Bella Booking vs Nookal
Bella Booking vs Nookal
An honest comparison to help you choose the right salon, spa or clinic software for your business - whatever its size.
Quick facts at a glance
A side-by-side overview of key differences
Prices shown in USD unless marked A$
Bella Booking: Starter plan for 1-3 team members, Professional for 4+ (unlimited). Competitor pricing from official sources, verified August 2026.
Which is right for you?
An honest look at when each platform makes sense
Consider Bella Booking if...
- Deposit collection, gift cards and a dedicated business number - Nookal has no equivalent for any of them
- Zero commission on any bookings
- Simpler interface for non-clinical businesses
- Built-in online payments with Stripe (native)
- Deposit collection at booking time
- Memberships with recurring Stripe billing and online purchase
- Gift cards (digital, with online purchase and redemption)
- Loyalty programme included (Professional plan)
- AI Assistant for business insights and weekly digest
- Dedicated business phone number for two-way SMS
- SMS reminders included (50-500/month vs from A$0.07 each)
- Find a time wizard with gap-fill scoring
- Schedule optimisation modes
- Service variants with client eligibility
- Digital tipping
- Prepaid session packages with online purchase
- Accessibility features (dark mode, dyslexia fonts, themes)
- More affordable (A$25-99/month flat vs per-practitioner - a 6-practitioner team pays A$99 vs A$250.80 inc GST)
- Free onboarding on every plan, and free data migration on Starter and Professional
Consider Nookal if...
- You need full clinical documentation: per-discipline note templates and clinical letters
- You require Medicare, DVA, or HICAPS billing
- Exercise prescription is part of your workflow
- You run group classes (pilates, exercise physiology)
- You need outcome measures tracking
- AI-powered clinical note-taking would save you time
We believe in helping you find the right fit, even if it's not us.
Detailed feature comparison
A comprehensive look at what each platform offers
Scheduling & Booking
Client Management
Team Management
Payments & POS
Communication
Business Management
Platform & Support
Unique Features
Pricing breakdown
What you'll actually pay
Prices shown are starting prices. Bella Booking Starter includes up to 3 team members; Professional includes unlimited team members. Competitor pricing may vary based on team size.
Bella Booking
Solo (1 team): $25/month USD • Starter (1-3 team): $67/month USD • Professional (4+): $99/month USD
Nookal
Additional costs to consider
- • SMS charged per outbound message
- • AI + Voice, Patient Portal, Single Sign-On and Secure Messaging are all paid add-ons (Nookal prices add-ons per region)
- • Medicare/DVA claiming: AU-only feature
Pricing information based on publicly available data as of August 2026. Visit each provider's website for current pricing.
Cost comparison by team size
Team Size Pricing Comparison
Monthly cost for different team sizes
Note: how team member limits work
Plan limits count the team members on your Bella roster who are on the scheduler or bookable online: front desk, managers and bookkeepers don't count. The comparisons in this table assume everyone listed takes appointments.
| Team Size | Bella Booking | Nookal | Savings with Bella |
|---|---|---|---|
1 person | A$25/mo(Solo) | A$54/mo 1 practitioner on Essentials = A$53.90 (inc GST) | Save A$29/mo |
3 people | A$67/mo(Starter) | A$146/mo 3 practitioners on Essentials = A$146.30 (inc GST) | Save A$79/mo |
6 people | A$99/mo(Professional) | A$251/mo 6 practitioners on Essentials = A$250.80 (inc GST) | Save A$152/mo |
12 people | A$99/mo(Professional) | A$427/mo 12 practitioners on Essentials = A$426.80 (inc GST) | Save A$328/mo |
Annual savings with Bella Booking
For a team of 6-12 members
Up to A$3934
per year
Bella Booking: Official pricing (Starter A$67/mo, Professional A$99/mo)
Nookal: Official pricing page • Last verified: August 2026
Pricing may change. Please verify current prices on official websites before making decisions.
