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Healthcare · head to head

Epocrates vs GNU Health

Epocrates logo

Epocrates

Healthcare

Mobile clinical reference and decision support app

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
GNU Health logo

GNU Health

Healthcare

Free hospital and health information system from a small NGO, built on the Tryton framework

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Epocrates pricing page not publicly accessible; GNU Health development depends on GNU Solidario, a very small nonprofit funded by donations and training, so release cadence and long-term continuity are tied to a handful of people rather than to an engineering organisation.
  • They diverge on capability: Epocrates covers Drug Reference, GNU Health covers Electronic medical record.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Epocrates and GNU Health actually diverge.

Attributes where Epocrates and GNU Health differ
AttributeEpocratesGNU Health
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsMobileLinux, Web, Self-hosted
Founded2000Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Epocrates

  • Drug Reference
  • Interactions
  • Dosing Calculators
  • Disease Information
  • Medical Procedures
  • Patient Education
  • EHR Systems
  • HIPAA

Only in GNU Health

  • Electronic medical record
  • Hospital management
  • Laboratory information system
  • Social medicine modules
  • Tryton business modules
  • Health federation
  • ICD and standards support
  • Modular installation

What people use each for

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

Epocrates

  • Patient Carenot GNU Health
  • Medical Recordsnot GNU Health
  • Practice Managementnot GNU Health
  • Telehealthnot GNU Health

GNU Health

  • A public hospital in a low-resource setting that cannot fund commercial EMR licensing and has in-house Linux capabilitynot Epocrates
  • A ministry building a national health network where source code inspection and data sovereignty are policy requirementsnot Epocrates
  • A university teaching health informatics that needs a complete, inspectable system rather than a vendor demonstrationnot Epocrates
  • A community health programme that needs socioeconomic determinants recorded alongside clinical datanot Epocrates

Where each one falls short

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

Epocrates

  • Pricing page not publicly accessible

GNU Health

  • Development depends on GNU Solidario, a very small nonprofit funded by donations and training, so release cadence and long-term continuity are tied to a handful of people rather than to an engineering organisation.
  • It is built on Tryton, a framework few health IT staff know, so hiring or contracting people who can extend and maintain it is materially harder than for a mainstream stack.
  • Installation, upgrades and database administration assume Linux and Python competence, which puts the real cost on staffing rather than on licensing and defeats hospitals that lack that team.
  • The interface is functional rather than designed, and clinician acceptance is a genuine deployment risk compared with commercial systems that have invested heavily in usability.
  • Certification, regulatory conformance and interoperability testing that some jurisdictions demand of clinical systems are not provided by a vendor, so the adopting institution has to carry that work and that liability itself.

Pricing, plan by plan

Epocrates

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Drug references
    • Calculators
    • Interactions
  • Premium$99/year
    • Enhanced content
    • Offline access

GNU Health

Free
  • GNU HealthFree
    • GNU GPL licence
    • All modules included
    • No patient, bed or user limits
  • Support and training$undefined/year
    • Paid support and implementation from GNU Solidario
    • Training courses and certification
    • Quoted per institution

Which should you pick?

Choose Epocrates if

  • You need drug reference.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Mobile.
  • You also want interactions.
Epocrates review

Choose GNU Health if

  • You need electronic medical record.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want hospital management.
GNU Health review

Questions people ask

Is Epocrates or GNU Health better?
Neither clearly leads. Epocrates starts at Free and GNU Health at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Epocrates or GNU Health?
Epocrates starts at Free and GNU Health at Free.
Does Epocrates or GNU Health run on more platforms?
Epocrates runs on Mobile. GNU Health runs on Linux, Web, Self-hosted.
Can I use Epocrates for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Epocrates best used for?
Epocrates is most often used for patient care, medical records, practice management, telehealth. Of those, patient care and medical records are not what GNU Health is typically brought in for.
What can Epocrates do that GNU Health cannot?
Epocrates covers Drug Reference, Interactions, Dosing Calculators, Disease Information. GNU Health covers Electronic medical record, Hospital management, Laboratory information system, Social medicine modules.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Epocrates: How much does Epocrates cost?

Epocrates pricing information is not available to public access. Users must authenticate or contact the vendor to view pricing details.

Source
GNU Health: Who develops GNU Health?

GNU Solidario, a Spanish nonprofit NGO, as an official GNU package under the GPL.

GNU Health: Is there commercial support?

Yes, in a limited form, from GNU Solidario itself and a small number of implementers. It is not a vendor support organisation.

GNU Health: What is it built on?

Tryton, a Python business application framework, which is where its accounting, stock and HR modules come from.

GNU Health: Is it suitable for a large hospital?

It is deployed in hospitals, but the deciding factor is whether you have internal Linux, Python and Tryton capability rather than the size of the institution.

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