Head to head · updated 2026-08-01
Open Dental vs Curve Dental
Own the server, or let someone else run it. Open Dental is on-premise and Curve Dental is cloud — usually the single biggest difference between them.
Open Dental
Open Dental Software, Inc.
Source-available practice management with the most transparent pricing in the category.
- Deployment
- On-premise
- Entry price
- $199/month per location, up to 3 providers
- Built for
- Solo, 2–4 locations, Group, DSO / enterprise
Curve Dental
CD Newco, LLC (backed by Battery Ventures)
Long-running cloud practice management, now sold as Curve SuperHero.
- Deployment
- Cloud
- Entry price
- Not published
- Built for
- Solo, 2–4 locations, Group
The short answer
Open Dental publishes a price ($199/month); Curve Dental does not, so a like-for-like cost comparison is not possible without a quote.
Choose Open Dental if…
Practices that want maximum control and the lowest predictable running cost, and either have IT support or are willing to buy it.
It is ahead on teledentistry, open api, orthodontics .
Choose Curve Dental if…
Single and small-group practices that want cloud and will negotiate a quote.
It is ahead on payments, patient messaging, online booking, digital forms, ai features .
Where they actually differ
Of 19 modules we track, these 8 differ. The rest match, so they are not what should decide it.
| Module | Open Dental | Curve Dental |
|---|---|---|
| Payments | Via integration | Built in |
| Patient messaging | Paid add-on | Built in |
| Online booking | Paid add-on | Built in |
| Digital forms | Paid add-on | Built in |
| Teledentistry | Via integration | Not stated |
| AI features | Via integration | Built in |
| Open API | Built in | Via integration |
| Orthodontics | Built in | Not stated |
Show all 19 modules, including where they match
| Module | Open Dental | Curve Dental |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduling | Built in | Built in |
| Clinical charting | Built in | Built in |
| Perio charting | Built in | Built in |
| Native imaging | Built in | Built in |
| Billing | Built in | Built in |
| Claims | Built in | Built in |
| Insurance eligibility | Paid add-on | Paid add-on |
| Payments | Via integration | Built in |
| Patient messaging | Paid add-on | Built in |
| Online booking | Paid add-on | Built in |
| Digital forms | Paid add-on | Built in |
| Recall / reactivation | Built in | Built in |
| Analytics & KPIs | Built in | Built in |
| ePrescribing | Via integration | Via integration |
| Teledentistry | Via integration | Not stated |
| AI features | Via integration | Built in |
| Open API | Built in | Via integration |
| Multi-location | Built in | Built in |
| Orthodontics | Built in | Not stated |
Pricing, side by side
Open Dental
| Plan | Price | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Support — first 12 months 12-month contract | $199/month | per location, up to 3 providers |
| Support — after 12 months | $149/month | per location, up to 3 providers |
| Additional providers | $20/month | per provider beyond 3 |
| Volume — 4 to 9 offices $149/office after 12 months | $169/month | per office |
Add-ons you will probably also buy
The base price above is not the bill. These are priced separately.
| Add-on | Price | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| eClipboard | $45/month | per location |
| eConfirmations $40 with landline texting | $25/month | per location |
| Integrated texting | $5/month + $0.04/message | per location |
| ODMobile | $35/month | per location |
| Web Sched (new/existing patient) | $75/month | per location |
Priced per location rather than per provider, so adding associates barely moves the bill. You supply and maintain the server.
Source: opendental.com, read 2026-08-01.
Curve Dental
Curve Dental does not publish a price. You have to request a quote, which means you cannot budget or compare before speaking to a salesperson. Marketing promises "affordable and transparent pricing" but no figure appears on the site; you must request a quote.
We do not repeat third-party price estimates for quote-only vendors. Several widely republished figures in this category turned out to belong to a different product — see how we compare.
Strengths and trade-offs
Open Dental
Strengths
- Publishes a complete fee schedule, including every add-on — almost unique in this category.
- Per-location pricing means a three-dentist practice pays the same base rate as a solo one.
- A genuinely open API and direct database access, so third-party tools integrate without vendor permission.
- Source-available code and an unusually large independent developer ecosystem.
Trade-offs
- Not natively cloud. Remote access means self-hosting, a third-party host, or a remote-desktop setup — an extra cost and an extra thing to secure.
- You own the server, the backups and the HIPAA exposure that comes with them.
- The interface is dense and dated; onboarding a new front-desk hire takes longer than on a modern cloud product.
Curve Dental
Strengths
- One of the oldest true-cloud products in dentistry, so the platform is mature.
- Native imaging included in the platform.
- Well-regarded onboarding and data conversion.
Trade-offs
- Claims transparent pricing while publishing none — the gap is worth noting.
- Costs more than the on-premise options once add-ons are included.
- Fewer third-party integrations than Dentrix.
Other comparisons
- Open Dental vs Dentrix — The cost-control choice against the incumbent
- Open Dental vs Eaglesoft — Open pricing against Patterson’s ecosystem
- Curve Dental vs Dentrix Ascend — Two established clouds, neither publishing a price
- Open Dental vs Practice-Web — Shared lineage, near-identical pricing — what differs
- tab32 vs Curve Dental — Cheapest published cloud vs the established cloud