Compare
Where Dicomly fits
in your stack
As of 2026, nothing else offers DICOM connectivity as a plain API. Everything on this page is infrastructure you run alongside Dicomly — not instead of it.
Storage is the easy part; receiving DICOM from a hospital is the hard part. Dicomly does the hard part, then hands you the bytes over plain HTTPS — keep them wherever you like. So it doesn't compete with archives, PACS, or routers. It sits in front of them and feeds them.
How the pieces combine
Every category below plugs in on the right — Dicomly is the arrow into it.
Cloud DICOM archives
DICOMweb storageAWS HealthImaging · Azure DICOM Service · Google Cloud Healthcare API
A durable bucket for images that have already arrived — reachable over DICOMweb. Storage, not a way to receive from a hospital modality.
The gapYou still build and operate the C-STORE receiver, manage certificates, and run ingestion. They store; they don’t connect.
When it fitsGreat as the place you keep studies — after Dicomly delivers them to you.
Cloud PACS platforms
Viewer + workflowPostDICOM · Medicai · Ambra · Intelerad
A full clinical product: storage, a diagnostic viewer, sharing, and workflow — sold to radiology groups.
The gapA whole platform to adopt, usually enterprise sales, and not API-first. Overkill if you just need DICOM arriving in your own product.
When it fitsRight choice if you need a viewer and clinical workflow, not a connectivity layer.
Routers & integration engines
Self-hostedLaurel Bridge Navigator · Rhapsody · Orthanc
Powerful DICOM routers and integration engines you install on your own servers and operate yourself.
The gapYou own the servers, scaling, patching, and certificate lifecycle. No self-serve REST provisioning, no managed mTLS, no SaaS model.
When it fitsRight choice when you need full on-prem control and have the team to operate it.
Build it yourself
Open-source toolkitsOrthanc · dcm4che · pynetdicom · DCMTK
Free libraries and toolkits to write your own C-STORE receiver. The default most engineers reach for first.
The gapThe library is the easy 10%. You become the on-call for a listener, its certs, scaling, uptime, and the DIMSE edge cases — forever (see C-STORE vs STOW-RS for what association handling really involves).
When it fitsRight choice if DICOM connectivity is your core product and you want to own every layer.
Side by side
| Build yourself | Cloud archives | Cloud PACS | Routers | Dicomly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A toolkit | Storage archive | Full PACS + viewer | Router / engine | Connectivity layer |
| You build the C-STORE receiver | Yes — all of it | Yes | N/A (their app) | You run it | No |
| Managed mTLS / cert lifecycle | No (DIY) | No | Partial | No (DIY) | Yes |
| You operate the servers | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
| Stores your PHI | You decide | Yes | Yes | Yes | No — nothing at rest |
| Self-serve REST provisioning | Build it | Build it | Limited | No | Yes |
| Your own DICOM hostname | Yes (you run it) | No | Their subdomain | Yes (you run it) | Yes — free, no infra |
| Delivery to your app | You write it | Pull via SDK | Within platform | You configure | HTTPS POST (STOW-RS) |
Dicomly pricing is two numbers: €10 / endpoint / month and €0.15 / GB delivered. No metered instance fees, no seats, no tiers. See full pricing →
When Dicomly is not the right tool
We'd rather you pick the right thing than sign up for the wrong one. Dicomly is a narrow connectivity layer — if what you need is something else, use something else:
Long-term image storage or an archive
With DicomlyDicomly delivers each study; the archive keeps it.
A diagnostic viewer or clinical workflow
With DicomlyDicomly receives from the hospital; the PACS shows and reports it.
Full on-prem control of routing
With DicomlyUse Dicomly for the sites you’d rather not run infrastructure for.
To build the receiver yourself
With DicomlyReach for Dicomly when you’d rather not be the on-call for a listener.
Also worth knowing: Dicomly never parses DICOM tags, so tag normalization or de-identification happens in your own pipeline after delivery. This list is maintained and stated factually — no rankings, no paid placement.
Need to receive DICOM from hospitals into your product, without running DICOM infrastructure — and have them send to dicom.yourbrand.com, not ours, free? That's exactly what Dicomly is for.
Start receiving DICOM today.
Early access. No credit card. First endpoint free.