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Healthcare · head to head

Ambra Health vs DHIS2

Ambra Health logo

Ambra Health

Healthcare

Cloud medical image exchange and vendor neutral archive, now part of Intelerad

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
DHIS2 logo

DHIS2

Healthcare

Open source health information platform run from the University of Oslo and used by national ministries

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only DHIS2 has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Ambra Health intelerad now owns Ambra and ambrahealth.com redirects to Intelerad client support, so a buyer is committing to the Intelerad portfolio roadmap and should get written positioning on Ambra versus Intelerad own cloud PACS before signing.; DHIS2 the licence is free and the implementation is not; national rollouts routinely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in configuration, hosting, training and support, and budgets built on the word free fail immediately.
  • They diverge on capability: Ambra Health covers Image exchange, DHIS2 covers Aggregate data reporting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ambra Health and DHIS2 actually diverge.

Attributes where Ambra Health and DHIS2 differ
AttributeAmbra HealthDHIS2
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Android, Self-hosted, Cloud

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 Ambra Health

  • Image exchange
  • Cloud VNA
  • Zero footprint viewer
  • Patient upload portal
  • Identity reconciliation
  • Clinical trials workflow
  • API and HL7 integration

Only in DHIS2

  • Aggregate data reporting
  • Tracker
  • Android capture app
  • Dashboards and analytics
  • Metadata packages
  • Data quality tools
  • GIS mapping
  • Interoperability

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Ambra Health

  • A trauma centre that receives transfers from regional hospitals and needs outside CT studies readable before the patient arrives, not after a disc is walked innot DHIS2
  • An oncology programme collecting outside imaging for multidisciplinary tumour board review from dozens of referring practicesnot DHIS2
  • A clinical research organisation routing de identified trial imaging from many sites to one central reading facilitynot DHIS2
  • A health system trying to eliminate the CD import desk by giving patients and referring practices a direct upload portalnot DHIS2

DHIS2

  • A ministry of health replacing paper monthly reporting from thousands of facilities with a national routine systemnot Ambra Health
  • A donor-funded HIV or tuberculosis programme that must report standard indicators across several districtsnot Ambra Health
  • A disease surveillance unit needing weekly case reporting with outbreak alerting and mappingnot Ambra Health
  • An NGO running individual patient follow-up in a programme where facilities are frequently offlinenot Ambra Health

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Ambra Health

  • Intelerad now owns Ambra and ambrahealth.com redirects to Intelerad client support, so a buyer is committing to the Intelerad portfolio roadmap and should get written positioning on Ambra versus Intelerad own cloud PACS before signing.
  • Ambra is built for cross organisation exchange, not for high volume in department diagnostic reading, so a radiology group that expects it to replace a departmental PACS finds the reading ergonomics and hanging protocols thinner than a dedicated PACS client.
  • Pricing scales with study volume and stored capacity, so a health system that turns on patient upload broadly sees storage grow from low value outside studies it never intended to retain, and the renewal reflects that.
  • Identity reconciliation of studies arriving with foreign patient identifiers still needs human review at volume, and sites that budget for zero touch matching end up staffing an imaging records queue.
  • Adoption depends on referring practices actually using the portal, and the vendor cannot make that happen, so image exchange projects frequently stall at the outreach and change management step rather than at the technology.

DHIS2

  • The licence is free and the implementation is not; national rollouts routinely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in configuration, hosting, training and support, and budgets built on the word free fail immediately.
  • HISP UiO introduced a Shared Services Fee in 2025, so organisations that depend on DHIS2 are now being asked for an annual contribution that did not previously exist in their plans.
  • Development funding comes from a small set of donors including Norad, the Global Fund and the Gates Foundation, which concentrates the platform's long-term direction in the priorities of those funders.
  • Implementation capability is concentrated in regional HISP groups, so a country whose local HISP group is overstretched has few alternative suppliers with equivalent expertise.
  • Analytics performance depends heavily on how metadata was designed at the outset, and a poorly structured initial configuration produces slow dashboards and bad indicator definitions that are painful to correct years later.

