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.
