MicroDicom alternative — free, in-browser, no install

The MicroDicom job without the Windows install — open a study, scroll slices, anonymize, export PDF
Any operating system, nothing to install
Free for everyday use — exports and whole-study ZIPs use a one-time license
Private by design — patient data never leaves your device

Drag & drop a DICOM folder here

a whole study at once — loose files, extensionless files and DICOMDIR work too

Your files never leave your device — everything is parsed locally in your browser.

Series

#	Patient	Study date	Modality	Series	Slices	Size

Click a series to read it — scroll on the image to step through slices.

DCMView vs MicroDicom

Facts about MicroDicom come from its official website, EULA and online store (microdicom.com); both tools read files locally — the difference is install, platform and the license terms.

	MicroDicom	DCMView (this page)
Installation	Windows installer (~25 MB); portable ZIP and CD/DVD/USB autorun packages available	None — runs in the browser tab you're reading now
Platform	Windows Vista–11; macOS only via Wine/CrossOver	Any OS with a modern browser — Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS
Pricing model	Free for non-commercial (personal/educational) use; commercial use requires a paid license key — from US$89 per license, with volume discounts (perpetual, 12 months of updates included)	Free for any use, commercial included; batch exports (PDF report, study ZIP) free up to 300 files, unlimited with a one-time $9.99 lifetime license
Privacy	Desktop app — files are read locally on your PC	Files are parsed locally in the browser tab — nothing is ever uploaded, which you can verify in the Network tab
Advanced imaging	MPR, 3D volume rendering, PET-CT image fusion, measurements, cine loop	2D slice viewing: window/level presets, zoom, pan, cine-style scroll, full metadata
Extras	PACS client (incl. DICOMweb), DICOM tag editor, video export, Windows shell extension	Built-in anonymizer and PDF/PNG/JPG export, in the same page

When MicroDicom is the better choice

A free desktop viewer for personal use on Windows — if you are on a Windows PC and your use is non-commercial, MicroDicom is genuinely free and far more feature-rich than this site; installing it is a fine choice.
Advanced reconstructions — MPR, 3D volume rendering and PET-CT fusion are MicroDicom territory; DCMView is a 2D file viewer and is not intended for diagnostic use.
PACS and DICOMweb workflows — MicroDicom queries, retrieves and sends studies over DICOM and DICOMweb protocols; this site works on folders you already have.
Editing DICOM tags or integrating with File Explorer — the tag editor and shell extension are desktop-only features; and MicroDicom's autorun package suits studies distributed on CD/DVD/USB.

For a quick look at a study on any machine — a Mac, a Linux box, a work PC without install rights — the browser tab above is the faster path, and it stays free even for commercial use.

How it works

Drop a study folder

A whole CT/MR study at once — files are parsed on the spot by JavaScript in this tab and grouped into series, in the scanner's own slice order. Nothing is uploaded, ever.

Read it like a workstation

Scroll the mouse wheel to step through slices, drag on the image to adjust window/level (contrast), use the Soft tissue / Lung / Bone / Brain presets, zoom with Ctrl+scroll — the same gestures MicroDicom and every desktop viewer use.

Anonymize or export

Strip identifying tags from a file free, export the current slice as PNG/JPG/PDF free, or unlock the series level: the whole study anonymized as a ZIP, or the full series as one PDF report with a cover page.

Simple pricing

The viewer, single-slice exports (PNG/JPG/PDF) and the single-file anonymizer are free — for commercial use too — and so are batch exports up to 300 files per batch. A one-time $9.99 lifts the limit: unlimited batch size, GB-scale studies.

Free

Open whole study folders, unlimited files
Scroll slices, window/level, zoom, full metadata
Single-slice exports: PNG, JPG, one-page PDF
Single-file anonymizer — strip identifying tags
PDF reports + anonymized ZIPs up to 300 files per batch
No account, no upload, no watermark

Lifetime license

$9.99 one-time · forever

Unlimited batch size — whole folders with directory structure
GB-scale studies in one export
Full-series PDF reports + anonymized ZIPs, any size
Pay once, use forever — no subscription

Get lifetime exports — $9.99

By purchasing you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Full refund within 14 days if it can't handle your files.

Frequently asked questions

Is this MicroDicom alternative free for commercial use?

Yes. MicroDicom itself is free only for non-commercial (personal and educational) use — commercial use requires buying a license key, starting at US$89 per license per its online store. DCMView's viewer is free for any use, commercial included: open whole study folders, scroll slices, window/level, full metadata, single-slice exports (PNG/JPG/one-page PDF) and single-file anonymizing, no account. Batch exports — the full-series PDF report and the whole-study anonymized ZIP — are free up to 300 files per batch; larger batches need a one-time $9.99 lifetime license.

What does MicroDicom do that DCMView doesn't?

MicroDicom is a full-featured Windows desktop application: MPR (multiplanar reconstruction), 3D volume rendering, PET-CT image fusion, a PACS client (including DICOMweb), a DICOM tag editor, video export (WMV/AVI/MP4), a Windows shell extension and a CD/DVD/USB autorun package. DCMView is deliberately simpler: fast 2D slice viewing with window/level, the full metadata table, anonymizing, and PDF/PNG/JPG export — in a browser tab. It is not a medical device and is not intended for diagnostic use.

Does it work on macOS or Linux?

DCMView does — it runs in any modern browser on any operating system. MicroDicom is a Windows application (Windows Vista through 11); on macOS it can only run through a Wine/CrossOver compatibility layer, per its own website. If you are on a Mac or a Linux box, or on a PC where you cannot install software, the browser viewer is the simpler path.

Do my files get uploaded anywhere?

No. The files are parsed and rendered entirely by JavaScript running in your browser tab; no file bytes are ever transmitted. You can verify this yourself: open your browser's developer tools (Network tab), load a study, and watch — nothing is sent anywhere. Details in the privacy policy.

Can it open the CD my hospital gave me?

Yes. Copy the CD contents to a folder (or open it in place), then drop the whole folder onto the box above — loose files, extensionless files and the DICOMDIR index all work, and files are grouped into series in the scanner's own slice order. Two honest limits: slices stored with JPEG/RLE compressed pixel data or a YBR color space show their full metadata but not the image, and the viewer says so explicitly.

Can I anonymize files or export a PDF, like in MicroDicom?

Yes — both are built into the same viewer, under the Export menu. Anonymizing a single .dcm file (identifying tags stripped, cleaned file downloaded) and exporting the current slice as PNG, JPG or a one-page PDF are free. The batch level — a whole-study anonymized ZIP, or the full series as one PDF report with a cover page — is free up to 300 files per batch and unlocks unlimited size with the one-time $9.99 license. Everything, including the PDF, is produced locally in your browser. See the anonymizer page and the DICOM to PDF page for details.