Agriculture & Farming · head to head
CattleMax vs Herdwatch
The short version
- Only Herdwatch has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: CattleMax priced by active animal count, so the bill grows with the herd rather than with usage; Herdwatch available in the United States, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom only
- They diverge on capability: CattleMax covers Individual animal records, Herdwatch covers Animal registry.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which CattleMax and Herdwatch actually diverge.
Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Agriculture & Farming).
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 CattleMax
- Individual animal records
- Health & treatment tracking
- Weight management
- EPD/genetic data
- Custom reporting
- Photo management
- Breed associations
- RFID tags
Only in Herdwatch
- Animal registry
- Movement records
- Medicine & treatment records
- Compliance reports
- Weight tracking
- EID tag reading
- BCMS (UK)
- AIM/ICBF (Ireland)
Both cover
- Breeding management
- Calving records
- EID readers
- Excel export
- SSL
- Cloud deployment
- Web support
- Ios support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
CattleMax
- Cow-calf herd records and reproduction trackingnot Herdwatch
- Weights, treatments and performance history per animalnot Herdwatch
- Registered cattle records for breed association reportingnot Herdwatch
- Unlimited users on one operation's accountnot Herdwatch
Herdwatch
- Livestock records for cattle and sheepnot CattleMax
- Calving and breeding records on a phone in the fieldnot CattleMax
- Medicine and treatment records for compliancenot CattleMax
- Pasture and grassland managementnot CattleMax
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
CattleMax
- Priced by active animal count, so the bill grows with the herd rather than with usage
- The Registered plan costs more than Commercial at every band, from $16 against $12 a month
- Operations above 2,000 animals move to custom pricing
- Support is Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm Central only
- Cows and calves count separately toward the animal limit
Herdwatch
- Available in the United States, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom only
- The free tier covers the digital calving book; the rest of the platform needs a subscription
- Prices are not shown on the main product page
Pricing, plan by plan
CattleMax
$99/year- Starter$99/year
- Up to 50 head
- Basic animal records
- Calving records
- Standard$199/year
- Up to 200 head
- Breeding management
- Health records
- Professional$399/year
- Unlimited animals
- Advanced genetics
- EPD tracking
Herdwatch
Free- FreeFree
- Basic herd records
- Animal movements
- Simple reports
- Premium$12.5/month
- Unlimited animals
- Breeding management
- Medicine records
- Complete$20/month
- Everything in Premium
- Financial tracking
- Farm mapping
Which should you pick?
Choose CattleMax if
- You need individual animal records.
- You work on Web, Windows, Ios, Android.
- You also want health & treatment tracking.
Choose Herdwatch if
- You need animal registry.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Ios, Android, Web.
- You also want movement records.
Questions people ask
- Is CattleMax or Herdwatch better?
- Neither clearly leads. CattleMax starts at $99/year and Herdwatch at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, CattleMax or Herdwatch?
- Herdwatch has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $99/year for CattleMax and Free for Herdwatch.
- Does CattleMax or Herdwatch run on more platforms?
- CattleMax runs on Web, Windows, Ios, Android. Herdwatch runs on Ios, Android, Web.
- Can I use Herdwatch for free?
- Yes. Herdwatch has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. CattleMax starts at $99/year.
- What is CattleMax best used for?
- CattleMax is most often used for cow-calf herd records and reproduction tracking, weights, treatments and performance history per animal, registered cattle records for breed association reporting, unlimited users on one operation's account. Of those, cow-calf herd records and reproduction tracking and weights, treatments and performance history per animal are not what Herdwatch is typically brought in for.
- What can CattleMax do that Herdwatch cannot?
- CattleMax covers Individual animal records, Health & treatment tracking, Weight management, EPD/genetic data. Herdwatch covers Animal registry, Movement records, Medicine & treatment records, Compliance reports. Both handle Breeding management, Calving records, EID readers, Excel export.