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Healthcare · head to head

DHIS2 vs Zanda Health

DHIS2 logo

DHIS2

Healthcare

Open source health information platform run from the University of Oslo and used by national ministries

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zanda Health logo

Zanda Health

Healthcare

Practice management and clinical notes for allied health clinics, formerly Power Diary

From
$19/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only DHIS2 has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: DHIS2 the licence is free and the implementation is not; national rollouts routinely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in configuration, hosting, training and support, and budgets built on the word free fail immediately.; Zanda Health the 2024 rename from Power Diary means most third party reviews, integration guides and community answers still sit under the old name, so buyers researching Zanda Health find a thin trail and may wrongly conclude it is a new and unproven product.
  • They diverge on capability: DHIS2 covers Aggregate data reporting, Zanda Health covers Unlimited admin users.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DHIS2 and Zanda Health actually diverge.

Attributes where DHIS2 and Zanda Health differ
AttributeDHIS2Zanda Health
Starting priceFree$19/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer user per month
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Android, Self-hosted, CloudWeb, 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 DHIS2

  • Aggregate data reporting
  • Tracker
  • Android capture app
  • Dashboards and analytics
  • Metadata packages
  • Data quality tools
  • GIS mapping
  • Interoperability

Only in Zanda Health

  • Unlimited admin users
  • Australian funder billing
  • Clinical note templates
  • Two way SMS
  • Telehealth Pro
  • Practitioner rostering
  • Client portal
  • BizzyAI Scribe

What people use each for

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

DHIS2

  • A ministry of health replacing paper monthly reporting from thousands of facilities with a national routine systemnot Zanda Health
  • A donor-funded HIV or tuberculosis programme that must report standard indicators across several districtsnot Zanda Health
  • A disease surveillance unit needing weekly case reporting with outbreak alerting and mappingnot Zanda Health
  • An NGO running individual patient follow-up in a programme where facilities are frequently offlinenot Zanda Health

Zanda Health

  • A five physiotherapist clinic in Melbourne that bulk bills Medicare and wants claiming inside the diary rather than a separate portalnot DHIS2
  • A psychology group practice with more reception staff than clinicians, where per seat pricing elsewhere would double the billnot DHIS2
  • A UK osteopathy practice moving off paper diaries that needs online booking and card payment without an implementation projectnot DHIS2
  • A multi site podiatry business that needs room and equipment allocation alongside practitioner availabilitynot DHIS2

Where each one falls short

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

DHIS2

  • The licence is free and the implementation is not; national rollouts routinely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in configuration, hosting, training and support, and budgets built on the word free fail immediately.
  • HISP UiO introduced a Shared Services Fee in 2025, so organisations that depend on DHIS2 are now being asked for an annual contribution that did not previously exist in their plans.
  • Development funding comes from a small set of donors including Norad, the Global Fund and the Gates Foundation, which concentrates the platform's long-term direction in the priorities of those funders.
  • Implementation capability is concentrated in regional HISP groups, so a country whose local HISP group is overstretched has few alternative suppliers with equivalent expertise.
  • Analytics performance depends heavily on how metadata was designed at the outset, and a poorly structured initial configuration produces slow dashboards and bad indicator definitions that are painful to correct years later.

Zanda Health

  • The 2024 rename from Power Diary means most third party reviews, integration guides and community answers still sit under the old name, so buyers researching Zanda Health find a thin trail and may wrongly conclude it is a new and unproven product.
  • North American billing is not properly served: there is no claims clearinghouse and superbill handling is basic, so a United States practice will need a separate revenue cycle tool and will pay for two systems.
  • Pricing is quoted in United States dollars while the company, support hours and product depth are Australian, so buyers outside those two time zones get support with an overnight lag on urgent clinical scheduling problems.
  • SMS is billed per message beyond the plan allowance and a dedicated number is required in the United States and Canada, so a busy clinic sending reminders and follow ups accumulates a variable monthly cost that is not visible in the headline plan price.
  • Reporting is adequate for a single clinic but weak for a group: cross site financial consolidation and practitioner productivity comparison generally end up exported to a spreadsheet, which becomes a monthly manual job as soon as you pass a handful of locations.

