Head to head · updated 2026-08-01
Practice-Web vs Dentrix
The cheapest published price vs the market leader. Both are on-premise, so the hosting decision is not what separates them.
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
Dentrix
Henry Schein One
The on-premise incumbent — the software most US practices already run.
- Deployment
- On-premise
- Entry price
- Not published
- Built for
- Solo, 2–4 locations, Group
The short answer
Practice-Web publishes a price ($179/month); Dentrix does not, so a like-for-like cost comparison is not possible without a quote.
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 native imaging, analytics & kpis, multi-location .
Choose Dentrix if…
Established practices that value ecosystem breadth and staff familiarity over price transparency.
It is ahead on claims, payments, ai features, open api, orthodontics .
Where they actually differ
Of 19 modules we track, these 8 differ. The rest match, so they are not what should decide it.
| Module | Practice-Web | Dentrix |
|---|---|---|
| Native imaging | Built in | Paid add-on |
| Claims | Via integration | Built in |
| Payments | Via integration | Paid add-on |
| Analytics & KPIs | Built in | Paid add-on |
| AI features | Not available | Paid add-on |
| Open API | Not stated | Via integration |
| Multi-location | Built in | Paid add-on |
| Orthodontics | Not stated | Paid add-on |
Show all 19 modules, including where they match
| Module | Practice-Web | Dentrix |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduling | Built in | Built in |
| Clinical charting | Built in | Built in |
| Perio charting | Built in | Built in |
| Native imaging | Built in | Paid add-on |
| Billing | Built in | Built in |
| Claims | Via integration | Built in |
| Insurance eligibility | Paid add-on | Paid add-on |
| Payments | Via integration | Paid add-on |
| 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 | Paid add-on |
| ePrescribing | Paid add-on | Paid add-on |
| Teledentistry | Paid add-on | Paid add-on |
| AI features | Not available | Paid add-on |
| Open API | Not stated | Via integration |
| Multi-location | Built in | Paid add-on |
| Orthodontics | Not stated | Paid add-on |
Pricing, side by side
Practice-Web
| Plan | Price | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| First office — first 12 months regular price $199/month | $179/month | per office |
| First office — thereafter regular price $149/month | $129/month | per office |
| Additional office regular price $179/month | $129/month | per office |
| Additional dentists | +$20/month | per dentist beyond 3 |
| Database conversion regular price $1,295 | $1,195 | one-off |
Add-ons you will probably also buy
The base price above is not the bill. These are priced separately.
| Add-on | Price | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Auto and two-way texting includes 2,000 outgoing texts | $90/month | flat |
| Online scheduling | $119/month | flat |
| Smart Caller ID | $119/month | flat |
| Tablet patient forms | $65/month | flat |
| Online patient reviews | $69/month | flat |
| ePrescribing | $59/month | per provider |
| Teledentistry | $49/month | flat |
| Mass email marketing | $35/month | flat |
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.
Dentrix
Dentrix does not publish a price. You have to request a quote, which means you cannot budget or compare before speaking to a salesperson. No figure is published anywhere on the product site. Pricing is quoted per practice and typically bundled with a Henry Schein One support plan.
We do not repeat third-party price estimates for quote-only vendors. Several widely republished figures in this category turned out to belong to a different product — see how we compare.
Strengths and trade-offs
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.
Dentrix
Strengths
- The largest installed base in US dentistry, so hiring staff who already know it is easy.
- Almost every third-party dental product integrates with it.
- Deep, mature clinical and financial reporting refined over decades.
Trade-offs
- No published pricing at all — you cannot budget without going through sales.
- On-premise, with the server, backup and security burden that implies.
- Heavily modular: the base product is a starting point and the useful extras are priced separately.
- Long-standing user complaints about support cost and quality relative to price.
Other comparisons
- Open Dental vs Dentrix — The cost-control choice against the incumbent
- Dentrix vs Eaglesoft — The two on-premise giants, head to head
- Dentrix vs Dentrix Ascend — Same brand, different product — and a real migration
- Open Dental vs Practice-Web — Shared lineage, near-identical pricing — what differs
- Adit vs Dentrix — Front-office layer vs full practice management