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Healthcare · head to head

DHIS2 vs REDCap

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
REDCap logo

REDCap

Research

Research data capture licensed free to non-profits, and not licensable at all to companies

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.; REDCap a for-profit company cannot hold a licence or self-host REDCap, so a biotech or CRO that liked it at university simply cannot deploy it the same way and must buy a commercially licensed hosted version instead.
  • They diverge on capability: DHIS2 covers Aggregate data reporting, REDCap covers Form and survey designer.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DHIS2 and REDCap actually diverge.

Attributes where DHIS2 and REDCap differ
AttributeDHIS2REDCap
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Android, Self-hosted, CloudWeb, Linux, Windows
CategoryHealthcareResearch

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 REDCap

  • Form and survey designer
  • Longitudinal projects
  • Data quality rules
  • Randomisation
  • Audit trail and e-signature
  • API and exports

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

REDCap

  • An academic research group at an institution that already runs REDCap, where a new study database costs nothing beyond the time to build itnot DHIS2
  • A hospital collecting patient reported outcomes where data must stay on institutional infrastructure rather than a vendor cloudnot DHIS2
  • An investigator initiated trial that needs randomisation, an audit trail and statistical export without a commercial EDC budgetnot DHIS2
  • A multi site academic collaboration where each site can be given scoped access to a single longitudinal projectnot 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.

REDCap

  • A for-profit company cannot hold a licence or self-host REDCap, so a biotech or CRO that liked it at university simply cannot deploy it the same way and must buy a commercially licensed hosted version instead.
  • Because each institution hosts its own instance, support, uptime, backup and version currency vary by university, and a researcher has no recourse to Vanderbilt when the local instance is two years out of date.
  • It is free of licence fee but not free of cost: the hosting institution carries server, security, patching and support staffing, which is why some institutions charge internal recharges per project.
  • Validation for regulated use is the deploying institution responsibility, so an instance is not Part 11 compliant simply because REDCap supports the features; someone locally has to produce and maintain the evidence.
  • The interface and reporting are dated compared with commercial survey and EDC tools, and complex logic is built through data dictionary spreadsheets rather than a modern visual builder, which slows non technical study teams.

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

REDCap

On request
  • REDCap non-profit licence$undefined/year
    • No licence fee to non-profit and government institutions that join the consortium
    • Institution must install and host it on its own infrastructure
    • For-profit organisations may not hold a licence or self-host

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 REDCap if

  • You need form and survey designer.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Windows.
  • You also want longitudinal projects.
REDCap review

Questions people ask

Is DHIS2 or REDCap better?
Neither clearly leads. DHIS2 starts at Free and REDCap at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DHIS2 or REDCap?
DHIS2 has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for DHIS2 and On request for REDCap.
Does DHIS2 or REDCap run on more platforms?
DHIS2 runs on Web, Android, Self-hosted, Cloud. REDCap runs on Web, Linux, Windows.
Can I use DHIS2 for free?
Yes. DHIS2 has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. REDCap 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 REDCap is typically brought in for.
What can DHIS2 do that REDCap cannot?
DHIS2 covers Aggregate data reporting, Tracker, Android capture app, Dashboards and analytics. REDCap covers Form and survey designer, Longitudinal projects, Data quality rules, Randomisation.

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.

REDCap: Is REDCap really free?

The licence is free to non-profit institutions and government organisations that join the consortium, but they must host and support it themselves, so there is real internal cost.

DHIS2: Is DHIS2 free?

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

REDCap: Can my company use REDCap?

Not by holding a licence or self-hosting. For-profit organisations must use a separately licensed commercial hosted route.

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.

REDCap: Is REDCap 21 CFR Part 11 compliant?

It has the features to support Part 11 use, but compliance depends on how the hosting institution configures, validates and documents its own instance.

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.

REDCap: Who supports it?

Your local institutional REDCap administrator, not Vanderbilt. Support quality varies by site.

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