Head to head · updated 2026-08-01

Open Dental vs Practice-Web

Shared lineage, near-identical pricing — what differs. Both are on-premise, so the hosting decision is not what separates them.

Open Dental

Open Dental Software, Inc.

Source-available practice management with the most transparent pricing in the category.

Deployment
On-premise
Entry price
$199/month per location, up to 3 providers
Built for
Solo, 2–4 locations, Group, DSO / enterprise
Visit Open Dental(opens in a new tab)

Read the full Open Dental review

Practice-Web

Practice-Web, Inc.

Budget on-premise practice management, priced openly and built on the Open Dental core.

Deployment
On-premise
Entry price
$179/month per office
Built for
Solo, 2–4 locations
Visit Practice-Web(opens in a new tab)

Read the full Practice-Web review

The short answer

Practice-Web is the cheaper published entry at $179/month against $199/month — roughly 1.2× the difference before add-ons.

Choose Open Dental if…

Practices that want maximum control and the lowest predictable running cost, and either have IT support or are willing to buy it.

It is ahead on claims, ai features, open api, orthodontics .

Choose Practice-Web if…

Cost-sensitive solo and two-chair practices that want a published price and do not need cloud access.

It is ahead on eprescribing, teledentistry .

Where they actually differ

Of 19 modules we track, these 6 differ. The rest match, so they are not what should decide it.

ModuleOpen DentalPractice-Web
Claims Built in Via integration
ePrescribing Via integration Paid add-on
Teledentistry Via integration Paid add-on
AI features Via integration Not available
Open API Built in Not stated
Orthodontics Built in Not stated
Show all 19 modules, including where they match
ModuleOpen DentalPractice-Web
Scheduling Built in Built in
Clinical charting Built in Built in
Perio charting Built in Built in
Native imaging Built in Built in
Billing Built in Built in
Claims Built in Via integration
Insurance eligibility Paid add-on Paid add-on
Payments Via integration Via integration
Patient messaging Paid add-on Paid add-on
Online booking Paid add-on Paid add-on
Digital forms Paid add-on Paid add-on
Recall / reactivation Built in Built in
Analytics & KPIs Built in Built in
ePrescribing Via integration Paid add-on
Teledentistry Via integration Paid add-on
AI features Via integration Not available
Open API Built in Not stated
Multi-location Built in Built in
Orthodontics Built in Not stated

Pricing, side by side

Open Dental

Publishes pricingchecked 2026-08-01
PlanPriceBasis
Support — first 12 months
12-month contract		$199/monthper location, up to 3 providers
Support — after 12 months$149/monthper location, up to 3 providers
Additional providers$20/monthper provider beyond 3
Volume — 4 to 9 offices
$149/office after 12 months		$169/monthper office

Add-ons you will probably also buy

The base price above is not the bill. These are priced separately.

Add-onPriceBasis
eClipboard$45/monthper location
eConfirmations
$40 with landline texting		$25/monthper location
Integrated texting$5/month + $0.04/messageper location
ODMobile$35/monthper location
Web Sched (new/existing patient)$75/monthper 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.

Practice-Web

Publishes pricingchecked 2026-08-01
PlanPriceBasis
First office — first 12 months
regular price $199/month		$179/monthper office
First office — thereafter
regular price $149/month		$129/monthper office
Additional office
regular price $179/month		$129/monthper office
Additional dentists+$20/monthper dentist beyond 3
Database conversion
regular price $1,295		$1,195one-off

Add-ons you will probably also buy

The base price above is not the bill. These are priced separately.

Add-onPriceBasis
Auto and two-way texting
includes 2,000 outgoing texts		$90/monthflat
Online scheduling$119/monthflat
Smart Caller ID$119/monthflat
Tablet patient forms$65/monthflat
Online patient reviews$69/monthflat
ePrescribing$59/monthper provider
Teledentistry$49/monthflat
Mass email marketing$35/monthflat

The pricing page openly attacks competitors for hiding their prices. Structure is near-identical to Open Dental’s, which is not a coincidence — the products share a lineage.

Source: practice-web.com, read 2026-08-01.

Strengths and trade-offs

Open Dental

Strengths

  • 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.

Trade-offs

  • 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.

Practice-Web

Strengths

  • One of only a handful of vendors that publishes a full price list, add-ons included.
  • Among the cheapest credible options for a solo practice at $129/month after year one.
  • Add-ons are month-to-month with free trials, so you can test before committing.

Trade-offs

  • On-premise only — same server, backup and security burden as Open Dental.
  • The base price is low because almost everything modern is an add-on; texting, booking, forms and reviews together add roughly $350/month.
  • Smaller ecosystem and less third-party integration support than the market leaders.

Other comparisons