What Nookal does well
We believe in honest comparisons. Here's what Nookal excels at:
- 1AI-powered clinical documentation (voice-to-text notes)
- 2Medicare, DVA, WorkCover, and HICAPS billing
- 3Exercise prescription with patient handouts
- 4Outcome measures tracking (validated tools)
- 5Group appointments and class management
- 6Australian-made with Gold Coast-based support
- 7Billed per practitioner, with the per-seat rate falling in volume bands
- 8Telehealth built-in
- 9Strong profession-specific templates
- 10Room and resource scheduling
Nookal might be better if...
We believe in helping you find the right solution, even if it's not us. Here are some scenarios where other options might serve you better:
- 1AI-powered clinical documentation (voice-to-text SOAP notes)
- 2Medicare, DVA, WorkCover, and HICAPS billing
- 3Exercise prescription with patient handouts
- 4Outcome measures tracking (validated tools)
- 5Drop-in group class management
Still not sure? - we'll give you an honest assessment of whether Bella Booking is right for your business.
Rated 5.0 on Capterra
“Great support for small business”
“User-friendly and reliable booking system with quick support”
“Best booking system ever!”
Switching from Nookal?
We make it easy. Free onboarding on every plan, with free data migration on Starter and Professional.
See the full guide to switching from Nookal
Still comparing? More Nookal alternatives
How to switch from Nookal
Step-by-step guide to export your data and move to Bella Booking. We offer free onboarding on every plan, and free data migration on Starter and Professional.
- 1
Export your clients/patients
Settings → Data Management → Export. Select Clients/Patients and export as CSV. Includes contact details, referral source, and custom fields.
- 2
Export your appointments
Settings → Data Management → Export. Select Appointments with a date range. Includes practitioner, service, date, time, and status.
- 3
Note your service types and pricing
Settings → Services. Capture your appointment types, durations, and prices. Nookal may not have a dedicated service export - a screenshot or manual list works.
- 4
Export financial records (optional)
Settings → Data Management → Export. Select Invoices or Payments if you need financial history for records.
- 5
Email everything to hello@bellabooking.com
Send the CSVs plus your service list. We validate, dedupe, and import everything within one business day, then walk you through the new system.
A note on appointment history
We generally recommend not importing old appointment history. Importing past appointments can trigger unintended automated messages (reminders, review requests, reminders to rebook, follow-up messages) and cause data inconsistencies. Your clients and services are the essential data for a clean start. If you do want some history carried over, we recommend a tight recent range (e.g. the last 3 months), and our migration team will ensure no notifications are sent accidentally.
Good to know
Export whatever notes your Nookal account gives you and send them with the rest. Bella imports treatment and SOAP notes as timeline notes on the right client, dated to the appointment and credited to the practitioner who wrote them; completed forms, invoices and photos land as files on the client record. Exercise prescriptions have no equivalent in Bella, and Bella is not a clinical charting system, so keep anything you need in a clinical format in your records archive. Medicare claiming history stays with Medicare - no migration needed.
Can't export your data?
No problem, we can work with anything. Screenshots of your service list, a link to your public booking page, a photo of your price board, or even a typed-up list. Send us whatever you have and we will build your account from it.
Need help with the migration?
Our team will handle the data import, set up your services, and walk you through everything. Onboarding help is free on every plan, and data migration is free on Starter and Professional. We accept data in any format: CSV, Excel, screenshots, photos, links, or anything else you can send.
Sources: Information gathered from www.nookal.com. Last verified: August 2026.
Found an error? and we'll correct it promptly.
Important Notice
The information about Nookal on this page is based on publicly available data as of August 2026 and is provided for general comparison purposes only. Pricing, features, and policies may change at any time without notice. We make reasonable efforts to keep this information accurate, but we cannot guarantee its completeness or current accuracy.
Always verify directly with Nookal before making any business decisions. This comparison reflects our understanding and may not capture all nuances of their offerings.