Archy vs Open Dental

PickMyPMS Editorial · Last reviewed Oct 12, 2026

Quick verdict

Archy suits a practice that wants one cloud system with a single flat price per location. That price covers unlimited users and providers, imaging, online forms, online scheduling, texting, claims and eligibility checks. A new practice pays $400 a month until it reaches 400 patients or one year, per Archy’s pricing page, checked 2026-09-26.

Open Dental suits a practice that wants the lowest published recurring fee, is comfortable on Windows, and will run its own server or pay for hosting. Support is $149 a month per location after year one, and the database is open and under your control.

Archy has 6 Capterra reviews and Open Dental has 89, so the review evidence for Archy is thin. Weigh that before you treat either rating as settled.

Cloud platform or server software

Archy is cloud software that runs in a browser and is hosted by the vendor, so there is no office server to buy or maintain. Its listed specialty is general dentistry, and it is listed for practices from startup to DSO size.

Open Dental is Windows software. Most offices install it on their own server and connect workstations to it. Open Dental Cloud is a hosted option, but Open Dental describes it as a limited release, so a practice that needs hosting today should confirm availability before planning around it.

Open Dental covers general and pediatric dentistry and is listed for multi-specialty use. Archy is listed for general dentistry only. A pediatric or multi-specialty practice has a reason to look at Open Dental first.

What each costs

Archy publishes one price. It is $899 a month per location, with unlimited users, providers, claim submissions, eligibility checks and texting. Imaging, online forms and online scheduling are included. The new-practice rate is $400 a month per location until 400 patients or one year, whichever comes first. We show that intro rate beside the regular price and do not use it as the price.

Archy also sells Clinical, Front Office and Marketing suites as add-ons. The suites and E-Prescribe are quote-only, so a practice that wants them cannot price the full system from the public page.

Open Dental charges a support fee. It is $199 a month per location for the first 12 months, covering up to 3 dentists, then $149 a month per location. Each additional dentist is $20 a month. The fee rose from $179 on Feb 2, 2026.

The support fee does not cover everything. The eServices bundle is $165 a month per location. Texting access is $5 a month for an assigned number or $20 a month for a landline, plus $0.04 per message in the US. Open Dental records online scheduling and e-prescribing as add-ons too, and gives no price for them on the pages we checked.

For one location after year one, Open Dental support is $149 a month and Archy is $899 a month with texting included. The gap is real, and it narrows with each Open Dental add-on you need. Use the cost calculator with your own provider and location counts.

Open Dental’s conversion fee is a one-time cost of $1,450 per database. We recorded no setup fee for Archy, and that is unclear rather than none.

Contracts and cancelling

Archy’s Master Service Agreement, last updated March 18, 2025, sets the term on the Order Form. The practice agrees to pay fees for the entire term and can end early only for cause. Renewals run one month at a time, and you need to give 30 days’ written notice before the current term ends if you do not want to renew. Archy can change fees at the end of the initial term or a renewal term.

Read the Order Form term before you sign. The practice pays for the whole of that term, and the monthly renewals only start after it.

Open Dental has a 12-month initial term, then goes month-to-month. It also offers a 90-day money-back guarantee on support fees. Open Dental’s strength list on this site records published pricing and no long-term contract after year one. We found no published notice period for leaving, so ask how to end support before you rely on that.

Getting your data out

Archy gives you one export of your data in a structured, common format at no cost, if you ask in writing on or before the termination date. If you need continued access after that, Archy charges $200 a month. Without that payment, Archy deletes the data. The calendar matters here: put the written request in before your last day, not after it.

Open Dental stores data in an open MySQL database that the practice controls, per Open Dental’s own manual page. You do not request an export from the vendor because you already hold the database. The practice is responsible for backups.

For a practice worried about being locked in, Open Dental’s setup is the simpler answer on paper. Archy’s is workable if you act before termination.

Switching between the two

Moving to Open Dental costs $1,450 per database, with $900 extra for X-rays, $850 for documents and $400 for each additional clinic, all from Open Dental’s conversion page.

Moving to Archy is harder to price. We recorded no conversion fee for Archy. Reviewers on Capterra report trouble moving X-rays during conversion, and say the ledger works differently from other systems. With only 6 reviews, test both points with your own data.

Whichever direction you go, ask for a trial conversion of a copy of your database and check the imaging files and the ledger balances before you commit.

Features and integrations

Archy records these as included, per its pricing page: texting, eligibility checks, claims, online forms and online scheduling. Perio charting is included per Archy’s home page, checked 2026-10-02. Imaging is native.

Open Dental records open database access, API access, perio charting, online forms, recall automation, reporting, claims, eligibility checks, treatment presentation and a mobile app as included. It records texting, online scheduling and e-prescribing as add-ons. Multi-location reporting is unclear, which means we found no clear statement either way.

On imaging, Archy states that x-rays are captured with Pearl AI reading them live, and lists Pearl as an integration. Pearl is the only add-on tool Archy carries. Open Dental has no imaging record in our data, so we cannot say whether it includes native imaging.

Three partners have a record for Open Dental. Flex Dental states it is built for the product and writes eligibility results back in real time, while the vendor publishes no partner directory. The vendor’s manual names DentalXChange among its recommended clearinghouses. NexHealth lists both the server version and the cloud version among the systems it supports, without saying how it connects.

Archy has no DentalXChange, Flex Dental or NexHealth record in our data. Support for them is unclear. Ask Archy directly if you depend on one of them.

What reviewers say

The ratings below are Capterra figures, which are third-party estimates.

Archy holds 4.7 out of 5 from 6 reviews. Reviewers say staff without dental backgrounds learn it easily, and that auto-verification, forms and reminders save front-desk time. Complaints cover trouble moving X-rays, a ledger that works differently from other systems, charting display issues and limited report customization.

Open Dental holds 4.6 out of 5 from 89 reviews. Reviewers cite a learning curve, a dated interface and paying for live support.

Archy’s vendor-stated install base is about 1,000 practices in 45 states. Open Dental’s figure of about 20,000 practices worldwide comes from a 2021 estimate in a third-party business directory and is unverified, so we do not rely on it.

Who should pick which

Pick Archy if you:

• Want one monthly price per location with imaging, texting, claims and eligibility included.
• Are a new practice that can use the $400 intro rate.
• Do not want to run or pay for a server.

Pick Open Dental if you:

• Want the lowest published recurring fee and can manage a Windows server.
• Treat children or several specialties as part of your mix.
• Want a database you control, without waiting on a vendor export.

If neither description fits, the Find my PMS quiz scores both products and others against your specialty, size and budget.