3 of the best Australian small cap shares to buy for 2026

The small side of the market has been a great place to be this year.

Since the start of 2025, the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries index has risen by a sizeable 17%.

As a comparison, the widely followed All Ordinaries index is only up by 4.9% since the turn of the year.

With that in mind, if you are wanting to gain exposure to the small side of the market, then it could be worth hearing what Bell Potter is saying about the three small cap ASX shares listed below.

Here’s why it thinks they are among the best to buy for 2026:

Integral Diagnostics Ltd (ASX: IDX)

This diagnostic imaging company could be a top pick small cap investors according to Bell Potter.

It likes the company due to its merger with Capitol Health, which has boosted its network to 151 clinics. It also sees opportunities to continue its growth through greenfield and brownfield investments, as well as mergers and acquisitions (M&A). It said:

The merger between Integral Diagnostics and Capitol Health results in a diagnostic imaging (DI) company which operates 151 clinics throughout Australia. Its strongest presence will be within Victoria and Queensland (67 & 41 locations respectively) with minor penetration in the other States. The company offers a range of imaging modalities through its clinics with the largest contribution to revenue from CT (31%) followed by US (24%), MRI (13%) and X-Ray / Diagnostic Radiology (11%), and Nuclear Medicine PET (5%). The growth strategy has centred around a combination of greenfield & brownfield investments and M&A opportunities.

Kinatico Ltd (ASX: KYP)

Another small cap ASX share that Bell Potter is bullish on is know your people solutions provider Kinatico.

It sees opportunities for the company to grow strongly through leveraging its large customer base. The broker explains:

Kinatico is a leading provider of “know your people” solutions to organisations in Australia and New Zealand. The company operates two key businesses: its legacy CVCheck brand, which provides employment screening and verification services to over 10,000 repeat corporate customers and its new key focus, a SaaS-based business that delivers real-time workforce compliance management and monitoring. The core strategy is to leverage the large customer base of the legacy CVCheck business to provide a ready-made sales pipeline for its higher growth SaaS compliance solutions.

Praemium Ltd (ASX: PPS)

This investment platform provider is a third small cap ASX share that has been given the thumbs up from Bell Potter.

It has been pleased with the company’s performance in recent times and feels that the market is not appreciating this. The broker highlights that at 20x forward earnings, its shares are significantly cheaper than its larger rivals. It said:

While Praemium has demonstrated commercial momentum, strong growth capacity, and a leading technology offering, its valuation continues to lag key peers. This stock looks very attractive at a 12MF PE of ~20x, and we expect the market to catch on as the company executes on further market share gains and FUA growth.

The post 3 of the best Australian small cap shares to buy for 2026 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Macquarie predicts this ASX All Ords healthcare stock to surge past $1 billion over the next 12 months
• 2 ASX small-cap shares to buy right now

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Praemium. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Integral Diagnostics. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.