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Healthcare · head to head

DHIS2 vs Paige

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
Paige logo

Paige

Healthcare

Digital pathology AI holding the first FDA De Novo authorisation for a pathology algorithm, now part of Tempus

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.; Paige the FDA authorisation is confined to prostate core needle biopsies, on compatible scanners, viewed through FullFocus, as an adjunct only; every other tissue type and every grading claim is outside that authorisation in the United States.
  • They diverge on capability: DHIS2 covers Aggregate data reporting, Paige covers Paige Prostate Detect.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DHIS2 and Paige actually diverge.

Attributes where DHIS2 and Paige differ
AttributeDHIS2Paige
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 Paige

  • Paige Prostate Detect
  • Paige Prostate Grade and Quantify
  • Perineural invasion detection
  • Breast and lymph node applications
  • FullFocus viewer
  • Foundation models
  • OmniScreen
  • Paige Alba

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 Paige
  • A donor-funded HIV or tuberculosis programme that must report standard indicators across several districtsnot Paige
  • A disease surveillance unit needing weekly case reporting with outbreak alerting and mappingnot Paige
  • An NGO running individual patient follow-up in a programme where facilities are frequently offlinenot Paige

Paige

  • A reference laboratory processing high volumes of prostate core needle biopsies where a second read on every case is not staffablenot DHIS2
  • A pathology department already digitised that wants a documented safety net against missed small foci of cancernot DHIS2
  • A hospital laboratory struggling to recruit uropathology subspecialists and needing consistency across generalist reportingnot DHIS2
  • A pharmaceutical company needing consistent biomarker scoring across trial sites rather than site-by-site pathologist variabilitynot 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.

Paige

  • The FDA authorisation is confined to prostate core needle biopsies, on compatible scanners, viewed through FullFocus, as an adjunct only; every other tissue type and every grading claim is outside that authorisation in the United States.
  • The algorithm is worthless without a digital pathology programme already running, and slide scanning, storage and workflow typically cost far more than the software licence.
  • Tempus acquired Paige in 2025, so the roadmap now competes for attention inside a genomics-led business, and the pathology-only buyer is no longer the primary customer.
  • Scanner compatibility is a hard constraint rather than a preference, and a laboratory with an unsupported scanner fleet cannot use the authorised indication at all.
  • Pricing is per case or per slide and unpublished, so a laboratory cannot model cost per reported case without entering a sales process.

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

Paige

On request
  • Paige clinical applications$undefined/year
    • Priced per case or per slide analysed under annual agreement
    • Prostate, breast and other applications licensed separately
    • Requires compatible whole slide scanner and the FullFocus viewer for the authorised indication

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 Paige if

  • You need paige prostate detect.
  • You work on Web, Cloud, On-premise.
  • You also want paige prostate grade and quantify.
Paige review

Questions people ask

Is DHIS2 or Paige better?
Neither clearly leads. DHIS2 starts at Free and Paige at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DHIS2 or Paige?
DHIS2 has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for DHIS2 and On request for Paige.
Does DHIS2 or Paige run on more platforms?
DHIS2 runs on Web, Android, Self-hosted, Cloud. Paige 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. Paige 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 Paige is typically brought in for.
What can DHIS2 do that Paige cannot?
DHIS2 covers Aggregate data reporting, Tracker, Android capture app, Dashboards and analytics. Paige covers Paige Prostate Detect, Paige Prostate Grade and Quantify, Perineural invasion detection, Breast and lymph node applications.

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.

Paige: What exactly is FDA authorised?

Paige Prostate Detect, as an adjunct for identifying areas of interest on digitised prostate core needle biopsy slides, viewed through the Paige FullFocus viewer on a compatible scanner. Nothing else in the portfolio holds that authorisation in the United States.

DHIS2: Is DHIS2 free?

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

Paige: Is the European position broader?

Yes. The Paige Prostate suite including grading and quantification received IVDR certification in 2025, which covers more than the United States authorisation.

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.

Paige: What did the pivotal study measure?

Pathologist cancer detection on individual slide images improved, with reported reductions in false negative and false positive readings. It measured pathologist performance with the tool, not standalone algorithm accuracy.

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.

Paige: Who owns Paige now?

Tempus AI acquired Paige in 2025. Products remain branded Paige.

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