Denticon vs Open Dental

PickMyPMS Editorial · Last reviewed Oct 12, 2026

Quick verdict

Denticon suits a Windows practice or DSO that wants a hosted cloud system, multi-location reporting and API access recorded as included, and a published starting price of $795 a month. The cost to read carefully is the exit: $995 per XVWeb imaging extract and fees for the rest of the term if you cancel early.

Open Dental suits a practice that wants the lowest published recurring fee and an open MySQL database it controls, and that is willing to run a Windows server. Support is $149 a month per location after year one, per Open Dental’s fee page, checked 2026-09-26.

The two are priced differently. Denticon sells a hosted service. Open Dental sells support for software that most offices host themselves.

Hosted cloud or your own server

Denticon is cloud software from Planet DDS. It runs in a browser on Windows, and Planet DDS says it is not compatible with macOS. Its listed specialties are general, multi-specialty and DSO, and it lists practice sizes from solo to DSO.

Open Dental is Windows software from Salem, Oregon. Most offices run it on their own server. Open Dental Cloud, the hosted option, is in limited release. Open Dental lists general, pediatric and multi-specialty use, and sizes from startup to multi-location.

A Mac-based practice has no clear option here. Planet DDS states the macOS restriction for Denticon, and Open Dental lists Windows as its only platform.

What each costs

Denticon’s starting price is $795 a month, per Planet DDS. Packages, features and add-ons vary with practice size. Capterra lists $750 as a flat-rate starting price. That figure is third party and differs from the vendor’s, so we use $795.

Denticon’s Patient Communication package includes 6,000 text segments per office, and two-way texting includes 3,000. Segments above the package cost $0.0087 each. A text messaging compliance fee of $20 a month applies per account.

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

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. Online scheduling and e-prescribing are recorded as add-ons with no price we could find.

If you want Open Dental hosted, Open Dental Cloud starts at $430 a month per location for one provider. Additional providers are $150 a month, and there is a one-time $400 migration fee. That is the like-for-like figure against Denticon’s $795, and the extras on each side will move both totals.

Run both through the cost calculator with your own provider and location counts.

Contracts and cancelling

Denticon’s initial term ends on the first anniversary of the billing start date, then renews for one-year terms. Non-renewal needs at least 30 days’ notice before the term ends. Cancelling for convenience needs 60 days’ notice, and the fees for the rest of the current term become due immediately. Planet DDS may adjust prices for each renewal term with written notice.

Open Dental has a 12-month initial term on support fees, then goes month-to-month. A 90-day money-back guarantee covers support fees. Open Dental lists published pricing and no long-term contract after year one as a strength. We found no published notice period for ending support, so ask before you rely on month-to-month.

On contract terms alone, Open Dental is the lighter commitment after the first year.

Getting your data out

At Open Dental, data sits in an open MySQL database the practice controls, per Open Dental’s own manual. There is no export to request because you hold the database, and the backups are your job.

At Denticon, the practice owns its data but must extract a copy itself before termination. It can ask Planet DDS, up to 10 business days after termination, to post the data to a secure site that stays available for 30 days. XVWeb patient and imaging exports cost $995 per extract. Imaging data converted during the first term cannot be exported before that term ends. Extra export work is billed at current rates.

Open Dental has no per-extract charge in our data. Denticon does.

Switching between the two

Open Dental publishes its conversion fee: $1,450 per database, with $900 for X-rays, $850 for documents and $400 for each additional clinic.

Denticon converts data per location from supported legacy systems, with a trial conversion and audits before go-live. Imaging conversions are included per location, per database. Fees are set in the order and are not published.

Moving to Open Dental means a published bill. Moving to Denticon means a quote. If you leave Denticon, add the $995 imaging extract to the cost of the move and check whether your imaging was converted during the first term.

Features and integrations

Denticon records perio charting, treatment presentation, texting, recall automation, online scheduling, online forms, eligibility checks, claims, reporting, multi-location reporting and API access as included. Planet DDS lists API integrations with more than 50 third-party products. Imaging runs through Apteryx XVWeb, and Denticon is not recorded as having native imaging.

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. Texting, online scheduling and e-prescribing are add-ons. Multi-location reporting is unclear, which matters to a group of practices because Denticon records it as included.

On integrations, the two sides disagree about who published what. Flex Dental states it is built for Open Dental and writes eligibility results back in real time, while the vendor publishes no partner directory. The Open Dental manual names DentalXChange among its recommended clearinghouses, and the practice signs up with the clearinghouse first. NexHealth lists Denticon by Planet DDS, and lists Open Dental in both its server and cloud forms.

Denticon has no DentalXChange or Flex Dental record in our data, so those are unclear for Denticon.

What reviewers say

These are Capterra figures and are third-party estimates.

Denticon holds 4.5 out of 5 from 118 reviews. Reviewers like logging in from anywhere and running several locations from one system. Complaints cover slow or unresolved support tickets, too many clicks, bugs shipped in updates and a dated interface.

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

Planet DDS claims 14,500 practices and 175,000 users across all its products, and publishes no Denticon-only figure. Open Dental’s figure of about 20,000 practices worldwide is a 2021 estimate from a third-party directory and is unverified, so we do not rely on it.

Who should pick which

Pick Denticon if you:

• Want a hosted system with multi-location reporting and API access recorded as included.
• Run a DSO or a growing group on Windows.
• Can plan around a one-year term and the $995 imaging extract at exit.

Pick Open Dental if you:

• Want the lowest published recurring fee and a database you control.
• Treat pediatric or multi-specialty care as part of your mix.
• Will host your own server, or pay for Open Dental Cloud.

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