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Healthcare · head to head

Open Dental vs Signant Health

Open Dental logo

Open Dental

Healthcare

Powerful, Affordable Practice Management

From
$169/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Signant Health logo

Signant Health

Healthcare

eCOA-first clinical trial platform that has grown outward into EDC, eConsent and televisits

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; Signant Health no pricing is published, and the software licence is a minority of the real bill once instrument licensing, translations, device provisioning and services are added, so early budget estimates are routinely too low.
  • They diverge on capability: Open Dental covers Patient scheduling, Signant Health covers eCOA and ePRO.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Open Dental and Signant Health actually diverge.

Attributes where Open Dental and Signant Health differ
AttributeOpen DentalSignant Health
Starting price$169/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWindows, Web, ApiWeb, 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
  • Reporting and analytics
  • eServices integration

Only in Signant Health

  • eCOA and ePRO
  • Unified platform
  • eConsent
  • Randomisation and supplies
  • TeleVisits
  • Rater training
  • Data surveillance
  • Instrument library

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 Signant Health
  • Dental insurance claims, billing and treatment planningnot Signant Health
  • Running an open source dental system with direct database accessnot Signant Health

Signant Health

  • A central nervous system or psychiatry trial where the primary endpoint is a rated scale and rater consistency decides the readoutnot Open Dental
  • A global study needing an outcome instrument translated and linguistically validated across a dozen languagesnot Open Dental
  • A decentralised or hybrid protocol combining televisits, eConsent and at-home patient reported outcomesnot Open Dental
  • A sponsor consolidating separate eCOA, eConsent and randomisation vendors onto one platform to cut reconciliation worknot 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

Signant Health

  • No pricing is published, and the software licence is a minority of the real bill once instrument licensing, translations, device provisioning and services are added, so early budget estimates are routinely too low.
  • Linguistic validation is charged per instrument per language and is on the critical path to first patient in, so adding a country late in start-up produces both a cost and a schedule hit.
  • Provisioned participant devices bring logistics, replacement, shipping and cellular connectivity obligations that persist for the life of the trial and are frequently underestimated.
  • The EDC component is newer than the eCOA heritage, so sponsors with complex data management requirements often keep an incumbent EDC and lose the single-database benefit that justifies the platform.
  • It is priced and scoped for sponsor-grade trials, which makes it a poor fit for investigator-initiated or academic studies that need outcome collection without the services layer.

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

Signant Health

On request
  • SmartSignals Unified Platform$undefined/year
    • Priced per study through a sales process
    • Modules selected per protocol: EDC, eCOA, randomisation, eConsent, TeleVisits
    • Instrument licensing paid to scale owners on top of platform cost

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 Signant Health if

  • You need ecoa and epro.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want unified platform.
Signant Health review

Questions people ask

Is Open Dental or Signant Health better?
Neither clearly leads. Open Dental starts at $169/month and Signant Health at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Open Dental or Signant Health?
Open Dental starts at $169/month and Signant Health at On request.
Does Open Dental or Signant Health run on more platforms?
Open Dental runs on Windows, Web, Api. Signant Health runs on Web, 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 Signant Health is typically brought in for.
What can Open Dental do that Signant Health cannot?
Open Dental covers Patient scheduling, Clinical charting, Insurance claim processing, Treatment planning. Signant Health covers eCOA and ePRO, Unified platform, eConsent, Randomisation and supplies.

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
Signant Health: What is Signant best at?

Electronic clinical outcome assessment, particularly rated scales in central nervous system and psychiatry trials, together with rater training and endpoint quality services.

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
Signant Health: Is pricing published?

No. Everything is quoted per study, and instrument licences, translations and devices sit on top of the platform cost.

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

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

Source
Signant Health: Can I use it only for eCOA?

Yes. The modules are selected per protocol, and many sponsors take eCOA and eConsent while keeping an existing EDC.

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
Signant Health: What drives the timeline?

Translation and linguistic validation of outcome instruments, which is per language per instrument and sits on the critical path to study start.

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