Plus tier
  • Quantum Flex tier
  • Quantum Signature tier
  • Point solution routing

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

Quantum Health

  • A self insured employer of a few thousand staff whose members call the carrier, get transferred repeatedly and make expensive care decisions unsupportednot Bahmni
  • An employer that has bought many point solutions and needs someone to route members into the ones already fundednot Bahmni
  • A plan wanting intervention before an elective procedure is scheduled rather than a report about it afterwardsnot Bahmni
  • An employer that wants navigation without giving the same vendor the clinical delivery contractnot 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.

Quantum Health

  • Nothing is published: no per employee per month rate, no implementation fee, no minimum eligible lives, so an employer cannot benchmark a Quantum quote against anything before entering a sales process.
  • It sells to self insured employers of roughly 500 employees and up, so smaller and fully insured employers are outside the model regardless of interest.
  • Quantum navigates but does not deliver care, so it cannot close a loop with a visit of its own, and members who are steered still have to obtain an appointment through the ordinary network.
  • The pod model depends on staffing continuity, and turnover in the coordinator teams degrades exactly the consistency that the pod concept sells, which is invisible in a demonstration.
  • Savings are measured against counterfactual claims trend, so the number in the return on investment case depends heavily on the methodology chosen, and employers should insist on defining that methodology before signing rather than accepting the vendor own model.

Pricing, plan by plan

Bahmni

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

Quantum Health

On request
  • Quantum Health$undefined/year
    • Per employee per month, quoted not published
    • Three tiers: Embold Plus, Quantum Flex and Quantum Signature
    • Sold to self insured employers from roughly 500 employees upward

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 Quantum Health if

  • You need care coordinator pods.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want real time intercept.
Quantum Health review

Questions people ask

Is Bahmni or Quantum Health better?
Neither clearly leads. Bahmni starts at Free and Quantum Health at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bahmni or Quantum Health?
Bahmni has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bahmni and On request for Quantum Health.
Does Bahmni or Quantum Health run on more platforms?
Bahmni runs on Web, Linux, Android. Quantum Health runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Bahmni for free?
Yes. Bahmni has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Quantum Health 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 Quantum Health is typically brought in for.
What can Bahmni do that Quantum Health cannot?
Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, Configurable clinical forms, Laboratory integration, Billing and inventory. Quantum Health covers Care coordinator pods, Real time intercept, Provider steering, Claims and benefits advocacy.

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.

Quantum Health: Is there a minimum employer size?

Quantum works with self insured employers of around 500 employees and up. It does not publish a hard minimum, but the model does not fit small or fully insured groups.

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.

Quantum Health: Does Quantum provide the medical care?

No. It navigates, coordinates and steers, but care is delivered by the network. That is the deliberate difference from vendors that own their own virtual clinicians.

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.

Quantum Health: What are the tiers?

Embold Plus for carrier compatible navigation, Quantum Flex for modular capability selection, and Quantum Signature for deeper clinical, pharmacy and provider steering integration.

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.

Quantum Health: Is pricing published?

No. No rates, implementation fees or minimum lives are disclosed. Expect a fully custom quote based on headcount, plan complexity, carrier relationships and modules.

Bahmni: Where is it used?

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

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