Review · updated 2026-08-01
Open Dental
Source-available practice management with the most transparent pricing in the category.
Who it’s for
Practices that want maximum control and the lowest predictable running cost, and either have IT support or are willing to buy it.
What Open Dental costs
| Plan | Price | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Support — first 12 months 12-month contract | $199/month | per location, up to 3 providers |
| Support — after 12 months | $149/month | per location, up to 3 providers |
| Additional providers | $20/month | per provider beyond 3 |
| Volume — 4 to 9 offices $149/office after 12 months | $169/month | per office |
Add-ons you will probably also buy
The base price above is not the bill. These are priced separately.
| Add-on | Price | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| eClipboard | $45/month | per location |
| eConfirmations $40 with landline texting | $25/month | per location |
| Integrated texting | $5/month + $0.04/message | per location |
| ODMobile | $35/month | per location |
| Web Sched (new/existing patient) | $75/month | per location |
Priced per location rather than per provider, so adding associates barely moves the bill. You supply and maintain the server.
Source: opendental.com, read 2026-08-01.
What’s built in
11 of the 19 modules we track are included in the core product , 4 are paid add-ons .
| Module | Availability |
|---|---|
| Scheduling | Built in |
| Clinical charting | Built in |
| Perio charting | Built in |
| Native imaging | Built in |
| Billing | Built in |
| Claims | Built in |
| Insurance eligibility | Paid add-on |
| Payments | Via integration |
| Patient messaging | Paid add-on |
| Online booking | Paid add-on |
| Digital forms | Paid add-on |
| Recall / reactivation | Built in |
| Analytics & KPIs | Built in |
| ePrescribing | Via integration |
| Teledentistry | Via integration |
| AI features | Via integration |
| Open API | Built in |
| Multi-location | Built in |
| Orthodontics | Built in |
“Not stated” means the vendor does not say either way on its public site. We do not infer capability that isn’t documented.
What it does well
- Publishes a complete fee schedule, including every add-on — almost unique in this category.
- Per-location pricing means a three-dentist practice pays the same base rate as a solo one.
- A genuinely open API and direct database access, so third-party tools integrate without vendor permission.
- Source-available code and an unusually large independent developer ecosystem.
Where it falls short
- Not natively cloud. Remote access means self-hosting, a third-party host, or a remote-desktop setup — an extra cost and an extra thing to secure.
- You own the server, the backups and the HIPAA exposure that comes with them.
- The interface is dense and dated; onboarding a new front-desk hire takes longer than on a modern cloud product.
Compare Open Dental against…
- Open Dental vs Dentrix — The cost-control choice against the incumbent
- Open Dental vs Eaglesoft — Open pricing against Patterson’s ecosystem
- Open Dental vs Practice-Web — Shared lineage, near-identical pricing — what differs
- Open Dental vs Curve Dental — Own the server, or let someone else run it
- Open Dental vs tab32 — Cheapest cloud against cheapest on-premise
- Open Dental vs DentiMax — Imaging-led vs integration-led
Next step
Prices and features move. Before you commit, confirm the current figure with Open Dental directly, and ask specifically what is not in the base price — that is where budgets slip in this category.
Visit Open Dental(opens in a new tab)