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Veterinary · head to head

Hippo Manager vs Nookal

Hippo Manager logo

Hippo Manager

Veterinary

Cloud veterinary practice management software with flat per-user pricing

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Nookal logo

Nookal

Healthcare

Australian allied health practice management priced per practitioner with usage charges on top

From
49/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Hippo Manager pricing is per user, so a practice with a rota of part-time technicians and relief veterinarians pays full seats for people who log in a few times a month.; Nookal the features most multi-practitioner clinics need, including advanced reporting, custom forms and automated recalls, are held back to the Professional tier, so the AUD 49 entry price is not a realistic budget for anything beyond a solo practice.
  • They diverge on capability: Hippo Manager covers Cloud patient records, Nookal covers Per practitioner pricing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hippo Manager and Nookal actually diverge.

Attributes where Hippo Manager and Nookal differ
AttributeHippo ManagerNookal
Starting priceOn request49/month
Pricing modelquotePer user per month
CategoryVeterinaryHealthcare

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Hippo Manager

  • Cloud patient records
  • Scheduling
  • Invoicing and payments
  • Inventory
  • Laboratory results
  • Reporting

Only in Nookal

  • Per practitioner pricing
  • Clinical notes
  • Online booking
  • Automated recalls
  • KPI dashboards
  • Claiming
  • Patient portal
  • AI and voice

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Hippo Manager

  • A new clinic opening with no server, no IT provider and a need to be running within weeksnot Nookal
  • A mobile or house call veterinarian working from a tablet between appointmentsnot Nookal
  • A two doctor practice replacing a legacy on-premise system and wanting predictable monthly costnot Nookal
  • A veterinary teaching programme needing many inexpensive logins on shared recordsnot Nookal

Nookal

  • A three to ten practitioner physiotherapy clinic in Australia that wants Medicare claiming and published pricing rather than a quote processnot Hippo Manager
  • A New Zealand practice that needs ACC claim submission integrated with its clinical notes and billingnot Hippo Manager
  • A chiropractic group opening a second location that wants shared patient records and one reporting view across sitesnot Hippo Manager
  • A UK or Irish allied health clinic that wants an Australian-style clinical workflow with GBP or EUR billingnot Hippo Manager

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Hippo Manager

  • Pricing is per user, so a practice with a rota of part-time technicians and relief veterinarians pays full seats for people who log in a few times a month.
  • Inpatient and treatment sheet workflows are lighter than in systems built for referral and emergency hospitals, which pushes overnight care onto paper.
  • The integration catalogue is short relative to the larger cloud platforms, so a practice with an existing imaging, communications or payment preference may find no connector.
  • Multi-location reporting is basic, which limits its usefulness to a group beyond a handful of sites that wants consolidated production figures.
  • As a browser only system it stops when the internet does, and a practice without a backup connection loses records, scheduling and invoicing at the same time.

Nookal

  • The features most multi-practitioner clinics need, including advanced reporting, custom forms and automated recalls, are held back to the Professional tier, so the AUD 49 entry price is not a realistic budget for anything beyond a solo practice.
  • Add-ons stack quickly: AI and voice at about USD 25 per active licence, the patient portal from USD 10 per location and secure messaging from USD 1.50 per user can push a seat close to double its list price.
  • Pricing is not a simple currency conversion, with the USD Essentials tier at 65 and Professional at 89 against AUD 49 and 59, so overseas clinics pay a meaningful premium for the same software.
  • Messaging and claiming are metered per SMS and per claim, so a clinic that leans on reminders to control no-shows finds a variable line item that grows with appointment volume and is easy to underestimate at purchase.
  • Single sign-on is quoted rather than listed and sits with the Enterprise tier, which puts basic identity governance out of reach for mid-sized groups that would otherwise stay on Professional.

Pricing, plan by plan

Hippo Manager

On request
  • Hippo Manager$undefined/month
    • Flat monthly subscription charged per user
    • Core clinical, billing and inventory functionality included
    • Data conversion and onboarding quoted separately

Nookal

49/month
  • Essentials$49/month
    • Per practitioner per month
    • Appointments, patient records and invoicing
    • Online booking
  • Professional$59/month
    • Per practitioner per month
    • Advanced reporting and KPI dashboards
    • Custom forms
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Quoted pricing
    • Multi-account management
    • Dedicated support

Which should you pick?

Choose Hippo Manager if

  • You need cloud patient records.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want scheduling.
Hippo Manager review

Choose Nookal if

  • You need per practitioner pricing.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want clinical notes.
Nookal review

Questions people ask

Is Hippo Manager or Nookal better?
Neither clearly leads. Hippo Manager starts at On request and Nookal at 49/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hippo Manager or Nookal?
Hippo Manager starts at On request and Nookal at 49/month.
Does Hippo Manager or Nookal run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Hippo Manager best used for?
Hippo Manager is most often used for a new clinic opening with no server, no it provider and a need to be running within weeks, a mobile or house call veterinarian working from a tablet between appointments, a two doctor practice replacing a legacy on-premise system and wanting predictable monthly cost, a veterinary teaching programme needing many inexpensive logins on shared records. Of those, a new clinic opening with no server, no it provider and a need to be running within weeks and a mobile or house call veterinarian working from a tablet between appointments are not what Nookal is typically brought in for.
What can Hippo Manager do that Nookal cannot?
Hippo Manager covers Cloud patient records, Scheduling, Invoicing and payments, Inventory. Nookal covers Per practitioner pricing, Clinical notes, Online booking, Automated recalls.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Hippo Manager: Is this veterinary software?

Yes. Hippo Manager is a veterinary practice management system for animal clinics, unrelated to similarly named products in other software categories.

Nookal: How much does Nookal cost per practitioner?

Essentials is AUD 49 per practitioner per month and Professional is AUD 59, with published equivalents of GBP 29 and 39, EUR 65 and 89, and USD 65 and 89. Enterprise is quoted.

Hippo Manager: How is it priced?

As a flat monthly fee per user with the feature set included, rather than a base licence plus paid modules.

Nookal: What is not included in the subscription?

SMS from about 7 cents per message, Medicare claims from about 10 cents, ACC claims at about 12 cents, the patient portal, secure messaging, AI and voice, and single sign-on are all charged separately.

Hippo Manager: Does it suit an emergency or referral hospital?

Not well. Inpatient workflow depth is limited and specialist practices should look at systems built for that setting.

Nookal: Is there a contract?

No lock-in contract, and the free trial does not require a credit card.

Hippo Manager: Is there an on-premise version?

No. It is browser only, which means no server to maintain and no offline working.

Nookal: Which countries does the claiming work in?

Medicare claiming is Australian and ACC claiming is New Zealand. Elsewhere the software works but you invoice and reconcile manually.

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