Looking for a LabStar Alternative? LabStar Was Shut Down in 2024 — Here Is Where That Leaves You

First, the thing nobody tells you: LabStar is gone

If you are searching for LabStar in 2026, start here. You cannot buy it, and you cannot log in to it.

• January 2023 — 3Shape acquired LabStar. It stopped being sold as an independent product.
• July 2023 — LabStar was rebranded 3Shape LMS, and customer migration began.
• 31 August 2024 — all remaining LabStar sites reached end of life. The sites and the data on them were permanently deleted.

Sources: the 3Shape acquisition announcement and the LabStar-to-3Shape-LMS transition FAQ.

This matters for a practical reason: a lot of the LabStar pricing and feature comparisons still floating around the web describe a product that has not been on sale since 2023. Treat any LabStar price you find as historical, not as a quote you can act on.

So what should a small lab do now?

Roughly three situations:

• You migrated to 3Shape LMS. Your data went with you and 3Shape holds it. If you also run 3Shape scanners or CAD, staying inside one vendor's ecosystem is a genuine advantage.
• You are re-opening the decision. A forced migration is a fair moment to ask whether the software still fits the lab you actually run today.
• You never migrated. Your old site and its data are gone, so there is no switching cost holding you anywhere. You get to choose on merit.

What small labs actually need

The original version of this post argued that "enterprise" lab software is built for 50-person operations and oversized for a 3-person team. That argument still holds — it just needs to be aimed at the products that exist now rather than at LabStar.

If you are a small lab (1-10 technicians), these are the questions worth asking any vendor you shortlist:

Question	Why it matters for a small lab
What is the seat model?	If every dentist who logs in costs you money, growth gets expensive. In SimpleLabOS, doctor-portal logins are free and unlimited — only lab staff use paid seats.
Is there a setup fee or an annual contract?	SimpleLabOS has a $0 setup fee, no annual contract, and you can cancel anytime. Ask every other vendor the same question in writing.
What does it cost per month?	SimpleLabOS is $29/mo, $69/mo, or $149/mo. 3Shape lists LMS from €79/month for 100 cases on its own site, flagged there as a limited-time discount — check it directly, in your currency.
Can I get my data out?	The single clearest lesson of the LabStar shutdown. Before you sign anything, find out how you export your records — and pull an export before you ever cancel.
How does the trial work?	SimpleLabOS has a 14-day trial. A card is required to start, but it is not charged during the trial and you can cancel before it ends.

Being straight about migration

We have no data-import tool for LabStar or 3Shape LMS, and no service that moves your case history for you. We are not going to pretend otherwise to win a signup.

What we do import is your price list from Excel — products, prices, quantity tiers, and per-doctor pricing — which is usually the most tedious part of standing up any new system. Most labs that come to us start with their doctor list and their open cases, run both systems in parallel for a couple of weeks, and leave closed history where it already sits. If you want to talk that through before deciding anything, get in touch and we will tell you honestly what is and is not possible.

Try before you commit

Not ready to pick anything? Fair. We publish free Excel templates and a free interactive tooth chart. Try them. No signup required.

When you want the full picture on the LabStar shutdown and how SimpleLabOS stacks up against 3Shape LMS, read what happened to LabStar.