Why Dental Software Companies Hide Their Pricing (And How to Get Real Numbers Anyway)

Go to the Dentrix website. Try to find a price. You will find feature lists, testimonials, integration partners, and a "Request a Demo" button. What you will not find is a single dollar figure.

Eaglesoft? Same thing. CareStack? "Get a Quote." tab32? "Schedule a Demo."

This is not an accident. It is a strategy. And it is one that costs dental practices time, money, and negotiating leverage.

Why Vendors Hide Pricing

Let's call it what it is: price discrimination.

When a vendor hides their pricing, they gain the ability to charge different practices different amounts for the same product. A solo practitioner in rural Iowa gets one quote. A 5-location DSO in Dallas gets another. Neither knows what the other is paying, and the vendor profits from the information asymmetry.

There are other reasons vendors cite, of course:

"Our pricing is customized" -- Translation: we charge what we think you will pay.
"It depends on modules and configuration" -- Translation: we have so many add-on fees that a simple price list would scare you off.
"We want to understand your needs first" -- Translation: we want to qualify you as a lead before we invest sales time.

But the core motivation is simple: hidden pricing maximizes revenue per customer. If everyone could see that Dentrix charges $700-$1,000 per provider per month while Open Dental charges $179 flat, the sales conversation would start very differently.

TMR Take: Any vendor that will not tell you their price before a 45-minute demo is not "customizing a solution." They are running a pricing playbook designed to extract maximum dollars from each prospect. Transparency is not complicated -- the vendors who hide pricing choose to hide it.

The Counter-Trend: Vendors Who Publish Prices

Not every vendor plays this game. A growing number of dental software companies publish their pricing openly:

Open Dental -- $179/month (first year), $129/month after. Published right on their website.
Oryx Dental -- Transparent pricing on their site, claiming ~70% savings versus competitors.
Curve Dental -- Publishes pricing tiers with clear feature breakdowns.
Practice-Web -- Clear pricing information available without a demo.
iDentalSoft -- No charge for additional users, pricing visible upfront.

These vendors have figured out something the legacy players have not (or do not want to): transparent pricing builds trust, attracts more qualified leads, and reduces the length of sales cycles. Practices that can see the price upfront self-select, which means less wasted time for everyone.

How to Get Real Numbers Without the Demo Gauntlet

If you need to evaluate a vendor that hides pricing, here are practical strategies to get numbers without sitting through a 90-minute sales presentation:

1. Check Third-Party Sources

Sites like Capterra, G2, GetApp, and Software Advice often list pricing ranges reported by actual users. These may not be exact, but they give you a ballpark. For example, G2 data shows Dentrix is 32% more expensive than the average dental PMS product -- that is useful context.

2. Ask Point-Blank via Email

Send a short email: "I run a [X]-provider practice in [state]. What is the monthly cost for your platform including support and standard integrations? I am comparing three vendors this week and need pricing before scheduling demos." Some reps will respond with numbers to avoid losing the lead.

3. Talk to Peers

Dental forums (Dentaltown, Reddit r/dentistry) and local study clubs are goldmines for real pricing data. Dentists who recently purchased or switched will often share what they actually paid.

4. Request a Written Quote Before the Demo

Tell the vendor: "I would like to see a ballpark quote for my practice size before we schedule a demo. I want to make sure we are in the right budget range." This filters out vendors who are dramatically above your budget and saves everyone time.

5. Use Known Ranges as Leverage

Walk into every demo knowing the market rates. Per-provider pricing runs $200-$600 for most platforms. Dentrix runs $700-$1,000. Open Dental is $179 flat. If a vendor quotes you $800/provider, you can respond with: "Open Dental is $179/month for unlimited providers. Help me understand the $7,400/month premium for a 10-provider practice."

TMR Take: The vendor that will not show you their price is not the vendor who will give you the best deal. They are the vendor who is most likely to charge you more than the practice next door. Start with transparent vendors, get their numbers, and use those numbers as your baseline for every subsequent conversation.

The Industry Is Shifting -- Slowly

The dental software market is a $2.6 billion industry projected to hit $6.4 billion by 2034. As competition intensifies and cloud platforms lower switching costs, pricing transparency will become a competitive advantage, not a risk.

The vendors who publish prices today are betting on volume over margin. The vendors who hide prices are betting they can maintain information asymmetry indefinitely. History suggests the transparent players win in the long run.

Until then, arm yourself with data, demand numbers upfront, and do not reward opacity with your business.

Tired of hidden pricing? Our software comparison tool publishes real pricing data for every vendor we track -- no demo required.