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Veterinary · head to head

Instinct Science vs Nookal

Instinct Science logo

Instinct Science

Veterinary

Veterinary EMR built for emergency and specialty hospitals, plus Plumbs drug reference

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: Instinct Science no pricing is published at all, so a practice cannot compare it against published competitors without a demo and a sales conversation.; 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: Instinct Science covers Instinct Treatment Plan, Nookal covers Per practitioner pricing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Instinct Science and Nookal actually diverge.

Attributes where Instinct Science and Nookal differ
AttributeInstinct ScienceNookal
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 Instinct Science

  • Instinct Treatment Plan
  • Charge capture from treatments
  • Instinct EMR
  • Primary care edition
  • Plumbs drug reference
  • ScribbleVet
  • Standards

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.

Instinct Science

  • A twenty four hour emergency hospital where treatments are ordered on a sheet and currently reconciled to invoices by hand at dischargenot Nookal
  • A specialty referral centre running multiple services on one hospitalised patient that needs a shared, current treatment plan across shiftsnot Nookal
  • A hospital losing measurable revenue to missed charge capture on inpatient treatments and fluidsnot Nookal
  • A practice that already relies on Plumbs for dosing and wants drug reference and interaction checking inside the record rather than in a separate tabnot Nookal

Nookal

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

Where each one falls short

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

Instinct Science

  • No pricing is published at all, so a practice cannot compare it against published competitors without a demo and a sales conversation.
  • The design centres on inpatient treatment sheets, so an appointment driven general practice pays for strength in a workflow it barely uses and should evaluate the primary care edition on its own merits rather than the hospital reputation.
  • Retail, inventory and reminder marketing workflows are thinner than in long established general practice systems, so a practice with a significant shop or food business may need workarounds.
  • Plumbs and ScribbleVet are separately licensed even though the same company owns them, so the tidy single vendor story still arrives as more than one line on the invoice.
  • It is a smaller vendor than the corporate owned incumbents, which is an advantage on responsiveness and a risk on acquisition, and veterinary software has consolidated heavily in recent years.

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

Instinct Science

On request
  • Instinct EMR$undefined/year
    • Quoted through a demo and sales process, nothing published
    • Priced by practice size and modules taken
    • Plumbs and ScribbleVet are separately licensed products from the same company

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 Instinct Science if

  • You need instinct treatment plan.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want charge capture from treatments.
Instinct Science 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 Instinct Science or Nookal better?
Neither clearly leads. Instinct Science 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, Instinct Science or Nookal?
Instinct Science starts at On request and Nookal at 49/month.
Does Instinct Science or Nookal run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Instinct Science best used for?
Instinct Science is most often used for a twenty four hour emergency hospital where treatments are ordered on a sheet and currently reconciled to invoices by hand at discharge, a specialty referral centre running multiple services on one hospitalised patient that needs a shared, current treatment plan across shifts, a hospital losing measurable revenue to missed charge capture on inpatient treatments and fluids, a practice that already relies on plumbs for dosing and wants drug reference and interaction checking inside the record rather than in a separate tab. Of those, a twenty four hour emergency hospital where treatments are ordered on a sheet and currently reconciled to invoices by hand at discharge and a specialty referral centre running multiple services on one hospitalised patient that needs a shared, current treatment plan across shifts are not what Nookal is typically brought in for.
What can Instinct Science do that Nookal cannot?
Instinct Science covers Instinct Treatment Plan, Charge capture from treatments, Instinct EMR, Primary care edition. Nookal covers Per practitioner pricing, Clinical notes, Online booking, Automated recalls.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Instinct Science: Is Instinct only for emergency hospitals?

No, there is a primary care edition, but the product design and its main advantage come from inpatient treatment sheets and hospital workflows.

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.

Instinct Science: Is pricing published?

No. Everything runs through a demo and a quote.

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.

Instinct Science: Does it include Plumbs?

Instinct Science owns Plumbs, but it is licensed separately rather than bundled into the EMR by default.

Nookal: Is there a contract?

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

Instinct Science: What is the main reason practices switch to it?

Charge capture. Treatments recorded on the digital treatment sheet become charges automatically, which recovers revenue that paper sheets lose.

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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