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Healthcare · head to head

Healthie vs OpenMRS

Healthie logo

Healthie

Healthcare

EHR, scheduling and client engagement for nutrition, wellness and virtual-first care

From
$19/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
OpenMRS logo

OpenMRS

Healthcare

Open source electronic medical record platform for low-resource settings, with no vendor and paid implementers instead

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only OpenMRS has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Healthie the Core plan is capped at ten active clients, which no working practice stays under, so the real entry price for anyone with a caseload is the 49 dollar Essentials tier or higher.; OpenMRS there is no vendor and no support contract from OpenMRS itself, so a procurement that requires a named supplier with a service level must instead contract an implementer, and the quality of that implementer determines the outcome more than the software does
  • They diverge on capability: Healthie covers Active client based tiers, OpenMRS covers Concept dictionary.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Healthie and OpenMRS actually diverge.

Attributes where Healthie and OpenMRS differ
AttributeHealthieOpenMRS
Starting price$19/monthFree
Pricing modelPer month by active client countOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, APILinux, Web, Windows

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 Healthie

  • Active client based tiers
  • Charting and templates
  • Telehealth
  • Food and symptom journalling
  • Programmes and courses
  • Public API
  • ePrescribing
  • Insurance claims

Only in OpenMRS

  • Concept dictionary
  • Modular architecture
  • Modern front end
  • FHIR support
  • Offline tolerance
  • Patient matching and registration
  • Distributions

What people use each for

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

Healthie

  • A registered dietitian in private practice who needs charting, scheduling, superbills and a client food journal in one subscriptionnot OpenMRS
  • A virtual care startup using the API as a compliant clinical backend rather than building charting and scheduling from scratchnot OpenMRS
  • A wellness group practice selling packaged twelve week programmes with group video sessions and course contentnot OpenMRS
  • A health coaching business that bills clients directly and needs card payment, intake forms and messaging without insurance complexitynot OpenMRS

OpenMRS

  • A ministry of health standardising HIV treatment records across hundreds of facilities where per-patient licensing would be unaffordablenot Healthie
  • A hospital network in a country where no commercial vendor supports the local language, clinical forms or reporting requirementsnot Healthie
  • An NGO running a tuberculosis programme that must report into DHIS2 and needs the clinical record beneath it to be modifiablenot Healthie
  • A health system that wants to own its clinical data model outright rather than depend on a vendor to extend itnot Healthie

Where each one falls short

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

Healthie

  • The Core plan is capped at ten active clients, which no working practice stays under, so the real entry price for anyone with a caseload is the 49 dollar Essentials tier or higher.
  • Insurance billing is not native: claim submission runs through a separately priced ClaimMD integration starting around 30 dollars a month, so a practice that bills payers is buying and reconciling two systems.
  • Costs stack quickly beyond the headline plan, with ePrescribing at 40 dollars per clinician per month, inbound fax at 10 dollars, additional Group clinicians at 50 dollars each and card processing at 2.9 per cent plus 30 cents.
  • Client counting is based on active clients, and the definition of active is set by the vendor rather than by you, so seasonal or intermittent caseloads can push a practice into a higher tier for clients it is barely seeing.
  • It is built around ambulatory wellness and virtual care, so specialties needing lab ordering, imaging, in house dispensing or complex care coordination will find the clinical model too thin and will not find those modules to buy.

