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Healthcare · head to head

Bahmni vs Fullscript

Bahmni logo

Bahmni

Healthcare

Open source hospital information system and EMR for low-resource hospitals, built on OpenMRS

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Fullscript logo

Fullscript

Healthcare

Supplement dispensing for practitioners, free to use because it earns on the products

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Bahmni the licence is free and the implementation is not; configuration, data migration, training and multi-year support from a partner routinely cost far more than a small commercial system would have, and hospitals that budget only for hardware stall.; Fullscript the practitioner sets their own margin on products they clinically recommend, which is a conflict of interest that some professional bodies and patients view badly, and the platform makes the arrangement easy rather than making it visible.
  • They diverge on capability: Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, Fullscript covers Protocol dispensing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bahmni and Fullscript actually diverge.

Attributes where Bahmni and Fullscript differ
AttributeBahmniFullscript
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer user per month
PlatformsWeb, Linux, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android

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 Bahmni

  • OpenMRS clinical record
  • Configurable clinical forms
  • Laboratory integration
  • Billing and inventory
  • Imaging
  • Inpatient management
  • Offline-capable clinical app
  • Reporting

Only in Fullscript

  • Protocol dispensing
  • Profit dispensary
  • Auto refill
  • Lab ordering
  • Patient app
  • EHR integration
  • Enterprise catalogue control

What people use each for

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

Bahmni

  • A mission or charitable hospital in India or East Africa that cannot fund a commercial hospital information system licence but needs a real EMR rather than papernot Fullscript
  • A ministry of health standardising district hospitals on one system and required by donors to use a recognised Digital Public Goodnot Fullscript
  • An NGO health network wanting one clinical record across several facilities with reporting that can feed a national DHIS2 instancenot Fullscript
  • A hospital that needs the clinical record, laboratory, pharmacy and billing to share one patient identity rather than running four disconnected systemsnot Fullscript

Fullscript

  • A functional medicine practice that wants to stop holding supplement stock, cash and expiry risk in the clinicnot Bahmni
  • A dietitian or naturopath adding a dispensary revenue stream without buying inventory upfrontnot Bahmni
  • A clinic that needs patients to actually keep taking a protocol, where auto refills and dose reminders address the adherence problem directlynot Bahmni
  • A multi site integrative health group that wants a single approved catalogue rather than each clinician choosing their own brandsnot Bahmni

Where each one falls short

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

Bahmni

  • The licence is free and the implementation is not; configuration, data migration, training and multi-year support from a partner routinely cost far more than a small commercial system would have, and hospitals that budget only for hardware stall.
  • There is no single vendor with an obligation to you unless you contract one, so upgrade timing, security patching and defect resolution depend on whichever partner you hired and how long they stay engaged.
  • It integrates four substantial open source systems, which means an upgrade touches OpenMRS, OpenELIS, Odoo and the imaging stack together, and hospitals with heavy customisation often freeze on an old version rather than risk it.
  • Skilled Bahmni implementers are concentrated in a small number of firms in India and a few African countries, so a hospital outside those markets may find nobody local who can support it.
  • Funding for the coalition and its shared engineering comes from donors and member contributions rather than licence revenue, which makes the pace of core development dependent on grant cycles rather than on customer demand.

Fullscript

  • The practitioner sets their own margin on products they clinically recommend, which is a conflict of interest that some professional bodies and patients view badly, and the platform makes the arrangement easy rather than making it visible.
  • The account is free but the practice does not control pricing, catalogue, shipping cost or the patient discount, so the entire economics of the dispensary can be changed by the vendor without the practice having any lever.
  • Converting to a profit account requires personal identity verification, tax details and a bank account, and makes dispensary earnings the practitioner personal taxable income to report, which is administrative work no one warns about at signup.
  • Product availability and shipping are geographically limited, so practices outside the supported countries cannot use it at all and cross border patients will find items unavailable at checkout.
  • Patient refill schedules, plan history and a slice of practice revenue accumulate inside a platform the practice cannot export in a form another dispensary would accept, so switching later means asking every patient to re-enrol somewhere else.

Pricing, plan by plan

Bahmni

Free
  • BahmniFree
    • AGPL open source, no licence fee
    • All modules included
    • Community support via forum and documentation

Fullscript

Free
  • PractitionerFree
    • Full catalogue and dispensing at no account fee
    • Lab ordering and results
    • Standard EHR integrations
  • PatientFree
    • No account fee
    • Mobile app with dose reminders
    • Auto refills, cancellable at any time
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Quoted for health systems and multi site groups
    • Centrally managed catalogue with quality standards
    • API level EHR integration

Which should you pick?

Choose Bahmni if

  • You need openmrs clinical record.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Android.
  • You also want configurable clinical forms.
Bahmni review

Choose Fullscript if

  • You need protocol dispensing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want profit dispensary.
Fullscript review

Questions people ask

Is Bahmni or Fullscript better?
Neither clearly leads. Bahmni starts at Free and Fullscript at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bahmni or Fullscript?
Bahmni starts at Free and Fullscript at Free.
Does Bahmni or Fullscript run on more platforms?
Bahmni runs on Web, Linux, Android. Fullscript runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Bahmni for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Bahmni best used for?
Bahmni is most often used for a mission or charitable hospital in india or east africa that cannot fund a commercial hospital information system licence but needs a real emr rather than paper, a ministry of health standardising district hospitals on one system and required by donors to use a recognised digital public good, an ngo health network wanting one clinical record across several facilities with reporting that can feed a national dhis2 instance, a hospital that needs the clinical record, laboratory, pharmacy and billing to share one patient identity rather than running four disconnected systems. Of those, a mission or charitable hospital in india or east africa that cannot fund a commercial hospital information system licence but needs a real emr rather than paper and a ministry of health standardising district hospitals on one system and required by donors to use a recognised digital public good are not what Fullscript is typically brought in for.
What can Bahmni do that Fullscript cannot?
Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, Configurable clinical forms, Laboratory integration, Billing and inventory. Fullscript covers Protocol dispensing, Profit dispensary, Auto refill, Lab ordering.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bahmni: Is Bahmni free?

The software is, under an open source licence. Implementation, hosting, configuration, training and support are charged by whichever partner you engage.

Fullscript: Is Fullscript really free for practitioners?

Yes, the account has no fee. Fullscript earns on the supplements sold through it, and a practitioner on a profit account also earns a margin on those sales.

Bahmni: Who owns and governs Bahmni?

Thoughtworks transferred ownership in October 2017 to the Bahmni Coalition, under the fiscal sponsorship of the non-profit OpenMRS Inc. Thoughtworks remains on the governing committee.

Fullscript: How do practitioners make money on it?

By converting to a profit dispensary and setting a margin. That requires tax information and a bank account, and the earnings are taxable income.

Bahmni: What does an implementation actually cost?

It varies by hospital size and country, but expect the dominant costs to be partner services, training and multi-year support rather than software or hardware. Get a fixed-scope quote covering upgrades, not just go-live.

Fullscript: What do patients pay?

No account fee, and a ten per cent discount on orders if the practitioner runs a no profit dispensary rather than taking a margin.

Bahmni: Is it a recognised Digital Public Good?

Yes, Bahmni is on the Digital Public Goods Alliance register, which is increasingly a condition of donor funding for health information systems.

Fullscript: Is there an enterprise option?

Yes, quoted for health systems, adding central catalogue control, API EHR integration and cross site reporting.

Bahmni: Where is it used?

More than 500 implementations across roughly 50 countries, concentrated in South Asia and Africa.

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