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Agriculture · head to head

Ag Leader vs Tend

Ag Leader logo

Ag Leader

Agriculture

Precision agriculture technology leader

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tend logo

Tend

Agriculture

Crop planning and record keeping for small diversified market farms, priced in flat tiers rather than by acre

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Tend has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Ag Leader mostly hardware: displays, GPS receivers, steering systems and planter components, with the software layered on top; Tend the free tier keeps only three years of history and 500 MB of storage, so a grower who stays on it loses the multi-season comparison that makes crop planning software worth having in the first place.
  • They diverge on capability: Ag Leader covers GPS guidance, Tend covers Visual crop planning.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ag Leader and Tend actually diverge.

Attributes where Ag Leader and Tend differ
AttributeAg LeaderTend
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelone-timePer month by user count
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsHardware, Web, IosWeb, iOS, Android
Founded1992Unknown

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

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 Ag Leader

  • GPS guidance
  • Yield monitoring
  • Variable rate application
  • Field mapping
  • Data management
  • SMS
  • Ag Leader SMS
  • AgFiniti

Only in Tend

  • Visual crop planning
  • Growing templates
  • Crop library
  • Task management
  • Harvest and inventory tracking
  • CSA and sales storefront
  • Financial reporting
  • AI credits

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Ag Leader

  • Precision planting and application controlnot Tend
  • Yield monitoring at harvestnot Tend
  • Automated steering and guidancenot Tend
  • Farm data management through AgFinitinot Tend
  • Field mapping and record keeping with SMS softwarenot Tend

Tend

  • A three-acre market garden running weekly lettuce successions that needs the seeding calendar to generate itself from the harvest targetnot Ag Leader
  • A cut-flower farm planning bed space against wedding orders months aheadnot Ag Leader
  • A CSA operation managing 150 member shares alongside the planting plan that has to fill themnot Ag Leader
  • A two-person farm replacing a spreadsheet and a whiteboard without paying a per-acre platform's minimumnot Ag Leader

Where each one falls short

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

Ag Leader

  • Mostly hardware: displays, GPS receivers, steering systems and planter components, with the software layered on top
  • Pricing is not published and goes through dealers
  • The software is tied to Ag Leader equipment rather than being machine agnostic

Tend

  • The free tier keeps only three years of history and 500 MB of storage, so a grower who stays on it loses the multi-season comparison that makes crop planning software worth having in the first place.
  • Data retention is a paid feature at every level below Ultimate, which is an unusual thing to meter: a farm that downgrades from Pro to Free after a bad year risks losing records it may need for organic certification audits.
  • There is no machinery, telematics, soil sampling or variable-rate capability at all, so any operation that adds broadacre ground has to run a second platform rather than extend this one.
  • AI features are metered in credits rather than included, and the allowances are small at the lower tiers, so the assistant becomes something you ration rather than rely on.
  • The company is small and privately held with a narrow customer base, which means integrations outside payments and basic accounting are thin and a request for a connector to a regional distributor or certifier is unlikely to be built.

Pricing, plan by plan

Ag Leader

$29/month
  • InCommand 800$3500/one-time
    • GPS guidance
    • Yield monitoring
    • Variable rate
  • InCommand 1200$5500/one-time
    • Advanced guidance
    • Full mapping
    • Multi-hybrid planting

Tend

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 user
    • 25 AI credits per month
    • 3 years data retention
  • Pro$30/month
    • 5 users
    • 500 AI credits per month
    • 7 years data retention
  • Ultimate$75/month
    • Unlimited users
    • 2,500 AI credits per month
    • Unlimited data retention
  • Enterprise$400/month
    • Unlimited users
    • 10,000+ AI credits per month
    • 250 GB storage and up

Which should you pick?

Choose Ag Leader if

  • You need gps guidance.
  • You work on Hardware, Web, Ios.
  • You also want yield monitoring.
Ag Leader review

Choose Tend if

  • You need visual crop planning.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want growing templates.
Tend review

Questions people ask

Is Ag Leader or Tend better?
Neither clearly leads. Ag Leader starts at $29/month and Tend at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ag Leader or Tend?
Tend has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Ag Leader and Free for Tend.
Does Ag Leader or Tend run on more platforms?
Ag Leader runs on Hardware, Web, Ios. Tend runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Tend for free?
Yes. Tend has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Ag Leader starts at $29/month.
What is Ag Leader best used for?
Ag Leader is most often used for precision planting and application control, yield monitoring at harvest, automated steering and guidance, farm data management through agfiniti. Of those, precision planting and application control and yield monitoring at harvest are not what Tend is typically brought in for.
What can Ag Leader do that Tend cannot?
Ag Leader covers GPS guidance, Yield monitoring, Variable rate application, Field mapping. Tend covers Visual crop planning, Growing templates, Crop library, Task management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ag Leader: How much does Ag Leader cost?

Ag Leader does not publish pricing on their website. They direct customers to request a quote, contact a local dealer, or call their sales team. Pricing likely varies by product line and configuration.

Source
Tend: Does Tend charge by the acre?

No. Pricing is flat by user count, and there are no acreage or crop limits on any tier including the free one. That is the main reason small growers pick it over broadacre platforms.

Ag Leader: Does Ag Leader offer financing options?

Ag Leader advertises low-rate financing options, though specific terms and rates are not detailed on their website.

Source
Tend: Can Tend handle a CSA?

Yes, including member share management and a farm-stand storefront, though payment processing runs through a third party.

Tend: Is it suitable for a 500 acre grain farm?

No. There is no machinery data, no prescription writing and no as-applied reporting. It is built for high-crop-count, low-acreage operations.

Tend: What happens to my records if I cancel?

Export before you cancel. Retention limits apply per tier, and the free tier keeps three years, so downgrading is not a safe archive strategy.

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