Atlas.md vs Hint for Direct Primary Care
Atlas.md is the better fit for a solo or small DPC clinic that wants charting, membership billing, labs and an in-house pharmacy at one predictable per-provider price with unlimited patients. Hint is the better fit when memberships are complex or employers are part of your plan, because its billing goes deeper and its Pro and Scale plans include employer contracts. Both were built for direct primary care, both include dispensing, and both let you start before you pay, so the choice usually comes down to how your members pay and who pays for them.
All prices on this page are published prices, checked on each vendor's site in November 2026. Use them to compare, then confirm the numbers in writing on your demo.
The verdict
Here's the short version. Read across the row that sounds most like your clinic.
| Choose Atlas.md if... | Choose Hint if... |
|---|---|
| You want one flat price as your panel grows | You'll sell memberships to employers |
| You dispense a lot of medications in house | You want annual, quarterly or contract-length plans |
| Card processing cost is a big line item for you | You want the most flexible membership billing |
| You're a solo or small clinic | You'd rather pay nothing at all until launch |
| You want billing and the chart from one vendor | You may want billing without the EMR someday |
The two vendors put their costs in different places. Atlas.md charges for ePrescribing and PDMP setup, while Hint's card processing rate on Launch is higher. Compare a full year's total, not the monthly subscription.
Published prices and features side by side
| Atlas.md | Hint | |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | $300/mo per registered provider | $290/mo Launch, 1 clinician |
| Patients or members | Unlimited | Unlimited on Launch, 100 on Pro ($320/mo) |
| Extra clinician | $300/mo each | $290/mo on Launch, $232/mo on Pro or Scale |
| Card processing | 2.1% + 30¢ | 3% + $0.30 Launch, 2.75% + $0.30 Pro |
| ACH | 1.1% + 30¢ | 1% + $0.25 Launch, $5 cap |
| ePrescribing | $475 setup per prescriber, $400/yr renewal | Comes with the EMR |
| PDMP | $525 setup per clinic | Ask on the demo |
| In-house dispensing | Unlimited inventory and dispensing | Inventory and dispensing with the EMR |
| Labs | Quest, Labcorp, regional labs | Lab ordering with the EMR |
| Employer billing | Ask on the demo | Pro and Scale |
| Free start | 30 days free before launch | Pay nothing until launch |
Atlas.md also publishes its smaller fees, which is helpful for budgeting. A failed ACH payment is $5, a card chargeback is $15 plus the processing fee on the disputed payment, an ACH chargeback is $20 plus the processing fee, outbound faxes are $0.07 a page, and a replacement EPCS token (the security device used to sign controlled-substance prescriptions) is $25. It notes that the state PDMP subscription is usually $60 per doctor. On Hint Pro, a dispute or chargeback is $7.50 and an ACH return is $7.50.
What a first year costs
Subscriptions only tell half the story, because card processing on a full panel often costs more than the software. Here's a worked example using only published prices. Assume one doctor, 300 members, a $90 monthly membership, and every member paying by card.
| First-year cost | Atlas.md | Hint Launch | Hint Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subscription | $3,600 | $3,480 | $5,568 |
| ePrescribing and PDMP setup | $1,000 | Ask on the demo | Ask on the demo |
| Card processing (3,600 charges) | $7,884 | $10,800 | $9,990 |
| Total | $12,484 | $14,280 | $15,558 |
The Hint totals leave out any ePrescribing or PDMP fees, since Hint doesn't publish them, so ask for those before you compare. The Hint Pro subscription assumes 300 members all year, which is $320 plus four blocks of 50 members at $36 each, or $464 a month. In the second year, Atlas.md's ePrescribing drops to the $400 renewal and the PDMP setup doesn't repeat. Your own numbers will differ, especially if many members pay by ACH, if you start with fewer members, or if Hint's pay-nothing-until-launch period covers months you'd otherwise pay Atlas.md for. The pattern still holds, though. Atlas.md's lower card rate does a lot of the work as the panel fills. For more panel sizes, see DPC EMR pricing compared, and for prescribing fees across vendors, see what ePrescribing costs.
Charting, dispensing and clinical tools
Both are DPC-native systems, so neither asks you to code visits or chase claims. Atlas.md bundles charting, lab ordering with your preferred lab (from Quest and Labcorp to smaller regional labs) and an in-house pharmacy with unlimited inventory, prescriptions and dispensing. It also lists built-in tools that suggest diagnoses, summarize visit transcripts and draft SOAP notes.
