Open Dental publishes its full price list on a single public web page. That alone makes it an outlier in dental practice management software, where most pricing sits behind a sales call and a demo.

We've compared dental software pricing across more than thirty vendors. Open Dental sits at the low end of the market on base license fees, with a flat per-location model that doesn't scale with the number of providers. The full picture is more nuanced once you factor in eServices, hosting, training, and the server hardware most on-premise practices already own. This guide walks through every line item, how Open Dental compares to peers, and which practice profiles get the best value. For the full feature breakdown and our editorial rating, see our Open Dental review.

Pricing Overview

Open Dental uses a perpetual license plus monthly support model. There is no separate license purchase fee — your monthly support payment covers software updates, telephone, chat, and email support, and unlimited use of the core PMS at one location for up to three providers.

The headline number is the monthly support fee per location. Pricing in 2026 starts around the low-200s for the initial twelve-month contract and drops to the high-100s month-to-month after the first year. That structure is unusual in the category — most competitors raise fees on renewal rather than lower them. Open Dental has only adjusted prices five times since 2003, and even after the 2026 increase the real price (adjusted for inflation) is lower than it was in 2003.

Two pricing paths exist:

  • Self-hosted (the original model). You or your IT vendor host the database on a local or remote server. The monthly support fee is the only software cost.
  • Open Dental Cloud. Open Dental hosts the database for you. This adds a hosting fee on top of support. Practices that don't want to manage a server can also pick a third-party host like DentalHost, DentalTek, or Darkhorse Tech — those run independently and charge separately.

International pricing is lower (Canada and other supported countries). The software is free to dental schools and free or heavily subsidized in developing countries — a long-running policy that signals where Open Dental's priorities sit.

What's Included in Each Plan

Open Dental's "plan" structure is simpler than most. There's effectively one product, with a base support tier and optional add-ons.

Base monthly support includes:

  • Full Open Dental software for one location (covers all workstations at that location)
  • Up to three providers per location (hygienists don't count toward the cap)
  • All software updates as they release
  • Phone, chat, and email technical support (two specific issues per call)
  • Free eServices: Patient Portal, Payment Portal, Web Forms, Message-to-Pay, eReminders, General Messages, and Automated Thank-You messages

That last bullet matters more than it sounds. Patient reminders, payment links, and digital forms are all included at no additional cost — most cloud competitors charge separately for each.

Paid eServices (priced individually, modular pricing):

  • eServices Bundle — discounted package including Integrated Texting, eConfirmations, Web Sched, eClipboard, and ODMobile at a single per-location rate (Mass Email is priced separately)
  • eClipboard — digital intake forms on tablets
  • eConfirmations — automated appointment confirmation texts
  • Integrated Texting — two-way patient texting (per-message fees apply on outgoing)
  • Web Sched (Recall, New Patient, Existing Patient, ASAP) — online scheduling
  • ODMobile — provider mobile app
  • Secure Email — HIPAA-compliant patient email
  • OD Touch — kiosk and tablet check-in
  • AI Image Analysis — radiograph review through the BetterDiagnostics integration
  • Electronic Prescriptions — DoseSpot or Ensora eRx, billed per prescribing provider

Each add-on can be turned on or off month-to-month. There is no required bundle.

Costs Beyond the Sticker Price

The monthly support fee is the cleanest number in dental software. It is also not the all-in number for most practices. Here's what to factor in.

eServices add-ons. A typical practice running modern patient communication (texting, online scheduling, digital intake) will add the eServices Bundle on top of base support. The bundle is priced per location, so the math changes for multi-location groups.

Server and hosting. Self-hosted Open Dental requires a server. Practices that already own one absorb this into existing IT spend. New practices, or practices migrating off a cloud platform, should factor in hardware, backup, and ongoing IT support. Our guide to the full cost of running an on-premise dental server covers this in detail. Practices that prefer not to manage hardware can use Open Dental Cloud or a third-party host.

Additional providers. The base fee covers up to three providers per location. Each additional provider adds a modest per-month surcharge. Hygienists are not counted toward the cap — a real concession compared to per-seat cloud platforms.

Training. Webinars are free. Live online training is billed hourly, and on-site training is priced per day per trainer. Most practices migrating from another PMS budget a meaningful training block in their first ninety days.

Data conversion. Coming from Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Practice-Web, or another PMS? Open Dental quotes conversions per source system and per practice size. Conversion is a one-time cost.

