Free DICOM viewer for charitable and research institutions
The SoftDicom software, free — 1 licence per institution, as a yearly (12-month) subscription.
We provide the SoftDicom software free of charge to registered charities, teaching hospitals, universities and individual researchers. For everyone else SoftDicom is a one-time purchase. This page explains both — and gives an honest account of the free DICOM viewers you can download today.
Quick Summary
The SoftDicom software is free for registered charities, teaching hospitals, universities and individual researchers: one licence per institution, as a yearly subscription at no charge. Apply with your institution’s registration number, a request on institutional letterhead and an institutional email address. If you also need the SoftDicom drive, the hardware is supplied at cost. For everyone else, SoftDicom is a one-time purchase.
What are the best free DICOM viewers?
Weasis, Horos and OsiriX Lite are the 3 free options most people mean, and they are capable pieces of software. If you own the computer you work on and you are happy to install an application, one of them may suit you better than anything you pay for, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise.
What they have in common is the installation. That is the whole distinction. SoftDicom runs from its own drive, so it is the answer when installing is the obstacle — a managed hospital machine you do not administer, or a conference laptop that is not yours — and when the same studies have to open on Windows, macOS and Linux from one device.
We compare them one by one:
The free programme, in full
The free programme has 6 terms in total. They are all listed below; there is nothing else to read.
- What is freeThe SoftDicom software
- Who can applyRegistered charities, teaching hospitals, universities, and individual researchers
- How manyOne per institution
- For how longA yearly subscription, at no charge
- HardwareIf you also need the SoftDicom drive, it is supplied at cost
- What you send usYour institution’s registration number, the request on institutional letterhead, and an institutional email address
Apply
Tell us about your institution. Our team replies from sales@jvsgroup.com and will ask for the letterhead copy of your request when they do.
A request needs 3 things, and your institution must be one of 4 kinds:
- Your institution is a registered charity, a teaching hospital, a university, or you are an individual researcher.
- Your institution’s registration number.
- The request written on institutional letterhead.
- An institutional email address to reply to.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SoftDicom free?
The SoftDicom software is provided free of charge to registered charities, teaching hospitals, universities and individual researchers, as a yearly (12-month) subscription, one per institution. For everyone else SoftDicom is a one-time purchase. If your institution also needs the SoftDicom drive itself, the hardware is supplied at cost.
What are the best free DICOM viewers?
Weasis, Horos and OsiriX Lite are the 3 free options most people mean, and they are capable pieces of software. What they have in common is that you install them, on a computer you are allowed to install software on. SoftDicom is the better answer when installation is the obstacle — a managed machine you do not administer — or when the same studies have to open on Windows, macOS and Linux.
Who counts as a charitable or research institution?
4 kinds of applicant qualify: registered charities, teaching hospitals, universities, and individual researchers. If you are unsure whether your organisation qualifies, apply and say so in the form; we would rather answer the question than have you not ask it.
What do I need to send with my request?
3 things: your institution’s registration number, the request on institutional letterhead, and an institutional email address. The form below collects the first and the third; our team will ask for the letterhead copy when they reply.
Is there any cost at all?
The software is free. The only thing that can carry a cost is hardware: if your institution also needs the SoftDicom drive (480 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB), it is supplied at cost. Nothing is charged for the software licence or its yearly renewal.
How long does the subscription last?
The free licence runs as a yearly (12-month) subscription provided at no charge, one per institution.
Not a charity or a university?
SoftDicom is a one-time purchase. Choose one of 3 capacities — 480 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB — and it ships ready to use.