Compare · Plugins and open-source systems
PixelCare and Bahmni
An open-source hospital information system for low-resource settings. Bahmni Lite is aimed at clinics and small hospitals, and Standard at larger hospitals.
How Bahmni is delivered
Installed on the facility's own server, usually with an implementation partner.
Its published price
The software is free. Set-up is usually done by a partner who charges for it.
Its pricing page →On our 28 questions
Bahmni’s website confirms 14 in full and 9 in part or as a paid add-on. PixelCare is built to answer all 28 in one product.
Bahmni’s website →Worth knowing
What a buyer should check about Bahmni.
Each point is from Bahmni’s own material, read on 3 October 2026.
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Bahmni Lite, the edition aimed at clinics, replaces Odoo with a simple invoicing tool, so stock, purchasing and accounting are only in the hospital-oriented Standard edition.
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Documentation says internationalisation supports only left-to-right languages (page last updated 2016).
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Patient portal is a proof of concept that still needs work before real-world use.
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Full Standard install needs at least a quad-core, 8 GB RAM server, and a second passive server is highly recommended.
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Offline app Bahmni Connect cannot capture orders, medications or diagnoses and supports only the registration and clinical apps.
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Side by side
All 28 questions.
“Not stated” means we found nothing either way on Bahmni’s website. Check with the vendor before you decide.
| Capability | PixelCare | Bahmni |
|---|---|---|
| Appointments by doctor | Yes Each doctor’s hours, slot length, leave and holidays | Yes Appointments module with services, providers, calendar and list views, status changes, recurring appointments. Source |
| Patients book online | Yes Under the clinic’s own name, with booking rules | Not stated |
| Walk-ins and token queue | Yes Tokens, one queue, waiting-room screen | In part Clinical patient queues/lists with privilege-based access; no token numbers or waiting display found. Source |
| Reminders by SMS, WhatsApp or email | Yes In the clinic’s own words and sender name | Yes SMS, WhatsApp and email notifications for registration and appointments via a third-party SMS gateway. Source |
| Visit record and vitals | Yes Structured record, vitals with trends, templates | Yes Form-builder observation forms, diagnoses, conditions, allergies, consultation notes, vitals flowchart. Source |
| Prescriptions | Yes Written from the pharmacy’s own shelf, printed or sent | Yes Medication orders in the consultation, with printing of latest medications. Source |
| Lab and imaging orders | Yes Orders, results and abnormal-value flags | Yes Lab and radiology orders; OpenELIS lab system in Standard, lighter Lab Lite in Lite; PACS for imaging. Source |
| Phone and video visits | Yes Booked, noted and billed like any visit | Yes Built-in video consultations using Jitsi, scheduled or ad hoc. Source |
| Billing, discounts and refunds | Yes Limits per role, part payments, credit | Yes Standard: Odoo billing with discounts, credit and taxes; Lite: Crater invoicing and payments. Source |
| Online and card payments | Yes Local gateways, wallets, QR and card machines | Not stated |
| Company and insurer billing | Yes Agreed rates, monthly invoice, ageing | Not stated |
| Doctor’s share and payouts | Yes Any arrangement, a ledger per doctor, payout runs | Not stated |
| Pharmacy stock by batch and expiry | Yes Earliest expiry first, never an expired batch | In part Standard only: batches with expiry, multiple locations, stock reduced on payment; batch picked by user, no stated earliest-expiry rule. Source |
| Pharmacy till | Yes Barcode, shifts, returns, works offline | In part Standard only: pharmacy sales are Odoo sale orders from a shop tied to a warehouse; no till or barcode documented. Source |
| Suppliers and purchasing | Yes Orders, goods received, returns, supplier balances | Yes Standard only: procurement from suppliers, purchase requests and purchase reports through Odoo. Source |
| Full accounts inside the product | Yes Ledger, trial balance, profit and loss, balance sheet | In part Standard claims standard accounting reports via Odoo; Odoo's own comparison shows full accounting is Enterprise-only. Source |
| Reports | Yes Financial and operational, PDF and spreadsheet | Yes Built-in and SQL reports, report queue, Metabase analytics on a reporting mart. Source |
| Several clinics and branches | Yes Separate books, combined reports | In part Login locations within one install; one featured implementation links 22 clinics with central records. Source |
| Roles and permissions | Yes Per-person switches and money limits | Yes OpenMRS roles and privileges, with privilege control over queues, reports, forms and appointments. Source |
| The clinic’s own brand | Yes Name, logo, colours and web address on every screen | Not stated |
| Custom fields and forms | Yes On patient, booking and visit forms | Yes Form builder for observation forms; configurable registration fields. Source |
| Languages and right-to-left | Yes Per clinic, per user and per patient | In part Translatable modules, but the docs say only left-to-right languages are supported (page dated 2016). Source |
| Works without internet | Yes Till and day list carry on; work posts itself later | Yes Runs on-site without internet; Bahmni Connect Android app works offline for a subset and syncs later. Source |
| Mobile apps | Yes For patients, doctors and the desk | In part Bahmni Connect Android app covers a registration and clinical subset only; Lite is mobile-responsive web. Source |
| API and integrations | Yes Documented interface and webhooks | Yes REST and FHIR R4 APIs. Source |
| Audit trail | Yes Permanent, with every record opening logged | Yes Admin audit log of logins, failed logins, patient record views, registration, encounters, reports. Source |
| Export of all data | Yes Every list, restricted and logged | In part Reports are downloadable; a FHIR-based bulk patient export page exists (title seen, not read in full). Source |
| Patient portal | Yes Bookings, receipts, prescriptions and results | In part A basic portal exists but the project calls it a proof of concept not ready for real use. Source |
Also compared: KiviCare, OpenEMR, Odoo with basic_hms. See every product in one table.
See what PixelCare does that Bahmni does not.
The live demo is a working clinic with sample patients, stock and seven weeks of history. Enter as the owner, the receptionist, the doctor, the pharmacist or a patient.