Switching from Open Dental to CareStack

PickMyPMS Editorial · Last reviewed Oct 20, 2026

Quick answer

CareStack costs more per month than Open Dental’s published fee, and it removes the server. CareStack lists plans from $829 a month for Essentials, which includes native imaging, eligibility verification, claims, texting and online appointments. Open Dental’s support fee is $199 a month per location in the first 12 months and $149 after that.

The two prices are not like for like. CareStack’s figure is a starting price that depends on locations, chairs and providers. Open Dental’s is a support subscription for software you host yourself, with texting, online scheduling and e-prescribing sold separately.

The move itself is where the unknowns sit. Open Dental publishes what it charges to convert data in. CareStack publishes no conversion price, and says only that an implementation fee applies in some cases.

What you pay at Open Dental today

Open Dental’s fee page lists support at $199 a month per location for the first 12 months, then $149 a month. Each dentist beyond the first 3 is $20 a month. Support fees carry a 90-day money-back guarantee, and the initial term is 12 months, then month to month. The page was checked 2026-09-26.

Add-ons are priced apart. 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.

Open Dental Cloud, the hosted version in limited release, is $430 a month for one provider plus $150 a month for each additional provider, with a one-time $400 migration fee.

What you pay at CareStack

CareStack’s pricing page lists Essentials from $829 a month and Intelligence from $1,299 a month. Intelligence adds clinical notes, voice perio charting, X-ray analysis and clinical diagnosis, all listed as AI features. Both are starting prices, and CareStack says the final price depends on locations, chairs and providers.

Licenses are set by locations and providers, so adding staff users does not require new licenses. CareStack also says it does not charge for using integrated third-party apps.

An implementation fee is charged in certain cases, depending on data migration complexity and extra training. No amount is published. Ask for it in writing before you accept a quote, since a conversion from another system is the case most likely to trigger it.

Side by side

Where the table says unclear, CareStack’s pages did not settle the question when we checked. Ask about online forms and the mobile app before you rely on either.

Data conversion

Open Dental’s published conversion fee is $1,450 per database, with X-rays $900, documents $850 and $400 for each extra clinic. That is what Open Dental charges to bring data in from another system, so it does not apply to your move. We found no Open Dental fee for leaving.

For leaving, Open Dental states that its data sits in an open MySQL database the practice controls. You can copy it before you begin.

On the CareStack side, the company says it has converted data from more than 60 practice management systems and runs a sandbox test before the final migration. The page does not list Open Dental by name. Ask CareStack to confirm in writing that it has converted from Open Dental, and which record types come across.

A reasonable list to ask about: patient demographics, the ledger, treatment plans, insurance setup, clinical notes, perio charts, X-rays and documents. Ask to see the sandbox before the final run, and who signs off on it.

Contract timing and exit terms

Open Dental’s initial term is 12 months, then it goes month to month. If you are past year one, there is no long contract to wait out on the Open Dental side. Inside year one, read what you signed.

CareStack sets its initial term on each Order Form. Its standard terms renew automatically for successive one-year periods and require 30 days’ notice of non-renewal. The same terms let either party terminate at any time, with or without cause, on 30 days’ notice. The Order Form governs, so check what yours says.

Leaving CareStack later has a cost. Within the term and for up to 90 days after expiration, CareStack will help export a file of customer data in a format it chooses. You request it 10 days ahead and pay CareStack’s then-current hourly rates. The delivery target is 15 days. Ask whether that format is one your next system can read.

Integrations to check

Open Dental does not publish a partner directory, so these are what each side states. Flex states it is built for Open Dental and writes eligibility results back in real time. Open Dental names DentalXChange among its recommended clearinghouses. NexHealth lists both Open Dental and Open Dental Cloud as supported.

NexHealth also lists CareStack among the systems it supports. CareStack names RingCentral among its phone integrations, giving call pop and outbound calling, per its own phone integrations page. We have no record of DentalXChange or Flex on the CareStack side, so ask CareStack whether either works with it. We have no record either way.

Who should switch

Move to CareStack if you want to retire the server, you run several locations or specialties and want one cloud system, or you already pay for texting and online scheduling as Open Dental add-ons. CareStack’s profile lists general, pediatric, orthodontics, oral surgery, periodontics, endodontics and multi-specialty.

Stay on Open Dental if monthly cost drives the decision. The published fee is lower, and you control the database. Capterra gives Open Dental 4.6 from 89 reviews and CareStack 4.8 from 219. Both are third-party figures. Open Dental reviewers cite a learning curve, a dated interface and paying for live support. CareStack reviewers cite too many steps to post insurance payments and slow replies on non-urgent tickets.

A checklist before you sign

• Get CareStack’s quote for your chairs, providers and locations, since $829 is a starting price.
• Ask whether an implementation fee applies to your conversion, and for the amount in writing.
• Ask CareStack to confirm it has converted from Open Dental, and which record types transfer.
• Request a sandbox test before the final migration, and decide who checks it.
• Read the initial term on the Order Form, not only the standard terms.
• Confirm online forms and the mobile app, both unclear in our records.
• Check that DentalXChange, Flex and NexHealth work with CareStack if you use them.
• Copy your Open Dental database yourself before you cancel anything.
• Run both systems briefly while you verify the numbers, and keep that overlap short.

To see how the numbers change with your provider and location count, use the cost calculator. The side-by-side profile is at CareStack vs Open Dental.