Healthcare · head to head
Figure 1 vs GNU Health
Figure 1
Healthcare
Medical photography and knowledge sharing platform
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
GNU Health
Healthcare
Free hospital and health information system from a small NGO, built on the Tryton framework
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- They diverge on capability: Figure 1 covers Case Sharing, 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 Figure 1 and GNU Health actually diverge.
| Attribute | Figure 1 | GNU Health |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | freemium | Open source, no licence fee |
| Platforms | Web, Mobile | Linux, Web, Self-hosted |
| Founded | 2011 | Unknown |
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 Figure 1
- Case Sharing
- Secure Messaging
- Image Upload
- Knowledge Discovery
- CME Access
- Collaboration
- HIPAA Compliant
- 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.
Figure 1
- 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 Figure 1
- A ministry building a national health network where source code inspection and data sovereignty are policy requirementsnot Figure 1
- A university teaching health informatics that needs a complete, inspectable system rather than a vendor demonstrationnot Figure 1
- A community health programme that needs socioeconomic determinants recorded alongside clinical datanot Figure 1
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Figure 1
Nothing recorded yet. See the Figure 1 review.
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
Figure 1
Free- FreeFree
- Access to cases
- HIPAA-compliant
- Secure sharing
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 Figure 1 if
- You need case sharing.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Mobile.
- You also want secure messaging.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Figure 1 or GNU Health better?
- Neither clearly leads. Figure 1 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, Figure 1 or GNU Health?
- Figure 1 starts at Free and GNU Health at Free.
- Does Figure 1 or GNU Health run on more platforms?
- Figure 1 runs on Web, Mobile. GNU Health runs on Linux, Web, Self-hosted.
- Can I use Figure 1 for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Figure 1 best used for?
- Figure 1 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 Figure 1 do that GNU Health cannot?
- Figure 1 covers Case Sharing, Secure Messaging, Image Upload, Knowledge Discovery. GNU Health covers Electronic medical record, Hospital management, Laboratory information system, Social medicine modules.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
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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