Softwr

Agriculture · head to head

Arable vs Halter

Arable logo

Arable

Agriculture

In-field crop intelligence platform

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Halter logo

Halter

Agriculture

Solar collar virtual fencing and cow monitoring for dairy and beef grazing

From
9.9/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Arable requires the Mark 3 field sensor, so it is a hardware deployment rather than a software subscription; Halter the subscription is permanent and per head, so a 500 cow dairy carries a five-figure annual bill indefinitely and the collars become inert if it lapses; there is no owned-outright end state.
  • They diverge on capability: Arable covers Weather monitoring, Halter covers Virtual fencing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Arable and Halter actually diverge.

Attributes where Arable and Halter differ
AttributeArableHalter
Starting price$29/month9.9/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer cow per month plus one-time install
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, HardwareiOS, Android, Web
Founded2014Unknown

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 Arable

  • Weather monitoring
  • Evapotranspiration
  • Chlorophyll index
  • Disease risk models
  • Growth stage tracking
  • Climate FieldView
  • John Deere
  • Trimble

Only in Halter

  • Virtual fencing
  • Remote shifting
  • Heat detection
  • Health alerts
  • Pasture management
  • Solar collars
  • Exclusion zones

What people use each for

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

Arable

  • In-field weather and crop monitoring from a single sensornot Halter
  • Irrigation scheduling based on measured conditionsnot Halter
  • Water sustainability reporting for enterprise growersnot Halter
  • Weather risk management across dispersed fieldsnot Halter

Halter

  • A 600 cow grazing dairy that shifts breaks twice daily and cannot recruit enough staff to do itnot Arable
  • A beef ranch fencing off riparian margins and wetlands without building physical fencenot Arable
  • A dairy replacing a separate heat detection collar system with one collar that also does fencingnot Arable
  • An operation running cell grazing on country where the cost of internal fencing exceeds the collar subscriptionnot Arable

Where each one falls short

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

Arable

  • Requires the Mark 3 field sensor, so it is a hardware deployment rather than a software subscription
  • Pricing is not published and goes through a sales conversation
  • Aimed at enterprise growers and advisors rather than smallholders

Halter

  • The subscription is permanent and per head, so a 500 cow dairy carries a five-figure annual bill indefinitely and the collars become inert if it lapses; there is no owned-outright end state.
  • On-farm tower infrastructure is a separate up-front install cost that is not in the headline per-cow price, and terrain with hills or bush can require more towers than the initial quote assumed.
  • Coverage is concentrated in New Zealand, Australia and parts of the United States; buyers elsewhere face no local support, no local install crew and uncertain regulatory acceptance of virtual fencing.
  • Virtual fencing is not universally legal or accepted: some jurisdictions and some organic or welfare certification schemes restrict aversive stimulus devices, which can decide eligibility before price is even discussed.
  • Total vendor lock-in on collar, towers, app and animal data means there is no second source for a replacement collar and no way to keep the fencing working if the commercial relationship ends.

Pricing, plan by plan

Arable

$29/month
  • Standard$1200/device/year
    • Weather data
    • Crop stress
    • Basic analytics
  • Premium$2400/device/year
    • Full analytics
    • Disease models
    • API access

Halter

9.9/month
  • Core$9.9/month
    • Virtual fencing and remote shifting
    • Per cow per month
    • On-farm tower infrastructure charged separately
  • Pro$undefined/month
    • Everything in Core
    • Heat detection and reproduction tools
    • Health and behaviour alerts
  • Unlimited$undefined/month
    • Everything in Pro
    • Full feature set for larger operations
    • Pasture and residual management

Which should you pick?

Choose Arable if

  • You need weather monitoring.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Hardware.
  • You also want evapotranspiration.
Arable review

Choose Halter if

  • You need virtual fencing.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want remote shifting.
Halter review

Questions people ask

Is Arable or Halter better?
Neither clearly leads. Arable starts at $29/month and Halter at 9.9/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Arable or Halter?
Arable starts at $29/month and Halter at 9.9/month.
Does Arable or Halter run on more platforms?
Arable runs on Web, Ios, Android, Hardware. Halter runs on iOS, Android, Web.
What is Arable best used for?
Arable is most often used for in-field weather and crop monitoring from a single sensor, irrigation scheduling based on measured conditions, water sustainability reporting for enterprise growers, weather risk management across dispersed fields. Of those, in-field weather and crop monitoring from a single sensor and irrigation scheduling based on measured conditions are not what Halter is typically brought in for.
What can Arable do that Halter cannot?
Arable covers Weather monitoring, Evapotranspiration, Chlorophyll index, Disease risk models. Halter covers Virtual fencing, Remote shifting, Heat detection, Health alerts.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Arable: How do I get pricing for Arable?

Pricing is not published online. Customers can contact Arable directly at [email protected] or by phone at 510-992-4095, or visit their contact page at /contact to request pricing information.

Source
Halter: Do I buy the collars or rent them?

In practice you are buying into a per-cow monthly subscription plus a one-time install for the towers. The collars are not useful without an active subscription.

Arable: Is there a free trial available?

The website does not mention a free trial. Interested customers should contact the company directly to inquire about trial availability.

Source
Halter: What does it actually cost for 500 cows?

Starting from around NZ$9.90 per cow per month, that is roughly NZ$59,000 a year before the one-time tower infrastructure cost, and it recurs every year.

Arable: Can I get pricing without speaking to sales?

No. Pricing information is only available through direct contact with Arable via email, phone, or their contact form. There is no self-service pricing page.

Source
Halter: Can I finance it?

New Zealand dairy farmers can finance the install through ANZ, ASB, BNZ or Westpac over two years, and paying the subscription up front attracts a discount.

Halter: Does it replace heat detection collars?

Yes on the higher tiers. That is the main reason dairies justify the cost, because it removes a second per-cow system.

Share

Related pages

More on Arable

More on Halter

Keep looking

Other head to heads