COMPARISONS
Subscription dental lab vs per-case lab: which billing model fits your practice
Per-case billing fits most general and specialty practices because volume is uneven month to month and you only pay for work you sent. Subscription or retainer billing fits high-volume restorative practices and small DSOs with predictable monthly unit counts, where the flat fe...
THE BOTTOM LINE
Per-case billing fits most general and specialty practices because volume is uneven month to month and you only pay for work you sent. Subscription or retainer billing fits high-volume restorative practices and small DSOs with predictable monthly unit counts, where the flat fee buys priority scheduling. Below roughly 80 units per month, per-case almost always costs less.
SIDE BY SIDE
Subscription lab billing vs Per-case lab billing
| Consideration | Subscription lab billing | Per-case lab billing |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Flat monthly fee for a unit allowance | Invoiced per case as work ships |
| Best fit volume | Roughly 80+ units per month, steady | Variable monthly volume, any size |
| Cost predictability | Fixed line item, easy to budget | Tracks actual case mix |
| Risk of overpaying | High in slow months and around holidays | Low, you only pay what you sent |
| Overage handling | Per-unit charges above the cap, often at a premium | Not applicable |
| Case mix flexibility | Often limited to listed procedures in the plan | Any case the lab offers |
| Priority scheduling | Usually included in the fee | Available via rush fees per case |
| Switching cost | Contract term, often 6 or 12 months | No commitment, leave after any case |
| Transparency on remakes | Varies, sometimes counted against the unit cap | Lab policy applies, billed or credited per case |
THE TRADE-OFFS
Where each one earns its place
<p>The billing model question is really a volume question. A solo restorative practice sending 30 to 60 units a month has uneven weeks, vacations, and seasonal slumps. A two-doctor implant practice or a 12-office DSO running standardized restorative workflows can forecast next month within 10%. Those are different problems.</p><p>Choose subscription billing when your monthly unit count has been steady for the last six months and sits comfortably above the plan's included allowance. Pick per-case billing when monthly volume swings more than 20%, when your case mix changes seasonally, or when you want the freedom to send complex anterior work to one lab and posterior work to another. Go with per-case when you are still evaluating a new lab, because a subscription contract locks you in before you have proof of fit.</p><p>For most general dentists at 40 to 70 units per month, per-case wins on math. For prosthodontists running heavy full-arch caseloads on a predictable cadence, a hybrid retainer can pencil out.</p>
<p>Dani Dental bills per case. Three generations on the bench since Sofia 1988 and Arizona 1993, and the pricing model has stayed the same because it is the honest one for the customer base we serve: general dentists, prosthodontists, oral surgeons, periodontists, and small DSOs whose monthly unit counts move with the calendar. You pay for the crown, the hybrid, the All-on-X arch we delivered. Nothing else.</p><p>Subscription billing is genuinely better for a narrow group: high-volume practices with steady forecasts who want one predictable line item and will use the full allowance every month. If that is you, a subscription lab may save administrative friction. For everyone else, the flat fee tends to subsidize the months you sent less than the cap. Our remake rate sits under 2.5% and every case ships with the technician's direct line, so the per-case invoice is the only number that changes month to month.</p>
IN PRACTICE
How it plays out on real cases
Worked case examples for this comparison are coming. Send us your case and we will show you exactly how each option would play out.
GO DEEPER
Read the full guide on all procedures
This comparison sits inside a larger procedure. The pillar page covers materials, turnaround, and how we build it to your spec.
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Send us the case and a named technician will tell you which option they would choose and why. First three cases ship on us, with pre-paid shipping and no contract.