Dental Lab Operating System
vs 3Shape LMS
Are you looking for a "Management Software" or a true "Operating System"?
See the breakdown of pricing, features, and freedom from vendor lock-in.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | SimpleLabOS | 3Shape LMS |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Cost | $29/mo | From $79/mo* |
| Setup Fee | $0 | Not published |
| Scanner brand required | None | Ask 3Shape |
| Case intake from 3Shape | Notification email only | |
| Case intake from Medit | Notification email only | Ask 3Shape |
| Case intake from iTero | Plain email text only | Ask 3Shape |
| Scanner API or platform account link | None | Ask 3Shape |
| Doctors submit prescriptions online | Ask 3Shape | |
| Inventory Management | Ask 3Shape | |
| Contract Required | None | Flexible |
* 3Shape publishes its LMS entry price as "from $79/month" based on 100 cases, alongside a "2 months free" promotion. Tiers scale from 100 cases up to unlimited, and regional pricing can differ, so confirm the current figure and currency with the vendor. SimpleLabOS pricing is published in US dollars on our pricing page.
Read this before you read anything else on the page
SimpleLabOS has no connection to 3Shape. No API, no LMS or Unite account link, no scan download. What it does is read the notification email a scanner platform sends your lab, and how much of a case that builds depends entirely on what the platform put in the mail. A Medit Link order request usually names the patient and the teeth. A 3Shape Communicate notice carries the practice, the operator, an order number and a link — nothing clinical — so it can only build a shell case that you finish by hand. If that is a dealbreaker for your lab, it should be one before you sign up, not after.
We wrote it out field by field: what we can and can't read from 3Shape, Medit and iTero notification emails.
What is the difference?
3Shape LMS (The "Ecosystem" Choice)
3Shape LMS (formerly LabStar) is a powerful tool designed to keep you within the 3Shape ecosystem. It is excellent if your lab is 100% 3Shape—scanners, design software, and production. It is also the only one of the two that talks to 3Shape's own platform directly: if what you need is a case, its scans and its chat all living inside one 3Shape account, that is what LMS is for and we do not do it. The trade-off arrives the moment you step outside that ecosystem (receiving an iTero scan, using exocad, buying a generic mill).
SimpleLabOS (The "Operating System" Choice)
SimpleLabOS is built on a different philosophy: Open Architecture. It sits underneath whatever your doctors already use rather than beside one vendor. Cases reach it three ways — a doctor filling in the online prescription form, a notification email from a scanner platform, or a member of your team typing one in — and once a case exists it runs the same production board, invoicing and doctor communication regardless of which scanner it came off. What it does not do is reach into a scanner platform and take a case out of it. That is the honest boundary, and the notification-email page above sets it out field by field.
Pricing Transparency
3Shape publishes an entry price of "from $79/month" based on 100 cases, with a "2 months free" promotion. Above that, tiers scale by case volume up to unlimited, and regional pricing can differ — so the number you actually pay depends on your volume and your region.
SimpleLabOS publishes its plans in US dollars from $29/mo. $0 setup fee. No annual contract.
True Independence
Don't let your software dictate your hardware. 3Shape LMS incentivizes you to buy more 3Shape gear.
SimpleLabOS works with whatever tools you choose to buy today or tomorrow.
A worked example: the mixed-scanner lab
The situation: Take a five-person lab with 3Shape design software whose doctors scan on five different intraoral scanner brands. This is the comparison as it would actually play out — not a customer story, just the arithmetic.
- With 3Shape LMS: The 3Shape cases have the smoothest path they will ever have. The non-3Shape scans are handled outside that path. Cost: the volume tier above the $79 entry rate, based on your case count.
- With SimpleLabOS: Every brand takes the same route in — the doctor's online prescription form, or the platform's notification email landing in the Scanner Inbox for a technician to turn into a case in a couple of clicks. No brand is privileged and none is automatic. Cost: $29/mo, published in US dollars.
The trade: A published flat rate, a $0 setup fee and one intake path for every brand — against giving up the deeper link 3Shape LMS has with 3Shape's own platform. If nearly all of your work arrives from 3Shape scanners, that link is worth paying for and you should. If it arrives from five brands, there is nothing for it to link to.