Hint's EMR includes ePrescribing, lab ordering and medication inventory and dispensing on the same record as the membership. Its clinical copilot for documentation and messages is included on Pro and Scale and costs $100 a month on Launch.
If you dispense heavily, the demo matters more than the feature list. Ask each vendor to receive a shipment, dispense a 90-day supply, charge the member for it and show you the inventory count afterward.
Membership billing and employer plans
Atlas.md's billing covers what most solo clinics need, with subscription prorating and fixed-rate billing options built in. It sits inside the same system as the chart, so a doctor can see a member's billing without opening another tool.
Hint is the more specialized billing platform, and it shows in the details. You can choose a monthly or annual default billing period, offer quarterly, semi-annual or annual payment with a discount, set a contract length that renews or ends on its own, and get a warning if you cancel a member inside a minimum enrollment period. Practices that bill in arrears are limited to a monthly period.
The bigger difference is employers. Hint Pro and Scale include employer-sponsored memberships with employer enrollment, eligibility autosync and consolidated billing, and Pro includes one eligibility feed while Scale includes three (more are $75 a month each). Launch doesn't include employer billing. Atlas.md's published pricing doesn't mention employer contracts, so if you're courting a local business, ask Atlas.md to walk you through enrolling a group and sending one monthly invoice.
Can you use Atlas.md and Hint together?
Not in a way we'd recommend. We found no published sync between Atlas.md and Hint, and since membership billing is already part of Atlas.md's per-provider price, adding Hint on top would mean paying for billing twice and keeping two member lists in step by hand. Tools that were never built to talk to each other turn that into daily copy-and-paste work for your front desk.
Where Hint does pair well with another system is its billing-only Core plans, which other EMRs use. Hint syncs contact details, membership status and plan name with Elation, for example, which we cover in Elation vs Hint. If you're moving from one of these systems to the other, plan a short overlap rather than a long one, and read how to switch DPC EMRs first.
Who each one is best for
Atlas.md is best for solo and small clinics that want one vendor and one per-provider price, practices that dispense a lot in house, and owners who want to keep card processing costs low as the panel grows. Plan for the separate ePrescribing and PDMP fees in your first year.
Hint is best for practices with more complicated memberships (annual plans, discounts, contract terms), clinics selling to employers, and new practices that like paying nothing until launch. If you never plan to work with employers, Launch's flat $290 with unlimited members is the closest match to Atlas.md's model.
Our take
These two are closer than their reputations suggest. Atlas.md wins on predictable cost and dispensing, especially once your panel is big enough that processing fees dwarf the subscription. Hint wins on billing flexibility and employer contracts, which can be the difference between a full panel and a waiting list. Price both at your target panel size, then let the employer question break the tie. Our best DPC EMR guide shows where both sit among the other options.
The part most guides skip
Every tool in a DPC clinic is good at its own job, and none of them were built to talk to each other. A patient text turns into a refill in the chart, which needs a review, which needs a reply, and the follow-up lives in someone's head. That isn't anyone's fault. The tools just don't share a to-do list.
That's the job Tabflows does. Tabflows is a dedicated tech team for DPC clinics. We connect the tools you already chose and give your team one place for chat, tasks and patient context, with managed workflows for the repeat work like refills, lab follow-ups and onboarding. You keep every tool you picked.
Frequently asked questions
Is Atlas.md or Hint cheaper for a DPC practice?
On subscription alone they're close. Atlas.md is $300 a month per provider with unlimited patients, and Hint's Launch plan is $290 a month with one clinician and unlimited members. Atlas.md charges separately for ePrescribing setup and renewal, while Hint charges a higher card processing rate, so the cheaper one depends on your panel size and how members pay.
Does Atlas.md include membership billing?
Yes. Atlas.md's published price includes membership billing, with subscription prorating and fixed-rate billing options. Card payments are 2.1% plus 30 cents and ACH payments are 1.1% plus 30 cents.
Which is better for in-house dispensing, Atlas.md or Hint?
Both include it. Atlas.md advertises unlimited inventory, prescriptions and dispensing in its per-provider price, and Hint includes medication inventory and dispensing with its EMR. Test a real dispensing workflow on both demos.
Does Hint or Atlas.md handle employer contracts?
Hint's Pro and Scale plans include employer-sponsored memberships with employer enrollment, eligibility autosync and consolidated billing. Employer billing isn't described on Atlas.md's published pricing, so ask on the demo how it handles a group contract.
Can I try Atlas.md or Hint for free?
Atlas.md offers 30 days free before your practice launches. Hint lets you get started and pay nothing until you launch.