Cloud vs local

Cloud vs local dental software, compared honestly

Both models can run a clinic. The real difference is where your patient data lives, what happens during an outage, and how you are billed. Here is a fair, category-level comparison, and where HM Praxis sits as a local-first option.

14-day free trial. No credit card. Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

The four questions that actually decide it

Where does the data live?

Cloud keeps records on the vendor's servers. Local keeps them on your own machines. That single choice drives most of the others.

What happens during an outage?

Cloud needs a connection to work. A local install keeps seeing patients when the internet, or the vendor, is down.

How are you billed?

Cloud pricing often scales with patients or records. HM Praxis is a flat per-seat subscription with no per-patient fee.

Can you leave with your data?

With cloud, export depends on the vendor. With a local database, your records are already a file you keep.

What the cloud model does well

Cloud dental software is genuinely convenient. There is nothing to install, storage is off-site and automatic, and you can sign in from any browser. For a clinic with reliable internet and no strong reason to keep data on-premise, that can be a perfectly good fit.

The tradeoff is custody and dependency: your patient records live on infrastructure the vendor runs, on a subscription that often grows with usage, and they are reachable only while you and the vendor both have a working connection.

What the local model does well

A local-first install flips the dependency. The software and the data are on the machine in front of you, which changes several things at once:

Patient records stay on your own computers, encrypted at rest with SQLCipher.
The full app works offline, so an outage does not close your front desk.
On Pro, a clinic team syncs over the local network only, with no cloud relay carrying patient data.
Your database is a file you can back up and keep, so leaving does not mean losing your history.

Where HM Praxis fits

HM Praxis is the local-first option in this comparison. It is a desktop app for Windows, macOS, and Linux, with patients, appointments, an interactive odontogram, periodontal charting, treatment plans, lab cases, inventory, billing, and reports, all stored locally. The internet is used to validate your license and fetch updates, never to read a patient chart.

It is bilingual English and Spanish and licensed per seat with no per-patient fee. It does not claim HIPAA, CFDI, or any certification; keeping data local and encrypted supports your own compliance, but the responsibility remains yours.

Cloud vs local, point by point

A fair, category-level comparison so you can match the model to your clinic.

What matters	Typical cloud software	HM Praxis (local-first)
Where patient data lives	On the vendor's servers	On your own computers, encrypted at rest
Works without internet	Needs a connection to work	Full app runs offline
Sharing data across the team	Through the vendor's servers	Over your local network only
Per-patient or per-record fees	Often scales with patients or records	Flat per-seat subscription, no per-patient fee
Keeping your data if you leave	Export depends on the vendor	Your local database stays with you

Comparison describes the cloud model as a category, not any single product. Always confirm specifics with the vendor you are evaluating.

Frequently asked questions

Is cloud or local better for a dental clinic?

Neither is universally better. Cloud is convenient and needs no install but keeps records on the vendor's servers and needs a connection. Local keeps data on your machines and works offline. The right choice depends on your connectivity and how much you value keeping data on-premise.

Does local dental software still let a team share data?

Yes. With HM Praxis on the Pro plan, the computers in your clinic sync over the local network so everyone sees the same patient data, without that data passing through any server we run.

Is HM Praxis cloud-based?

No. HM Praxis is local-first. The app and your patient database run on your own computers. We use the internet only to validate your license and deliver updates, never to store patient records.

Can I move from cloud software to HM Praxis?

You can install HM Praxis and start fresh or bring your data in. Because your HM Praxis database is a local file, you are never locked in: you can back it up and keep it whenever you want.

Decide what fits your clinic

Try HM Praxis free for 14 days and see how a local-first setup feels. No credit card, and your data stays on your machine.