Per-claim and per-message fees. eClaims process through DentalXChange at a small per-claim fee. Outgoing text messages are billed per message. These show up after go-live.

For a fuller breakdown of how these line items show up across the industry, our real dental software pricing guide compares the line-item reality across major vendors.

How Open Dental Compares on Price

Open Dental is consistently the lowest-cost full-featured PMS in the U.S. dental software market on base license fees. Here's how it lines up against the vendors practices most often weigh against it.

Open Dental vs. Dentrix. Dentrix runs a license-plus-support model similar in structure to Open Dental's, but at materially higher fee levels and with per-provider scaling. Practitioner reports across G2 and Dentaltown consistently place Dentrix's all-in monthly cost meaningfully higher than Open Dental's base support fee for a comparable practice. Dentrix also charges separately for many modules (eClaims, patient communication, imaging integrations) that Open Dental either bundles or offers as cheaper individual add-ons.

Open Dental vs. Eaglesoft. Eaglesoft pricing is typically bundled with Patterson hardware deals and rarely published. Independent dealer quotes track close to Dentrix levels. Patterson's deep ecosystem integration with imaging and equipment is the value story, not price. For a complete breakdown, see our Eaglesoft pricing guide.

Open Dental vs. Curve Dental. Curve is cloud-native and runs a per-location subscription that's more than double Open Dental's base support fee. Curve's price includes hosting, automatic updates, and most patient communication features that Open Dental sells as add-ons. The honest comparison is Curve's all-in monthly fee versus Open Dental plus eServices Bundle plus hosting — that math gets closer than the headline numbers suggest, but Open Dental still wins on raw cost in most scenarios.

Open Dental vs. CareStack. CareStack is per-provider, cloud-native, and built for groups and DSOs. Per-provider pricing means it scales with team size, the opposite of Open Dental's flat model. For a three-provider practice, the gap is wide; for a one-doctor practice, less so.

For a deeper look at how these pricing structures actually work, see Understanding Dental Software Pricing Models.

Is Open Dental Worth the Investment?

The honest answer depends on practice size, technical comfort, and how much patient-engagement tech you actually use.

Solo and small practices (1-3 providers, single location). Open Dental is one of the strongest value plays in dental software for this segment. The flat per-location fee, free core eServices, no per-provider scaling, and 90-day money-back guarantee make the downside small. Solo practices without an in-house tech-savvy team-member should plan to use Open Dental Cloud or a third-party host rather than self-host on a closet server. Even with hosting added, the total typically lands well below most cloud competitors.

Mid-size practices (4-10 providers, single or multi-location). Per-provider competitors get expensive fast at this size; Open Dental's flat-rate structure is competitive even before you add eServices. The volume discount kicks in for groups with four or more offices, dropping the per-location rate. Practices with existing IT capacity get the best of both worlds — low monthly cost and full data ownership.

Multi-location groups and DSOs. Open Dental scales well in raw cost terms — flat per-location pricing plus volume discounts beats per-provider models on a per-seat basis. The operational story is more mixed. Cloud-native platforms like CareStack and Curve include centralized reporting, single-sign-on across locations, and standardized configuration that Open Dental's distributed model handles differently.

Practices that prioritize cost predictability. Open Dental publishes its full fee schedule. Pricing has changed five times in twenty-three years and consistently lagged inflation, with no annual renewal escalation. For practices burned by year-over-year support fee hikes from incumbent vendors, that stability is itself a feature.

The Bottom Line

Open Dental remains the most transparent and one of the most affordable practice management systems on the U.S. market in 2026. Base support fees start in the low-200s per location for the first year and drop after twelve months — a pricing trajectory unique among major PMS vendors. Once you factor in the eServices Bundle, hosting (if needed), and conversion, a typical solo practice running the full stack still comes in below most cloud-native competitors.

The platform fits practices that value data ownership, predictable pricing, and the ability to pay only for the modules they use. It fits less well for practices that want a single managed-service relationship for everything from software to hardware to patient communication.

Before signing, do three things. Verify current rates directly on Open Dental's published fee page. Decide between self-hosting, Open Dental Cloud, and a third-party host based on your IT capacity. And price out the full eServices stack you actually need — that's where the real all-in number lands.

For a deeper look at the platform itself, read our full Open Dental review.