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Healthcare · head to head

GNU Health vs Nookal

GNU Health logo

GNU Health

Healthcare

Free hospital and health information system from a small NGO, built on the Tryton framework

From
Free
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

  • Only GNU Health has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: GNU Health development depends on GNU Solidario, a very small nonprofit funded by donations and training, so release cadence and long-term continuity are tied to a handful of people rather than to an engineering organisation.; 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: GNU Health covers Electronic medical record, Nookal covers Per practitioner pricing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which GNU Health and Nookal actually diverge.

Attributes where GNU Health and Nookal differ
AttributeGNU HealthNookal
Starting priceFree49/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer user per month
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Web, Self-hostedWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Healthcare).

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 GNU Health

  • Electronic medical record
  • Hospital management
  • Laboratory information system
  • Social medicine modules
  • Tryton business modules
  • Health federation
  • ICD and standards support
  • Modular installation

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.

GNU Health

  • A public hospital in a low-resource setting that cannot fund commercial EMR licensing and has in-house Linux capabilitynot Nookal
  • A ministry building a national health network where source code inspection and data sovereignty are policy requirementsnot Nookal
  • A university teaching health informatics that needs a complete, inspectable system rather than a vendor demonstrationnot Nookal
  • A community health programme that needs socioeconomic determinants recorded alongside clinical datanot Nookal

Nookal

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

Where each one falls short

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

GNU Health

  • Development depends on GNU Solidario, a very small nonprofit funded by donations and training, so release cadence and long-term continuity are tied to a handful of people rather than to an engineering organisation.
  • It is built on Tryton, a framework few health IT staff know, so hiring or contracting people who can extend and maintain it is materially harder than for a mainstream stack.
  • Installation, upgrades and database administration assume Linux and Python competence, which puts the real cost on staffing rather than on licensing and defeats hospitals that lack that team.
  • The interface is functional rather than designed, and clinician acceptance is a genuine deployment risk compared with commercial systems that have invested heavily in usability.
  • Certification, regulatory conformance and interoperability testing that some jurisdictions demand of clinical systems are not provided by a vendor, so the adopting institution has to carry that work and that liability itself.

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

GNU Health

Free
  • GNU HealthFree
    • GNU GPL licence
    • All modules included
    • No patient, bed or user limits
  • Support and training$undefined/year
    • Paid support and implementation from GNU Solidario
    • Training courses and certification
    • Quoted per institution

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 GNU Health if

  • You need electronic medical record.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want hospital management.
GNU Health 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 GNU Health or Nookal better?
Neither clearly leads. GNU Health starts at Free and Nookal at 49/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GNU Health or Nookal?
GNU Health has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for GNU Health and 49/month for Nookal.
Does GNU Health or Nookal run on more platforms?
GNU Health runs on Linux, Web, Self-hosted. Nookal runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use GNU Health for free?
Yes. GNU Health has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Nookal starts at 49/month.
What is GNU Health best used for?
GNU Health is most often used for a public hospital in a low-resource setting that cannot fund commercial emr licensing and has in-house linux capability, a ministry building a national health network where source code inspection and data sovereignty are policy requirements, a university teaching health informatics that needs a complete, inspectable system rather than a vendor demonstration, a community health programme that needs socioeconomic determinants recorded alongside clinical data. Of those, a public hospital in a low-resource setting that cannot fund commercial emr licensing and has in-house linux capability and a ministry building a national health network where source code inspection and data sovereignty are policy requirements are not what Nookal is typically brought in for.
What can GNU Health do that Nookal cannot?
GNU Health covers Electronic medical record, Hospital management, Laboratory information system, Social medicine modules. Nookal covers Per practitioner pricing, Clinical notes, Online booking, Automated recalls.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

GNU Health: Who develops GNU Health?

GNU Solidario, a Spanish nonprofit NGO, as an official GNU package under the GPL.

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.

GNU Health: Is there commercial support?

Yes, in a limited form, from GNU Solidario itself and a small number of implementers. It is not a vendor support organisation.

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.

GNU Health: What is it built on?

Tryton, a Python business application framework, which is where its accounting, stock and HR modules come from.

Nookal: Is there a contract?

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

GNU Health: Is it suitable for a large hospital?

It is deployed in hospitals, but the deciding factor is whether you have internal Linux, Python and Tryton capability rather than the size of the institution.

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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