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Agriculture · head to head

AgCode vs SMARTBOW

AgCode logo

AgCode

Agriculture

Wine and specialty crop management

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SMARTBOW logo

SMARTBOW

Agriculture

Ear tag cow monitoring with real-time indoor location, from Zoetis

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: AgCode pricing is not published; SMARTBOW real-time location depends on receivers covering the whole barn plus an on-farm server, so the install is a building project and the price bears no relation to what a simple activity collar costs.
  • They diverge on capability: AgCode covers Block management, SMARTBOW covers Real-time location.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AgCode and SMARTBOW actually diverge.

Attributes where AgCode and SMARTBOW differ
AttributeAgCodeSMARTBOW
Starting price$29/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWindows, Web, iOS, Android
Founded2009Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 AgCode

  • Block management
  • Labor tracking
  • Harvest management
  • Compliance
  • Cost tracking
  • QuickBooks
  • Payroll systems
  • Winery software

Only in SMARTBOW

  • Real-time location
  • Heat detection
  • Rumination monitoring
  • Health alerts
  • On-farm server
  • Individual baselines
  • Herd software integration

What people use each for

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

AgCode

  • Labour and equipment tracking for specialty crop farmsnot SMARTBOW
  • Replacing paper-based field record keepingnot SMARTBOW
  • Crop data capture and operational reportingnot SMARTBOW
  • Profitability analysis by block or cropnot SMARTBOW

SMARTBOW

  • A 1,500 cow freestall barn where finding a flagged animal by eye takes twenty minutesnot AgCode
  • A dairy replacing visual heat detection with per-animal oestrus alerts to tighten calving intervalsnot AgCode
  • A herd manager wanting rumination-based early warning of displaced abomasum or metritisnot AgCode
  • A vet practice using behavioural data to audit transition cow management across client herdsnot AgCode

Where each one falls short

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

AgCode

  • Pricing is not published
  • Aimed at specialty crop growers rather than row crop or livestock operations

SMARTBOW

  • Real-time location depends on receivers covering the whole barn plus an on-farm server, so the install is a building project and the price bears no relation to what a simple activity collar costs.
  • It is an indoor system; a grazing or partly grazed herd loses the location capability that is the main reason to choose it over cheaper monitoring.
  • Ear tags are consumable and go missing with the tag, so the running cost includes replacements at a rate that depends on how rough your handling facilities are.
  • Zoetis ownership means a pharmaceutical company holds continuous behavioural data on every animal alongside your treatment records, and the integration roadmap favours other Zoetis products.
  • Nothing is published on price, and sales run through veterinary and dealer channels, so comparing it against DeLaval, Nedap or CowManager requires several quotes and there is no reference list price.

Pricing, plan by plan

AgCode

$29/month
  • Vineyard$2000/year
    • Block management
    • Compliance
    • Basic labor
  • Enterprise$5000/year
    • Full suite
    • Harvest
    • Integration

SMARTBOW

On request
  • SMARTBOW$undefined/year
    • Ear tags priced per animal
    • Barn receiver infrastructure and on-farm server quoted per building
    • Installation and commissioning quoted separately

Which should you pick?

Choose AgCode if

  • You need block management.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want labor tracking.
AgCode review

Choose SMARTBOW if

  • You need real-time location.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want heat detection.
SMARTBOW review

Questions people ask

Is AgCode or SMARTBOW better?
Neither clearly leads. AgCode starts at $29/month and SMARTBOW at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AgCode or SMARTBOW?
AgCode starts at $29/month and SMARTBOW at On request.
Does AgCode or SMARTBOW run on more platforms?
AgCode runs on Web, Ios, Android. SMARTBOW runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
What is AgCode best used for?
AgCode is most often used for labour and equipment tracking for specialty crop farms, replacing paper-based field record keeping, crop data capture and operational reporting, profitability analysis by block or crop. Of those, labour and equipment tracking for specialty crop farms and replacing paper-based field record keeping are not what SMARTBOW is typically brought in for.
What can AgCode do that SMARTBOW cannot?
AgCode covers Block management, Labor tracking, Harvest management, Compliance. SMARTBOW covers Real-time location, Heat detection, Rumination monitoring, Health alerts.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

AgCode: Does AgCode publish their pricing publicly?

No, pricing is not available on the AgCode website. You must contact their sales team to discuss pricing tailored to your needs.

Source
SMARTBOW: What does SMARTBOW do that other activity monitors do not?

Real-time indoor location. It tells you where the flagged cow physically is, not just that she is behaving abnormally.

AgCode: How do I request a demo or get pricing from AgCode?

Use the 'Get a Demo' button on their website or contact AgCode directly at 877-250-8435 or [email protected].

Source
SMARTBOW: Does it work on grazing herds?

Poorly. Location depends on barn-mounted receivers, so animals out at pasture fall outside the system's coverage.

AgCode: What's AgCode's physical address for mailing inquiries?

AgCode is located at PO Box 373, Glenwood, MN 56334.

Source
SMARTBOW: Who owns it?

Zoetis, which also owns Valley Agricultural Software and DairyComp. The technology came from Smartbow GmbH in Austria.

SMARTBOW: Is it cloud based?

Analysis runs on an on-farm server rather than in the cloud, which keeps it working during an internet outage but makes the server your responsibility.

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