OpenMRS

  • There is no vendor and no support contract from OpenMRS itself, so a procurement that requires a named supplier with a service level must instead contract an implementer, and the quality of that implementer determines the outcome more than the software does
  • It is a framework rather than a ready product, so a deployment requires clinical content, form design, concept dictionary work and integration before a single patient is registered, and that work is months of skilled effort
  • Funding comes largely from donor programmes, which makes the pace of core development dependent on grant cycles rather than on a commercial roadmap, and priorities can shift when a funder does
  • Distribution choice, core OpenMRS against Bahmni against Ozone, locks in a different set of components and a different implementer pool, and migrating between distributions later is close to a fresh implementation
  • The people cost never goes away: a national deployment needs permanent internal informatics capacity or a permanent support contract, and organisations that budget only the zero licence fee run out of money at the point the system becomes clinically critical

Pricing, plan by plan

Healthie

$19/month
  • Core$19/month
    • Up to ten active clients
    • Scheduling and payments
    • Charting and telehealth
  • Essentials$49/month
    • Up to 250 active clients
    • Custom forms
    • CMS 1500 generation
  • Plus$129/month
    • Unlimited active clients
    • Group telehealth
    • Online programmes
  • Group$149/month
    • Unlimited active clients
    • Shared calendar and team management
    • Roles and permissions

OpenMRS

Free
  • OpenMRSFree
    • Openly licensed, no licence fee and no seat limits
    • Community support through forums and the OpenMRS Talk platform
    • No support contract available from OpenMRS itself

Which should you pick?

Choose Healthie if

  • You need active client based tiers.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
  • You also want charting and templates.
Healthie review

Choose OpenMRS if

  • You need concept dictionary.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Web, Windows.
  • You also want modular architecture.
OpenMRS review

Questions people ask

Is Healthie or OpenMRS better?
Neither clearly leads. Healthie starts at $19/month and OpenMRS at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Healthie or OpenMRS?
OpenMRS has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $19/month for Healthie and Free for OpenMRS.
Does Healthie or OpenMRS run on more platforms?
Healthie runs on Web, iOS, Android, API. OpenMRS runs on Linux, Web, Windows.
Can I use OpenMRS for free?
Yes. OpenMRS has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Healthie starts at $19/month.
What is Healthie best used for?
Healthie is most often used for a registered dietitian in private practice who needs charting, scheduling, superbills and a client food journal in one subscription, a virtual care startup using the api as a compliant clinical backend rather than building charting and scheduling from scratch, a wellness group practice selling packaged twelve week programmes with group video sessions and course content, a health coaching business that bills clients directly and needs card payment, intake forms and messaging without insurance complexity. Of those, a registered dietitian in private practice who needs charting, scheduling, superbills and a client food journal in one subscription and a virtual care startup using the api as a compliant clinical backend rather than building charting and scheduling from scratch are not what OpenMRS is typically brought in for.
What can Healthie do that OpenMRS cannot?
Healthie covers Active client based tiers, Charting and templates, Telehealth, Food and symptom journalling. OpenMRS covers Concept dictionary, Modular architecture, Modern front end, FHIR support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Healthie: Is the API available without an enterprise contract?

Yes. API access is available on standard published plans, which is why digital health startups use it as a clinical backend.

OpenMRS: Who supports OpenMRS if it breaks?

Not OpenMRS itself. Support is bought from implementers such as Mekom Solutions, which offers long-term production service level agreements for OpenMRS, Bahmni and Ozone deployments, or from regional partners.

Healthie: Can Healthie submit insurance claims?

Only through the separately priced ClaimMD integration. Native CMS 1500 generation is included, but submission is an add-on.

OpenMRS: Is it really free?

The software has no licence fee. Hosting, configuration, clinical content, integration and support are the real cost, and they are ongoing.

Healthie: What does an active client mean for billing?

It is a client with recent activity in the platform, not everyone in your database. Tiers are set by that count, not by seats.

OpenMRS: What is the difference between OpenMRS, Bahmni and Ozone?

OpenMRS is the core platform. Bahmni and Ozone are distributions that package it with billing, laboratory and inventory components. Choosing a distribution constrains your implementer options.

Healthie: Is it HIPAA compliant?

Yes, and a business associate agreement is available. The client-facing mobile app and portal are covered.

OpenMRS: Does it support FHIR?

Yes. FHIR support is the standard route for integrating laboratory, pharmacy and national reporting systems.

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