Best dental practice software for a solo practice
A solo practice feels price changes the hardest and has no IT department to lean on. This list ranks every product in our database that targets single-location practices, using the same published weighted score as everywhere else on the site.
How this list is made
- Eligible: products whose documented target practice size includes single-location practices.
- Ranked by the published weighted score (features 40% + sentiment 30% + value 20% + transparency 10%).
- Real 3-year cost, export freedom and lock-in are shown for every entry — they do not change the order, but they should change your shortlist.
4 of 5 products in our database are eligible for this scenario. Eligibility and order are computed from the published data, not curated by hand.
The ranking
| Software | Score | Starting price | Real 3-yr cost ★ | Data export freedom ★ | Contract lock-in ★ | Claim approval ★ | Deployment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Dental | 8.7/10 | $199 per location / month | $13,504 | 5/5
Full autonomy — open structure, self-serve export | 1/5
No lock-in — cancel anytime | insufficient sample (n=0) | on-premise, cloud, hybrid |
| Curve Dental | 7.4/10 | $299 per location / month | $13,064 | 3/5
Moderate — operational data out, full record needs help | 4/5
Heavy — multi-year, termination fees | insufficient sample (n=0) | cloud |
| Dentrix | 7.1/10 | $500 per location / month | $36,514 | 2/5
Limited — partial export, vendor-dependent | 5/5
Very heavy — long term, high total exit cost | insufficient sample (n=0) | on-premise, cloud |
| Eaglesoft | 6.4/10 | $200 per user / month | $34,104 | 2/5
Limited — partial export, vendor-dependent | 5/5
Very heavy — long term, high total exit cost | insufficient sample (n=0) | on-premise, hybrid |
★ = dimensions other comparison sites don't publish. Cost figures are 3-year totals for the assumption stated on each product page, not the sticker price. Export freedom and lock-in are scored 1–5 against published criteria. Claim approval rates are withheld entirely rather than estimated when the sample is too small to be honest about.
See all scenarios on the Best by scenario index, or the full pricing data and methodology behind every figure.