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Agriculture · head to head

Connecterra vs Lely Horizon

Connecterra logo

Connecterra

Agriculture

Sensor-agnostic dairy data platform, billed on average yearly herd size rather than per sensor

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Lely Horizon logo

Lely Horizon

Agriculture

Dairy herd management software billed per lactating cow that only runs a Lely robot barn

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Connecterra nothing is published as a number: billing is on average yearly herd size but no rate is given at any tier, so a farm cannot estimate the cost before entering a sales process.; Lely Horizon billing is per lactating cow, so the software cost grows with the herd indefinitely and a farm that expands from 120 to 200 cows takes a permanent software cost increase it did not budget when it bought the robots.
  • They diverge on capability: Connecterra covers Analytics, Lely Horizon covers Per-cow milking data.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Connecterra and Lely Horizon actually diverge.

Attributes where Connecterra and Lely Horizon differ
AttributeConnecterraLely Horizon
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android, Windows

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), 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 Connecterra

  • Analytics
  • Copilot
  • Decision support
  • Advisor collaboration
  • Data integration
  • Data API
  • Emissions and sustainability reporting
  • Multi-farm benchmarking

Only in Lely Horizon

  • Per-cow milking data
  • Health and fertility alerts
  • Work list generation
  • Feed management
  • Farm Management Support
  • Multi-site view
  • Mobile alerts
  • Reporting and benchmarking

What people use each for

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

Connecterra

  • A dairy that already owns activity collars and wants better analysis without replacing 400 collarsnot Lely Horizon
  • A nutritionist who needs one view across a dozen client herds instead of a dozen vendor loginsnot Lely Horizon
  • A processor or co-operative pulling herd emissions data through an API for supply-chain reportingnot Lely Horizon
  • A farm running a Lely robot and a separate feeding system that wants one combined cow picturenot Lely Horizon

Lely Horizon

  • A 180-cow dairy running four Astronaut robots that needs the attention list to replace walking the barn twice a daynot Connecterra
  • A farm adding Vector automatic feeding that wants ration delivery driven by the same cow data as milkingnot Connecterra
  • A dairy manager tracking transition cow health across two sites from one accountnot Connecterra
  • A Lely advisor benchmarking a client's robot utilisation against comparable farms before recommending a fourth boxnot Connecterra

Where each one falls short

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

Connecterra

  • Nothing is published as a number: billing is on average yearly herd size but no rate is given at any tier, so a farm cannot estimate the cost before entering a sales process.
  • Connecterra depends entirely on other companies’ data: if a milking or feeding manufacturer restricts its API or prices access, the platform loses a data source it does not control and the farm loses part of its dashboard.
  • The company abandoned its own sensor hardware, which was the original product, so farms that bought Ida collars early found the strategy they invested in discontinued underneath them.
  • Billing on average yearly herd size means a farm that grows mid-contract is charged retrospectively on a number it did not agree at signing, which surprises operations in an expansion phase.
  • It is a small venture-backed Dutch company in a market where the deep-pocketed incumbents are equipment makers who can bundle analytics free with hardware, so the independent layer is structurally the easiest line for a farm to cut.

Lely Horizon

  • Billing is per lactating cow, so the software cost grows with the herd indefinitely and a farm that expands from 120 to 200 cows takes a permanent software cost increase it did not budget when it bought the robots.
  • Horizon is not optional: the barn equipment depends on it, so the subscription cannot be cancelled in a difficult year the way a discretionary analytics tool can, which removes any negotiating position at renewal.
  • It manages Lely equipment and effectively nothing else, so a farm running a Lely robot alongside a conventional parlour or another manufacturer's feeder ends up with two systems and no combined cow record.
  • The migration from the older T4C system was compulsory and rebuilt the interface and reporting, and farms that had years of T4C reports and custom lists found the equivalents either missing or shaped differently, costing retraining time.
  • Everything is bought and supported through the local Lely Center, so pricing, response time and the quality of advice vary by dealer with no published rate card, and a farm with a weak local centre has no practical alternative supplier.

Pricing, plan by plan

Connecterra

On request
  • Farmer$undefined/year
    • Billed on average yearly herd size
    • Analytics, Copilot and decision support
    • No custom integration fee charged to farmers
  • Farm Advisor$undefined/year
    • For nutritionists, vets and consultants
    • Multi-farm view across clients
    • Custom pricing for organisations with 10 or more staff
  • Referral$undefined/year
    • Free advisor access to up to 3 connected farms
    • Intended as a route in for consultants
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Data API access
    • Aggregated herd data for agribusiness
    • Customised contract

Lely Horizon

On request
  • Horizon Basic$undefined/month
    • Core robot operation and monitoring
    • Per lactating cow subscription
    • Invoiced digitally by the local Lely Center
  • Horizon Control$undefined/month
    • Adds herd management and fertility tooling
    • Per lactating cow subscription
  • Horizon Advance$undefined/month
    • Adds analysis, benchmarking and advisor tooling
    • Per lactating cow subscription

Which should you pick?

Choose Connecterra if

  • You need analytics.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want copilot.
Connecterra review

Choose Lely Horizon if

  • You need per-cow milking data.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
  • You also want health and fertility alerts.
Lely Horizon review

Questions people ask

Is Connecterra or Lely Horizon better?
Neither clearly leads. Connecterra starts at On request and Lely Horizon at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Connecterra or Lely Horizon?
Connecterra starts at On request and Lely Horizon at On request.
Does Connecterra or Lely Horizon run on more platforms?
Connecterra runs on Web, iOS, Android. Lely Horizon runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
What is Connecterra best used for?
Connecterra is most often used for a dairy that already owns activity collars and wants better analysis without replacing 400 collars, a nutritionist who needs one view across a dozen client herds instead of a dozen vendor logins, a processor or co-operative pulling herd emissions data through an api for supply-chain reporting, a farm running a lely robot and a separate feeding system that wants one combined cow picture. Of those, a dairy that already owns activity collars and wants better analysis without replacing 400 collars and a nutritionist who needs one view across a dozen client herds instead of a dozen vendor logins are not what Lely Horizon is typically brought in for.
What can Connecterra do that Lely Horizon cannot?
Connecterra covers Analytics, Copilot, Decision support, Advisor collaboration. Lely Horizon covers Per-cow milking data, Health and fertility alerts, Work list generation, Feed management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Connecterra: Do I need to buy Connecterra sensors?

No. The company discontinued its own collars and now reads data from sensors and systems you already have.

Lely Horizon: How is Lely Horizon priced?

As a subscription per lactating cow milked by the Astronaut robots, in Basic, Control and Advance tiers. Lely does not publish rates; the local Lely Center quotes them.

Connecterra: How is it priced?

On average yearly herd size, quoted rather than published, with separate farmer, advisor and enterprise tiers.

Lely Horizon: Can I run Horizon without Lely robots?

No. It is the control and management layer for Lely equipment and has no meaningful function without it.

Connecterra: Is there a free option?

Only the referral tier for advisors covering up to three connected farms. There is no free farmer tier.

Lely Horizon: What happened to T4C?

Horizon replaced it. Migration was required rather than optional, and reporting was rebuilt rather than ported.

Connecterra: What happened to Ida?

Ida was the original collar and app. The hardware was dropped and the intelligence became the platform sold today.

Lely Horizon: Does the subscription end when the robot is paid off?

No. It continues for as long as the robots are milking, which is the cost most robot business cases understate.

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