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Healthcare · head to head

GNU Health vs Tebra

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
Tebra logo

Tebra

Healthcare

Practice management combining EHR, billing and patient engagement for independent practices

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only GNU Health has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Tebra no pricing amounts published; custom quote required based on practice configuration
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where GNU Health and Tebra differ
AttributeGNU HealthTebra
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Web, Self-hostedWeb

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 GNU Health

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

Only in Tebra

Nothing recorded that GNU Health does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

GNU Health

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

Tebra

  • Consolidating scheduling, charting, billing into single systemnot GNU Health
  • Automating claims submission and denial managementnot GNU Health
  • Reducing appointment no-shows through automated remindersnot GNU Health
  • Reducing documentation time to five minutes with AInot GNU Health
  • E-prescribing controlled substances with PDMP and EPCSnot GNU Health

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Tebra

  • No pricing amounts published; custom quote required based on practice configuration
  • Pricing based on per-provider licensing model with additional costs for EPCS setup and PDMP integration

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Tebra

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Tebra review.

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Tebra if

Nothing in the data separates Tebra from GNU Health on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Tebra review

Questions people ask

Is GNU Health or Tebra better?
Neither clearly leads. GNU Health starts at Free and Tebra at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GNU Health or Tebra?
GNU Health has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for GNU Health and On request for Tebra.
Does GNU Health or Tebra run on more platforms?
GNU Health runs on Linux, Web, Self-hosted. Tebra runs on Web.
Can I use GNU Health for free?
Yes. GNU Health has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Tebra starts at On request.
What is GNU Health best used for?
GNU Health is most often used for a public hospital in a low-resource setting that cannot fund commercial emr licensing and has in-house linux capability, a ministry building a national health network where source code inspection and data sovereignty are policy requirements, a university teaching health informatics that needs a complete, inspectable system rather than a vendor demonstration, a community health programme that needs socioeconomic determinants recorded alongside clinical data. Of those, a public hospital in a low-resource setting that cannot fund commercial emr licensing and has in-house linux capability and a ministry building a national health network where source code inspection and data sovereignty are policy requirements are not what Tebra is typically brought in for.
What can GNU Health do that Tebra cannot?
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.

Tebra: How does Tebra's pricing model work?

Pricing is based on the number of clinical providers rather than user seats. Non-clinical staff get unlimited access at no additional cost. Low-volume providers billing under 100 claims monthly receive lower-tier pricing.

Source
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.

Tebra: What are the setup and integration costs beyond the monthly fee?

Electronic Prescribing Controlled Substances (EPCS) setup costs approximately $75 per provider as a one-time fee. PDMP integration costs $500 one-time per facility plus approximately $50 per user per year.

Source
GNU Health: What is it built on?

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

Tebra: Are there volume discounts for practices using multiple modules?

Yes, bundled pricing and volume incentives are available for multi-module adoption. Practices can request a personalized quote to see potential savings.

Source
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.

Tebra: Does Tebra offer published pricing or is a quote always required?

Tebra does not publish specific monthly costs. Pricing varies depending on the number of providers, platform features needed, and implementation requirements. A personalized quote is required to get pricing.

Source
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