Pricing, plan by plan

Ambra Health

On request
  • Ambra Health$undefined/year
    • Priced by annual study volume and stored capacity
    • Exchange partner connections and upload portals scoped per deployment
    • Zero footprint viewer licensed with the platform

DHIS2

Free
  • DHIS2 softwareFree
    • BSD licence
    • All modules including Tracker
    • No user or facility limits
  • Shared Services Fee$undefined/year
    • Voluntary annual contribution introduced by HISP UiO
    • Funds shared global infrastructure and platform sustainability
    • Amount agreed with the HISP Centre
  • Implementation and support$undefined/year
    • Delivered by regional HISP groups or private implementers
    • Configuration, metadata design, hosting, training and support
    • Quoted per programme, commonly the dominant cost

Which should you pick?

Choose Ambra Health if

  • You need image exchange.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want cloud vna.
Ambra Health review

Choose DHIS2 if

  • You need aggregate data reporting.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Android, Self-hosted, Cloud.
  • You also want tracker.
DHIS2 review

Questions people ask

Is Ambra Health or DHIS2 better?
Neither clearly leads. Ambra Health starts at On request and DHIS2 at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ambra Health or DHIS2?
DHIS2 has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Ambra Health and Free for DHIS2.
Does Ambra Health or DHIS2 run on more platforms?
Ambra Health runs on Web, iOS, Android. DHIS2 runs on Web, Android, Self-hosted, Cloud.
Can I use DHIS2 for free?
Yes. DHIS2 has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Ambra Health starts at On request.
What is Ambra Health best used for?
Ambra Health is most often used for a trauma centre that receives transfers from regional hospitals and needs outside ct studies readable before the patient arrives, not after a disc is walked in, an oncology programme collecting outside imaging for multidisciplinary tumour board review from dozens of referring practices, a clinical research organisation routing de identified trial imaging from many sites to one central reading facility, a health system trying to eliminate the cd import desk by giving patients and referring practices a direct upload portal. Of those, a trauma centre that receives transfers from regional hospitals and needs outside ct studies readable before the patient arrives, not after a disc is walked in and an oncology programme collecting outside imaging for multidisciplinary tumour board review from dozens of referring practices are not what DHIS2 is typically brought in for.
What can Ambra Health do that DHIS2 cannot?
Ambra Health covers Image exchange, Cloud VNA, Zero footprint viewer, Patient upload portal. DHIS2 covers Aggregate data reporting, Tracker, Android capture app, Dashboards and analytics.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ambra Health: Is Ambra Health still sold under its own name?

Yes. Intelerad still markets Ambra Health as a named product line, but the standalone website redirects to Intelerad, and support and contracting run through Intelerad.

DHIS2: Who owns and develops DHIS2?

The HISP Centre at the University of Oslo, funded by donors including Norad, the Global Fund, the Gates Foundation and Wellcome.

Ambra Health: Can Ambra replace our PACS?

For image exchange, archiving and clinical viewing, yes. For high volume diagnostic radiology reading it is generally deployed alongside a departmental PACS rather than instead of one.

DHIS2: Is DHIS2 free?

The software is free under a BSD licence. Implementation, hosting, training and support are not, and are the dominant cost.

Ambra Health: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted by annual study volume, stored capacity and the scope of exchange connections.

DHIS2: What is the Shared Services Fee?

A voluntary annual contribution introduced by HISP UiO in 2025 to fund shared global infrastructure and long-term platform sustainability.

Ambra Health: Does the viewer require software on referring physician machines?

No. The viewer is zero footprint HTML5, which is the main reason referring practices adopt it at all.

DHIS2: Can I buy commercial support?

Yes, from regional HISP groups or private implementers such as Devotta, which is contracted by HISP UiO for core platform development and also works independently.

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