Pricing, plan by plan

DHIS2

Free
  • DHIS2 softwareFree
    • BSD licence
    • All modules including Tracker
    • No user or facility limits
  • Shared Services Fee$undefined/year
    • Voluntary annual contribution introduced by HISP UiO
    • Funds shared global infrastructure and platform sustainability
    • Amount agreed with the HISP Centre
  • Implementation and support$undefined/year
    • Delivered by regional HISP groups or private implementers
    • Configuration, metadata design, hosting, training and support
    • Quoted per programme, commonly the dominant cost

Zanda Health

$19/month
  • Starter$19/month
    • One practitioner
    • One administrative user
    • 1,000 appointments per year
  • Growth$49/month
    • Base fee plus 19 USD per additional practitioner per month
    • Unlimited free administrative users
    • Unlimited appointments
  • Telehealth Pro add-on$9/month
    • Per practitioner
    • Unlimited video consultations
    • Recording and waiting room

Which should you pick?

Choose DHIS2 if

  • You need aggregate data reporting.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Android, Self-hosted, Cloud.
  • You also want tracker.
DHIS2 review

Choose Zanda Health if

  • You need unlimited admin users.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want australian funder billing.
Zanda Health review

Questions people ask

Is DHIS2 or Zanda Health better?
Neither clearly leads. DHIS2 starts at Free and Zanda Health at $19/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DHIS2 or Zanda Health?
DHIS2 has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for DHIS2 and $19/month for Zanda Health.
Does DHIS2 or Zanda Health run on more platforms?
DHIS2 runs on Web, Android, Self-hosted, Cloud. Zanda Health runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use DHIS2 for free?
Yes. DHIS2 has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Zanda Health starts at $19/month.
What is DHIS2 best used for?
DHIS2 is most often used for a ministry of health replacing paper monthly reporting from thousands of facilities with a national routine system, a donor-funded hiv or tuberculosis programme that must report standard indicators across several districts, a disease surveillance unit needing weekly case reporting with outbreak alerting and mapping, an ngo running individual patient follow-up in a programme where facilities are frequently offline. Of those, a ministry of health replacing paper monthly reporting from thousands of facilities with a national routine system and a donor-funded hiv or tuberculosis programme that must report standard indicators across several districts are not what Zanda Health is typically brought in for.
What can DHIS2 do that Zanda Health cannot?
DHIS2 covers Aggregate data reporting, Tracker, Android capture app, Dashboards and analytics. Zanda Health covers Unlimited admin users, Australian funder billing, Clinical note templates, Two way SMS.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

DHIS2: Who owns and develops DHIS2?

The HISP Centre at the University of Oslo, funded by donors including Norad, the Global Fund, the Gates Foundation and Wellcome.

Zanda Health: Is Zanda Health the same as Power Diary?

Yes. Power Diary rebranded to Zanda Health in 2024. Same company, same product line, same data.

DHIS2: Is DHIS2 free?

The software is free under a BSD licence. Implementation, hosting, training and support are not, and are the dominant cost.

Zanda Health: Do receptionists count as paid users?

No. On the Growth plan administrative users are unlimited and free. Only practitioners are charged.

DHIS2: What is the Shared Services Fee?

A voluntary annual contribution introduced by HISP UiO in 2025 to fund shared global infrastructure and long-term platform sustainability.

Zanda Health: Does it handle Medicare bulk billing?

Yes, Medicare Online, DVA and bulk billing claims are submitted from within the platform for Australian practices.

DHIS2: Can I buy commercial support?

Yes, from regional HISP groups or private implementers such as Devotta, which is contracted by HISP UiO for core platform development and also works independently.

Zanda Health: Is it suitable for a United States practice?

Only partly. Charting, scheduling and telehealth work, but there is no claims clearinghouse, so US insurance billing needs a separate system.

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