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Healthcare · head to head

DHIS2 vs Gleamer

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
Gleamer logo

Gleamer

Healthcare

CE marked and FDA cleared imaging AI suite for bone trauma and chest, now owned by RadNet

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only DHIS2 has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Gleamer radNet, an imaging provider that competes with many independent Gleamer customers, now owns the company and also owns the competing DeepHealth AI portfolio, so roadmap and pricing priorities are an open question for non-RadNet buyers.
  • They diverge on capability: DHIS2 covers Aggregate data reporting, Gleamer covers BoneView.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DHIS2 and Gleamer actually diverge.

Attributes where DHIS2 and Gleamer differ
AttributeDHIS2Gleamer
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Android, Self-hosted, CloudWeb, 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 DHIS2

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

Only in Gleamer

  • BoneView
  • ChestView
  • BoneAge
  • BoneMetrics
  • LungCT and BoneCT
  • BreastView
  • Pixyl.Neuro
  • Gleamer Copilot

What people use each for

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

DHIS2

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

Gleamer

  • An emergency department where junior doctors read plain films before radiology review and missed fractures are a recurring incident themenot DHIS2
  • An urgent care network standardising musculoskeletal reading quality across sites with variable radiology covernot DHIS2
  • A paediatric service automating bone age assessment to remove a slow manual atlas comparisonnot DHIS2
  • An orthopaedic service that needs automated limb alignment and measurement before surgical planning rather than manual measurement on the workstationnot DHIS2

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Gleamer

  • RadNet, an imaging provider that competes with many independent Gleamer customers, now owns the company and also owns the competing DeepHealth AI portfolio, so roadmap and pricing priorities are an open question for non-RadNet buyers.
  • The measured benefit is largest for less experienced readers, so a specialist musculoskeletal service will see far less improvement than the published reader studies suggest.
  • Cleared indications differ per module and per market, and the FDA cleared set is narrower than the CE marked European set, so an American buyer cannot rely on European reference sites.
  • Each additional module adds alert volume into the same worklist, and departments running several Gleamer algorithms report needing local threshold tuning to keep radiologist trust.
  • Pricing is per exam and not published, which makes budgeting difficult for an emergency department whose plain film volume swings seasonally.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Gleamer

On request
  • Gleamer Copilot$undefined/year
    • Priced per exam analysed or as an annual volume subscription
    • Modules licensed individually or bundled as Copilot
    • Cleared and CE marked indication differs per module and per market

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Gleamer if

  • You need boneview.
  • You work on Web, Cloud, On-premise.
  • You also want chestview.
Gleamer review

Questions people ask

Is DHIS2 or Gleamer better?
Neither clearly leads. DHIS2 starts at Free and Gleamer at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DHIS2 or Gleamer?
DHIS2 has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for DHIS2 and On request for Gleamer.
Does DHIS2 or Gleamer run on more platforms?
DHIS2 runs on Web, Android, Self-hosted, Cloud. Gleamer runs on Web, Cloud, On-premise.
Can I use DHIS2 for free?
Yes. DHIS2 has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Gleamer starts at On request.
What is DHIS2 best used for?
DHIS2 is most often used for a ministry of health replacing paper monthly reporting from thousands of facilities with a national routine system, a donor-funded hiv or tuberculosis programme that must report standard indicators across several districts, a disease surveillance unit needing weekly case reporting with outbreak alerting and mapping, an ngo running individual patient follow-up in a programme where facilities are frequently offline. Of those, a ministry of health replacing paper monthly reporting from thousands of facilities with a national routine system and a donor-funded hiv or tuberculosis programme that must report standard indicators across several districts are not what Gleamer is typically brought in for.
What can DHIS2 do that Gleamer cannot?
DHIS2 covers Aggregate data reporting, Tracker, Android capture app, Dashboards and analytics. Gleamer covers BoneView, ChestView, BoneAge, BoneMetrics.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Gleamer: Who owns Gleamer?

RadNet agreed to acquire Gleamer in February 2026 for around two hundred and fifteen million euros upfront. RadNet also owns DeepHealth, a competing AI portfolio.

DHIS2: Is DHIS2 free?

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

Gleamer: Is BoneView FDA cleared?

Yes, BoneView holds 510(k) clearance including for paediatric fracture detection, but the cleared finding set is narrower than the CE marked indication in Europe.

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.

Gleamer: What does the evidence actually show?

Multi-reader studies reported improved reader sensitivity for fracture detection and fewer false negatives, with the gain concentrated among less experienced readers in emergency settings.

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.

Gleamer: Can I buy just BoneView?

Yes, modules are licensed individually, though the commercial pitch is now the Copilot bundle across modalities.

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