The capabilities of a compact and highly efficient NdAl3(BO3)4 (NAB) thin-disk laser are demonstrated. Under a pump power of 8.2 W, the NAB disk laser delivers an average output power of 4.6 W at 1 063 nm, with a slope efficiency of 64%. The difficulty and complexity of the thin-disk laser design are minimized by the high absorbance of the NAB crystal. To reduce the thermal effect, low repetition frequency pulsed 885 nm direct pumping is considered an efficient way to realize a compact and highly efficient NAB thin-disk laser.