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Agriculture · head to head

Baseline Irrigation vs fieldmargin

Baseline Irrigation logo

Baseline Irrigation

Agriculture

Two-wire commercial irrigation control where the cloud subscription tier applies to every controller you own at once

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
fieldmargin logo

fieldmargin

Agriculture

Per-farm field mapping, records and team messaging for livestock and arable farms

From
£3.75/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Baseline Irrigation all controllers belonging to a company are set to the same BaseManager subscription level, so one complex site needing the higher tier raises the cost across every controller in the portfolio rather than just that site.; fieldmargin per-farm pricing inverts badly at the small end: a 30 hectare holding pays the same as a 3,000 hectare estate, so the effective cost per hectare on a smallholding is many times what a large farm pays.
  • They diverge on capability: Baseline Irrigation covers BaseStation 3200, fieldmargin covers Field mapping.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Baseline Irrigation and fieldmargin actually diverge.

Attributes where Baseline Irrigation and fieldmargin differ
AttributeBaseline Irrigationfieldmargin
Starting priceOn request£3.75/month
Pricing modelquotePer farm per month, unlimited hectares

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 Baseline Irrigation

  • BaseStation 3200
  • BaseStation 1000
  • biSensor soil moisture
  • WeatherAccess scheduling
  • BaseManager
  • AppManager
  • Two-wire diagnostics
  • Flow management

Only in fieldmargin

  • Field mapping
  • Offline mobile
  • Team activity feed
  • Job assignment
  • Livestock groups
  • Input and application records
  • NDVI satellite imagery
  • Cost per field

What people use each for

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

Baseline Irrigation

  • A university grounds department running two-wire loops across a campus that needs fault location without diggingnot fieldmargin
  • A city parks department under a water ordinance that must run WaterSense-compliant weather-based schedulingnot fieldmargin
  • A property manager with 40 sites who needs one login rather than a controller key per locationnot fieldmargin
  • A site with a history of mainline breaks where flow shutdown prevents a five-figure water bill overnightnot fieldmargin

fieldmargin

  • A 900 hectare arable estate that wants field records without paying a per-hectare licence feenot Baseline Irrigation
  • A livestock farm tracking mob movements and grazing rotation across fields on a phone with no signalnot Baseline Irrigation
  • A farm manager assigning and checking off daily jobs for seasonal staff without phone callsnot Baseline Irrigation
  • A mixed farm that wants photos and notes attached to specific field locations for later referencenot Baseline Irrigation

Where each one falls short

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

Baseline Irrigation

  • All controllers belonging to a company are set to the same BaseManager subscription level, so one complex site needing the higher tier raises the cost across every controller in the portfolio rather than just that site.
  • WaterSense-compliant WeatherAccess operation on the 3200 requires an active BaseManager Plus subscription, which means a rebate or ordinance obligation depends on a recurring payment rather than the hardware you installed.
  • Baseline has been part of HydroPoint since 2016 and sits alongside the WeatherTRAK line, so buyers should ask directly which of the two product families gets new development, because they overlap.
  • No pricing is published for controllers or subscriptions, so estates cannot budget a multi-site rollout without a distributor quote per site.
  • Remote access needs Ethernet, Wi-Fi or a cellular modem at each controller, and cellular adds a data cost per site that is easy to leave out of a rollout budget for forty locations.

fieldmargin

  • Per-farm pricing inverts badly at the small end: a 30 hectare holding pays the same as a 3,000 hectare estate, so the effective cost per hectare on a smallholding is many times what a large farm pays.
  • It is not an agronomy platform, so there is no variable rate prescription engine and no nutrient planning to a standard a UK agronomist will certify, meaning most arable users still pay for Gatekeeper or an agronomist's own system alongside it.
  • There is no direct submission route into Basic Payment Scheme, Sustainable Farming Incentive or equivalent schemes, so the compliance paperwork that costs farms real money still has to be assembled elsewhere.
  • Machine integration is limited compared with Climate FieldView or Operations Center; as-applied data from the sprayer or drill generally is not flowing in automatically, so application records depend on someone typing them.
  • Satellite NDVI is confined to the top tier and is standard public imagery, so cloud cover in a British winter means long gaps and the imagery is not a substitute for the aircraft or drone capture that specialist providers sell.

Pricing, plan by plan

Baseline Irrigation

On request
  • BaseManager$undefined/year
    • Subscription tier determines available remote features
    • All controllers in a company are set to the same subscription level
    • BaseManager Plus required for WaterSense-compliant WeatherAccess operation

fieldmargin

£3.75/month
  • Essentials$3.75/month
    • Field mapping and boundaries
    • Field notes and photos
    • Unlimited team members
  • Plus$20/month
    • Everything in Essentials
    • Job assignment and tracking
    • Input and application records
  • Pro$30/month
    • Everything in Plus
    • NDVI satellite imagery
    • Cost per field and crop analysis

Which should you pick?

Choose Baseline Irrigation if

  • You need basestation 3200.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want basestation 1000.
Baseline Irrigation review

Choose fieldmargin if

  • You need field mapping.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want offline mobile.
fieldmargin review

Questions people ask

Is Baseline Irrigation or fieldmargin better?
Neither clearly leads. Baseline Irrigation starts at On request and fieldmargin at £3.75/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Baseline Irrigation or fieldmargin?
Baseline Irrigation starts at On request and fieldmargin at £3.75/month.
Does Baseline Irrigation or fieldmargin run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Baseline Irrigation best used for?
Baseline Irrigation is most often used for a university grounds department running two-wire loops across a campus that needs fault location without digging, a city parks department under a water ordinance that must run watersense-compliant weather-based scheduling, a property manager with 40 sites who needs one login rather than a controller key per location, a site with a history of mainline breaks where flow shutdown prevents a five-figure water bill overnight. Of those, a university grounds department running two-wire loops across a campus that needs fault location without digging and a city parks department under a water ordinance that must run watersense-compliant weather-based scheduling are not what fieldmargin is typically brought in for.
What can Baseline Irrigation do that fieldmargin cannot?
Baseline Irrigation covers BaseStation 3200, BaseStation 1000, biSensor soil moisture, WeatherAccess scheduling. fieldmargin covers Field mapping, Offline mobile, Team activity feed, Job assignment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Baseline Irrigation: Can different sites have different BaseManager tiers?

No. All controllers belonging to a company are set to the same subscription level, which is the main pricing surprise in a multi-site rollout.

fieldmargin: Does it charge per hectare?

No. Subscriptions are per farm with unlimited hectares and unlimited team members, which is why it is cheap on large acreages and proportionally expensive on small ones.

Baseline Irrigation: Who owns Baseline now?

HydroPoint Data Systems acquired it in 2016. It is a product line inside HydroPoint rather than an independent Boise company.

fieldmargin: Can I submit my BPS or SFI claim from it?

No. It holds the records that support a claim but there is no direct submission integration, so the claim itself is prepared elsewhere.

Baseline Irrigation: Do I need a subscription for WaterSense compliance?

On the BaseStation 3200 operating in WeatherAccess mode, yes, an active BaseManager Plus subscription is part of meeting the criteria.

fieldmargin: Does it work without mobile signal?

Yes. The mobile apps capture records offline and sync when the phone regains a connection, which is the main reason it gets used in the far corners of a farm.

Baseline Irrigation: How does the controller reach the cloud?

Ethernet, Wi-Fi or a cellular modem at each site, with the cellular data cost separate from the subscription.

fieldmargin: Is there a free plan?

There is a 14 day trial rather than a permanently free tier. After that every farm is on a paid plan.

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