Open Dental vs Dentrix: Complete Comparison 2026

An in-depth comparison of features, pricing, and user experience to help you make the right choice.

Open Dental

8.1(3,900 reviews)

Free, open-source dental practice management software with full charting, billing, and scheduling used by over 19,000 practices.

7.6(4,800 reviews)

Henry Schein's industry-standard dental practice management system used by over 35,000 practices for charting, billing, and scheduling.

Aspect	Open Dental	Dentrix
Best For	Tech-savvy dental practitioners who value data ownership and customization over polished interfaces	Established dental practices with 3+ doctors needing comprehensive clinical charting and insurance billing
Pricing Model	Open Source	Contact Sales
Starting Price	Free	$400/mo
Deployment	on premise, self hosted	on premise
Platforms	WINDOWS	WINDOWS
Rating	8.1/10	7.6/10

Completely free and open-source software — no license fees, no per-user costs, no annual price increases
Full data ownership with no vendor lock-in — you can export or migrate your data anytime without penalties
Extremely customizable through open source code — modify reports, workflows, and integrations to fit your exact needs
Active community of 19,000+ practices sharing custom queries, templates, and workflow optimizations
No per-location licensing makes it cost-effective for DSOs and multi-practice groups scaling up

Interface prioritizes functionality over aesthetics — looks dated and takes longer to learn than polished commercial products
Server management and hardware maintenance falls entirely on you or your IT provider
Support at $350/month plus eServices means the actual monthly cost is $400-550, not free
The DIY nature means more setup time and technical knowledge needed compared to turnkey solutions
Mobile and remote access options are limited compared to cloud-native dental platforms

The most comprehensive clinical charting in the dental software market — handles complex cases other systems struggle with
Insurance billing engine is battle-tested across 35,000+ practices with reliable eClaims and ERA processing
Massive ecosystem of third-party integrations including imaging, patient communication, and analytics tools
Deep treatment planning with multi-visit sequencing and automatic CDT code suggestions
Henry Schein support network means local reps who actually visit your office for training

Interface feels outdated with nested menus and workflows that add unnecessary clicks to simple tasks
Server-based architecture means you handle hardware, backups, and IT maintenance yourself
Pricing is opaque — expect $15,000-25,000 upfront plus $300-500/month ongoing, and you must call for quotes
Steep learning curve for new staff requires 2-3 weeks of dedicated training before they are productive
Dentrix Ascend (cloud version) still lags behind the desktop version in features and has mixed reviews

Product	Pricing Model	Starting Price
Open Dental	open source	Free0
Dentrix	contact sales	$400/mo

Choose Open Dental if...

Tech-savvy dental practitioners who value data ownership and customization over polished interfaces

Choose Dentrix if...

Established dental practices with 3+ doctors needing comprehensive clinical charting and insurance billing

Explore more alternatives or read in-depth reviews to make your decision.