Which one is right for you?
Choose 3Shape LMS if...
- Your lab is 100% 3Shape hardware (scanners & mills)
- You want your cases, scans and case chat inside one 3Shape account
- You are a large enterprise (50+ people) needing complex departmental routing
- You have a dedicated IT team to handle setup
Choose SimpleLabOS if...
- Your work arrives from several scanner brands and none of them should get special treatment
- You are happy for doctors to send prescriptions through an online form rather than a scanner portal
- You want transparent, flat-rate pricing ($29/mo)
- You need to get up and running TODAY, not next month
- You want modern features like "Inventory Management" included
Frequently Asked Questions
Does SimpleLabOS integrate with 3Shape?
No. There is no 3Shape API, no link to a 3Shape LMS or Unite account, and no automatic download of scans. SimpleLabOS reads the 3Shape Communicate notification email your lab already receives and puts the practice, the operator, the operator's email, the order number, the 3Shape case ID and the link to the case onto a case in your inbox. The patient, the teeth, the shade, the material and the due date are not in that email — 3Shape keeps them behind the link — so you open the link and type those yourself. A lab left us because it expected more than that, which is why it is written here in plain language.
Then what does SimpleLabOS do with a 3Shape case?
It gives you the case record, the order number and a one-click link to the case in 3Shape, and you finish the case entry by hand. From then on the case runs like any other: production board, QC, invoicing, doctor messages, shipping. The part we save you is the admin, not the case entry. If you want a case that arrives with every field already filled in, the doctor portal is the path that actually does that — a real prescription form with tooth chart, material, shade, due date and file upload, at no cost to your doctors.
Does SimpleLabOS work with 3Shape scanners?
Your doctors keep scanning exactly as they do now, on whatever machine they own — nothing in SimpleLabOS touches the scanner. Cases reach the lab in one of three ways: the doctor fills in the online prescription form, the platform's notification email is forwarded to your lab's inbound address, or someone on your team types the case in. The case form also accepts a 3Shape or exocad order file and prefills what it can read from it, though we have not yet tested that against enough real exports to call it finished.
Do the scans come across?
No. A 3Shape Communicate or Medit Link notification carries no attachments at all — the scan stays on the platform, and the link on the case takes you to it in one click so you can download it there. Files a doctor attaches to an ordinary email, or uploads through the doctor portal, are stored on the case normally.
What is vendor lock-in and why should I care?
Vendor lock-in means your software only works well with one hardware brand. 3Shape LMS is optimized for the 3Shape ecosystem, and that is a genuine advantage if your lab is all 3Shape. SimpleLabOS has no scanner-brand allegiance because it has no scanner connection at all: cases arrive by prescription form, by notification email or by hand, and none of those care which machine did the scanning.
Is 3Shape LMS cheaper because it was LabStar?
3Shape acquired LabStar in January 2023 and rebranded it as 3Shape LMS. Customers were migrated from July 2023 and the old LabStar sites were shut down on 31 August 2024, so LabStar is no longer a product you can buy. On pricing, 3Shape publishes "from $79/month" based on 100 cases, with higher tiers as your case volume grows up to unlimited, and a "2 months free" promotion. Regional pricing can differ, so confirm the current number and currency with 3Shape or your reseller. SimpleLabOS starts at $29/mo in US dollars, published on our pricing page, with no per-case pricing.
Can I migrate from 3Shape LMS to SimpleLabOS?
You can start SimpleLabOS alongside your current system during the free trial and move new cases over as they come in. To be straight with you: we do not have a data-import tool for 3Shape LMS, so we cannot lift your closed case history across. What we can import is your product and price list from a spreadsheet. Most labs bring over their doctor list and open cases, then leave closed history in the old system for reference. Talk to us first and we will tell you honestly what the move would involve.
Does SimpleLabOS have inventory management?
Yes. SimpleLabOS includes inventory tracking for materials and supplies on every plan. Whether 3Shape LMS covers inventory depends on the package you are quoted, so check that against your own requirements with 3Shape or your reseller.