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Healthcare · head to head

Bahmni vs Oracle Clinical One

Bahmni logo

Bahmni

Healthcare

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Oracle Clinical One logo

Oracle Clinical One

Healthcare

Unified clinical trial data collection and randomisation on one Oracle Life Sciences platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Bahmni has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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.; Oracle Clinical One nothing about the commercial terms is published, so cost, implementation length and validation scope all emerge inside an enterprise sales process, and comparison shopping requires running parallel procurements.
  • They diverge on capability: Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, Oracle Clinical One covers Unified platform.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bahmni and Oracle Clinical One actually diverge.

Attributes where Bahmni and Oracle Clinical One differ
AttributeBahmniOracle Clinical One
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android

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 Bahmni

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

Only in Oracle Clinical One

  • Unified platform
  • Data collection
  • Randomisation and supplies
  • No-code study build
  • Regulatory compliance
  • Mid-study changes
  • Integrations
  • Cloud delivery

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 Oracle Clinical One
  • A ministry of health standardising district hospitals on one system and required by donors to use a recognised Digital Public Goodnot Oracle Clinical One
  • An NGO health network wanting one clinical record across several facilities with reporting that can feed a national DHIS2 instancenot Oracle Clinical One
  • A hospital that needs the clinical record, laboratory, pharmacy and billing to share one patient identity rather than running four disconnected systemsnot Oracle Clinical One

Oracle Clinical One

  • A sponsor running a complex Phase III where randomisation errors between separate EDC and RTSM vendors have already cost timenot Bahmni
  • A pharmaceutical company already on Oracle Clinical or InForm that needs a supported migration path off end-of-life systemsnot Bahmni
  • A trial with adaptive randomisation and drug supply forecasting that would otherwise need custom programming per amendmentnot Bahmni
  • A CRO standardising study build across many sponsor programmes on one validated platformnot 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.

Oracle Clinical One

  • Nothing about the commercial terms is published, so cost, implementation length and validation scope all emerge inside an enterprise sales process, and comparison shopping requires running parallel procurements.
  • Placing data collection and randomisation with a single vendor concentrates risk: an outage or a defect affects both of the systems your sites cannot work without.
  • Mid-study amendments are routine in trials but flow through the vendor change control process, and change orders are where the real cost of an Oracle trial platform accumulates after signature.
  • Implementation and study build require specialist staff or Oracle services, so the practical time from contract to first patient in is measured in months, not weeks.
  • It is aimed squarely at sponsors and CROs with established trial operations, and a small biotech running its first study will find the platform, the contracting and the validation burden heavier than its team can absorb.

Pricing, plan by plan

Bahmni

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

Oracle Clinical One

On request
  • Clinical One Data Collection$undefined/year
    • Pricing only through Oracle sales
    • Priced against study count, sites and subjects
    • Study build and configuration services quoted separately
  • Clinical One Randomization and Supplies Management$undefined/year
    • Quoted alongside or independently of Data Collection
    • Randomisation strategy configuration included in the service
    • Supply forecasting and kit management

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 Oracle Clinical One if

  • You need unified platform.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want data collection.
Oracle Clinical One review

Questions people ask

Is Bahmni or Oracle Clinical One better?
Neither clearly leads. Bahmni starts at Free and Oracle Clinical One at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bahmni or Oracle Clinical One?
Bahmni has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bahmni and On request for Oracle Clinical One.
Does Bahmni or Oracle Clinical One run on more platforms?
Bahmni runs on Web, Linux, Android. Oracle Clinical One runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Bahmni for free?
Yes. Bahmni has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Oracle Clinical One starts at On request.
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 Oracle Clinical One is typically brought in for.
What can Bahmni do that Oracle Clinical One cannot?
Bahmni covers OpenMRS clinical record, Configurable clinical forms, Laboratory integration, Billing and inventory. Oracle Clinical One covers Unified platform, Data collection, Randomisation and supplies, No-code study build.

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.

Oracle Clinical One: What replaced Oracle Clinical and InForm?

Clinical One is the current Oracle Life Sciences platform, and sponsors on the older Oracle Clinical and InForm products are the primary migration audience.

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.

Oracle Clinical One: Can I buy randomisation without data collection?

Yes. Clinical One Randomization and Supplies Management can integrate with a third-party EDC if you want to keep an incumbent capture system.

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.

Oracle Clinical One: Is pricing published?

No. Every element, including licence, study build, implementation and validation, comes through Oracle sales.

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.

Oracle Clinical One: Is it validated for regulated trials?

It is delivered as a validated cloud service with GxP documentation and Part 11 aligned audit trails, but sponsor-level validation of your own configuration remains your responsibility.

Bahmni: Where is it used?

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

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