The short version
Choose BCeph if you want a free cephalometric tool that runs in your browser, keeps patient X-rays on your own device, and gives you 14 analyses from a single manual tracing — no account, no per-image cost, no software to install. It's a strong fit for students, residents, and clinicians who want control over every landmark.
Stay on WebCeph if you need AI automatic tracing for high-volume work, visual treatment simulation and superimposition, a registered FDA-cleared medical device, or an interface in a language other than English.
Both trace the same cephalograms and compute the same established analyses. The real question isn't which is "better" — it's whether you value speed and automation (WebCeph) or cost, privacy, and manual control (BCeph).
BCeph vs WebCeph at a glance
The table below summarises the differences that actually change your workflow. WebCeph facts are drawn from WebCeph's public pricing and product pages; where a figure is not published, the cell is left qualitative rather than guessed.
| BCeph | WebCeph | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (currently free during beta) | Free tier, plus paid plans from $9.99 to $19.99 per month |
| Tracing method | Manual — you place every landmark | AI automatic tracing (clinician can adjust) |
| Analyses | 14 | Multiple established analyses (exact count not published) |
| Landmarks | 33 | Auto-detected landmark set |
| Data model | Local-first — X-rays in your browser (IndexedDB); analysis data optionally syncs to your private Google Firebase; no BAA | Cloud — images uploaded to WebCeph servers for processing |
| Account required | No (optional sign-in for backup) | Yes |
| Platform | Any modern browser | Browser, plus native iOS and Android apps and a desktop app on the top tier |
| Superimposition / VTO | Not offered | Yes — VTO/STO simulation and automatic superimposition |
| Regulatory status | Not a registered medical device | FDA 510(k) cleared (K220903) |
| Languages | English | 21 interface languages |
WebCeph pricing and feature details verified from webceph.com at the time of writing. Verify current details with the vendor before purchasing.
Where BCeph is the stronger choice
BCeph is not trying to out-feature WebCeph. It is built to do the core diagnostic workflow — trace a lateral cephalogram and read the numbers — for free and in private. Five things make it the better tool for a large group of clinicians.
It is genuinely free
There is no per-image charge, no paywalled analysis, and no subscription. Every one of the 14 analyses is available to every user, which matters most for residents tracing dozens of practice cases and for teaching programmes that cannot license software for every student.
It is private by default
BCeph is local-first. With no account, your X-ray stays in your browser's local storage (IndexedDB) and nothing is uploaded. If you choose to sign in for cloud backup, your analysis data syncs to your own private Google Firebase account — BCeph holds no Business Associate Agreement, so you should use anonymised case IDs rather than patient names. The full data architecture is set out on the privacy page. A cloud-only tool like WebCeph, by contrast, uploads every image to its servers to work at all.
Manual tracing is clinician-verified
Because you place each landmark yourself, the tracing that produces your numbers is one you have personally checked. There is no automated placement to second-guess and no soft-tissue point quietly misread by a model on a low-contrast film.
There is no account to start
Open the tool, load a cephalogram, and trace. No sign-up, no email, no trial clock — sign-in exists only if you want cross-device backup.
Fourteen analyses from one tracing
A single set of 33 landmarks drives Steiner, Ricketts, McNamara, Downs, Tweed, Björk-Jarabak, Wits, Eastman, Holdaway, E-Line, Kim, ABO, Nagasaki, and Radney, against 5 normative profiles — with a print-ready PDF report at the end. See the full breakdown in the cephalometric software comparison and the guide to free cephalometric software.
Where WebCeph is the stronger choice
WebCeph is a mature, capable platform, and for several use cases it is the better fit. Being straight about that is the point of this page.
AI automatic tracing. WebCeph's core draw is speed: its AI places landmarks automatically in seconds, where BCeph asks you to place all 33 by hand. For a high-volume practice tracing many cephalograms a week, that time saving is real and BCeph does not attempt to match it.
Regulatory clearance. WebCeph is registered as a medical device and is FDA 510(k) cleared. If your workflow, institution, or jurisdiction requires a cleared medical device, that is a distinction BCeph does not currently hold.
Treatment simulation and superimposition. WebCeph includes visual treatment simulation (VTO) and automatic superimposition of serial records. BCeph focuses on analysis and reporting and does not offer surgical/orthodontic prediction imaging.
Language and mobile reach. WebCeph supports a large number of interface languages and ships native iOS and Android apps. BCeph is English-only and browser-based (it runs in a mobile browser, but there is no dedicated app).
Track record. WebCeph has been in clinical use for years and has been examined in numerous peer-reviewed accuracy studies. BCeph is newer and does not yet have that published body of validation.
If any of those are decisive for you, WebCeph is the right tool, and BCeph is unlikely to change that.
Manual vs. AI tracing: the real tradeoff
The clearest difference between the two tools is who places the landmarks, and it is worth understanding rather than glossing over.
WebCeph's AI traces automatically; BCeph is manual by design. Faster is not automatically better here, for two reasons.
First, AI landmark detection is not infallible. The peer-reviewed literature on automated cephalometric tracing, including studies of WebCeph itself, consistently finds that fully automatic output benefits from clinician review and manual adjustment before the numbers are trusted, particularly on soft-tissue points and non-ideal films. In practice, careful users of any AI ceph tool verify the landmarks anyway. BCeph simply makes that verification the default rather than a second step.
Second, for residents and students, placing landmarks by hand is how the skill is learned. Reading a cephalogram, finding sella, nasion, or A-point on a real film, and understanding why a landmark sits where it does is core orthodontic training that automatic tracing quietly removes. This is why BCeph keeps tracing manual, and why it is a genuinely good fit for teaching programs, not a limitation to apologize for.
The honest summary: if you want maximum speed on a trusted, high-volume workflow, AI tracing wins. If you want a free tool that keeps you (or your residents) in control of every point, manual tracing is a feature, not a shortcoming.
Pricing compared
BCeph is free to use — there is no subscription and no per-case charge, and it is currently free during beta. WebCeph offers a free tier and three paid subscription tiers.
BCeph
- All 14 analyses, no feature gating
- 33 landmarks, 5 normative profiles
- Print-ready PDF reports, CSV and JSON export
- No account required; optional private cloud backup
WebCeph
- Free tier with AI tracing and core analyses
- Plus — $9.99/month
- Premium — $14.99/month
- Elite — $19.99/month (adds 3D and a desktop app)
WebCeph prices exclude VAT and are per the vendor's published pricing at the time of writing.
Switching from WebCeph
There is nothing to migrate. BCeph traces from the original cephalogram, not from another tool's export, so you do not need to move landmark files, analysis records, or account data. Open BCeph, upload the same lateral X-ray you would use in WebCeph, place the landmarks, and your analyses compute immediately. No account setup, no import step, no data to reconcile — you are tracing within a minute of loading the page.