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Healthcare · head to head

Bahmni vs Zanda Health

Bahmni logo

Bahmni

Healthcare

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zanda Health logo

Zanda Health

Healthcare

Practice management and clinical notes for allied health clinics, formerly Power Diary

From
$19/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.; Zanda Health the 2024 rename from Power Diary means most third party reviews, integration guides and community answers still sit under the old name, so buyers researching Zanda Health find a thin trail and may wrongly conclude it is a new and unproven product.
  • They diverge on capability: Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, Zanda Health covers Unlimited admin users.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Bahmni and Zanda Health differ
AttributeBahmniZanda Health
Starting priceFree$19/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer user per month
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 Zanda Health

  • Unlimited admin users
  • Australian funder billing
  • Clinical note templates
  • Two way SMS
  • Telehealth Pro
  • Practitioner rostering
  • Client portal
  • BizzyAI Scribe

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

Zanda Health

  • A five physiotherapist clinic in Melbourne that bulk bills Medicare and wants claiming inside the diary rather than a separate portalnot Bahmni
  • A psychology group practice with more reception staff than clinicians, where per seat pricing elsewhere would double the billnot Bahmni
  • A UK osteopathy practice moving off paper diaries that needs online booking and card payment without an implementation projectnot Bahmni
  • A multi site podiatry business that needs room and equipment allocation alongside practitioner availabilitynot 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.

Zanda Health

  • The 2024 rename from Power Diary means most third party reviews, integration guides and community answers still sit under the old name, so buyers researching Zanda Health find a thin trail and may wrongly conclude it is a new and unproven product.
  • North American billing is not properly served: there is no claims clearinghouse and superbill handling is basic, so a United States practice will need a separate revenue cycle tool and will pay for two systems.
  • Pricing is quoted in United States dollars while the company, support hours and product depth are Australian, so buyers outside those two time zones get support with an overnight lag on urgent clinical scheduling problems.
  • SMS is billed per message beyond the plan allowance and a dedicated number is required in the United States and Canada, so a busy clinic sending reminders and follow ups accumulates a variable monthly cost that is not visible in the headline plan price.
  • Reporting is adequate for a single clinic but weak for a group: cross site financial consolidation and practitioner productivity comparison generally end up exported to a spreadsheet, which becomes a monthly manual job as soon as you pass a handful of locations.

Pricing, plan by plan

Bahmni

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

Zanda Health

$19/month
  • Starter$19/month
    • One practitioner
    • One administrative user
    • 1,000 appointments per year
  • Growth$49/month
    • Base fee plus 19 USD per additional practitioner per month
    • Unlimited free administrative users
    • Unlimited appointments
  • Telehealth Pro add-on$9/month
    • Per practitioner
    • Unlimited video consultations
    • Recording and waiting room

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 Zanda Health if

  • You need unlimited admin users.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want australian funder billing.
Zanda Health review

Questions people ask

Is Bahmni or Zanda Health better?
Neither clearly leads. Bahmni starts at Free and Zanda Health at $19/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bahmni or Zanda Health?
Bahmni has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bahmni and $19/month for Zanda Health.
Does Bahmni or Zanda Health run on more platforms?
Bahmni runs on Web, Linux, Android. Zanda 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. Zanda Health starts at $19/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 Zanda Health is typically brought in for.
What can Bahmni do that Zanda Health cannot?
Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, Configurable clinical forms, Laboratory integration, Billing and inventory. Zanda Health covers Unlimited admin users, Australian funder billing, Clinical note templates, Two way SMS.

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.

Zanda Health: Is Zanda Health the same as Power Diary?

Yes. Power Diary rebranded to Zanda Health in 2024. Same company, same product line, same data.

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.

Zanda Health: Do receptionists count as paid users?

No. On the Growth plan administrative users are unlimited and free. Only practitioners are charged.

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.

Zanda Health: Does it handle Medicare bulk billing?

Yes, Medicare Online, DVA and bulk billing claims are submitted from within the platform for Australian practices.

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.

Zanda Health: Is it suitable for a United States practice?

Only partly. Charting, scheduling and telehealth work, but there is no claims clearinghouse, so US insurance billing needs a separate system.

Bahmni: Where is it used?

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

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