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Healthcare · head to head

Open Dental vs OpenClinica

Open Dental logo

Open Dental

Healthcare

Powerful, Affordable Practice Management

From
$169/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
OpenClinica logo

OpenClinica

Healthcare

Clinical trial EDC with a genuinely open source community edition alongside a quoted commercial platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Open Dental uS support is $199 per month per location on an initial 12 month contract, dropping to $149 per month only after that year; OpenClinica the free community edition is a different and older product line from the commercial platform, so evaluating the open source build tells you little about what the paid product actually does.
  • They diverge on capability: Open Dental covers Patient scheduling, OpenClinica covers Open source community edition.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Open Dental and OpenClinica actually diverge.

Attributes where Open Dental and OpenClinica differ
AttributeOpen DentalOpenClinica
Starting price$169/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWindows, Web, ApiWeb, Self-hosted, iOS, Android
Founded2003Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Open Dental

  • Patient scheduling
  • Clinical charting
  • Insurance claim processing
  • Treatment planning
  • Digital imaging integration
  • Patient communication
  • eServices integration
  • Dexis

Only in OpenClinica

  • Open source community edition
  • Electronic data capture
  • eConsent
  • eCOA and ePRO
  • Randomisation
  • EHR-to-EDC
  • Audit trail

Both cover

  • Reporting and analytics

What people use each for

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

Open Dental

  • Practice management, charting and scheduling for dental officesnot OpenClinica
  • Dental insurance claims, billing and treatment planningnot OpenClinica
  • Running an open source dental system with direct database accessnot OpenClinica

OpenClinica

  • An academic coordinating centre running investigator-initiated trials that needs Part 11 compliant capture without an enterprise eClinical budgetnot Open Dental
  • A registry or observational cohort study collecting structured data across many sites over yearsnot Open Dental
  • A small device sponsor that needs eConsent and ePRO in the same system as its case report formsnot Open Dental
  • An informatics group that wants to self-host the open source edition for a non-regulated internal studynot Open Dental

Where each one falls short

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

Open Dental

  • US support is $199 per month per location on an initial 12 month contract, dropping to $149 per month only after that year
  • The monthly fee covers up to 3 providers per location; each additional provider is $20 per month
  • Fees are charged per location, so a multi site practice pays for every office
  • eServices are charged separately per location, including eClipboard at $45 a month, ODMobile at $35 a month and eConfirmations at $25 a month
  • Electronic prescribing through DoseSpot costs $57 per month per prescribing provider
  • Conversion and implementation fees are not published and require consultation

OpenClinica

  • The free community edition is a different and older product line from the commercial platform, so evaluating the open source build tells you little about what the paid product actually does.
  • The vendor provides no support or services at all for the community edition, which means outages, patching, database upgrades and validation documentation are entirely your problem.
  • Commercial pricing is not published, so you cannot benchmark it against alternatives without entering a sales process, and third-party figures around USD 1,000 a month are indicative rather than contractual.
  • Study build is skilled work: complex edit checks, randomisation schemes and integrations usually mean paying for vendor or consultant configuration services on top of the licence, which is a frequently underestimated line in the budget.
  • As a smaller vendor than the large eClinical suites it has a thinner partner and consultant ecosystem, so finding experienced build staff or a CRO already fluent in the platform is harder than with the market incumbents.

Pricing, plan by plan

Open Dental

$169/month
  • Standard$169/month
    • Full software access
    • Unlimited workstations
    • Technical support
  • Cloud$249/month
    • Everything in Standard
    • Cloud hosting
    • Automatic backups

OpenClinica

On request
  • Community Edition$undefined/year
    • Free and open source under the LGPL
    • Self-hosted, on the older 3.x line
    • No vendor support or services of any kind
  • OpenClinica Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Pricing only through a sales process
    • Hosted and validated instance
    • EDC, eConsent, eCOA, randomisation and analytics modules

Which should you pick?

Choose Open Dental if

  • You need patient scheduling.
  • You work on Windows, Web, Api.
  • You also want clinical charting.
Open Dental review

Choose OpenClinica if

  • You need open source community edition.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted, iOS, Android.
  • You also want electronic data capture.
OpenClinica review

Questions people ask

Is Open Dental or OpenClinica better?
Neither clearly leads. Open Dental starts at $169/month and OpenClinica at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Open Dental or OpenClinica?
Open Dental starts at $169/month and OpenClinica at On request.
Does Open Dental or OpenClinica run on more platforms?
Open Dental runs on Windows, Web, Api. OpenClinica runs on Web, Self-hosted, iOS, Android.
What is Open Dental best used for?
Open Dental is most often used for practice management, charting and scheduling for dental offices, dental insurance claims, billing and treatment planning, running an open source dental system with direct database access. Of those, practice management, charting and scheduling for dental offices and dental insurance claims, billing and treatment planning are not what OpenClinica is typically brought in for.
What can Open Dental do that OpenClinica cannot?
Open Dental covers Patient scheduling, Clinical charting, Insurance claim processing, Treatment planning. OpenClinica covers Open source community edition, Electronic data capture, eConsent, eCOA and ePRO. Both handle Reporting and analytics.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Open Dental: How much does Open Dental cost?

Open Dental costs $199/month per location or office with a 12-month contract minimum. After the initial 12-month term, pricing continues on a month-to-month basis at a reduced rate.

Source
OpenClinica: Is OpenClinica free?

There is a genuinely free, LGPL licensed community edition you host yourself with no vendor support. The commercial platform with eConsent, eCOA and a validated hosted instance is quoted and paid.

Open Dental: What does the $199/month fee include?

The monthly fee includes software access, full telephone support, all software releases, imaging and video capture, patient portal and web forms, and automated reminder features for up to 3 dentists per location.

Source
OpenClinica: Is the open source version still maintained?

Yes, releases on the 3.x line continued through 2025, but it is a separate and older architecture from the commercial product.

Open Dental: Does Open Dental offer a money-back guarantee?

Open Dental includes a 90-day money-back guarantee on subscription fees.

Source
OpenClinica: Does it meet 21 CFR Part 11?

The commercial hosted platform is built for Part 11 and GCP compliance. If you self-host the community edition, compliance and validation are entirely your responsibility.

Open Dental: What additional costs are there?

Data conversions from other dental software systems incur additional fees. Customized training with an Open Dental trainer is also available at extra cost.

Source
OpenClinica: What does the commercial version cost?

Not published. Third-party listings suggest enterprise arrangements from around USD 1,000 per month, but real cost depends on study count, subjects, modules and build services.

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