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Agriculture · head to head

Connecterra vs Soil Scout

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
Soil Scout logo

Soil Scout

Agriculture

Buried wireless soil sensors with a ten to twenty year battery and no cables to the surface

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.; Soil Scout sensors are unserviceable once buried, so a failed or drifting unit means excavation and the confidence you place in a single reading has no easy verification.
  • They diverge on capability: Connecterra covers Analytics, Soil Scout covers Fully buried sensors.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Connecterra and Soil Scout actually diverge.

Attributes where Connecterra and Soil Scout differ
AttributeConnecterraSoil Scout
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb

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 Soil Scout

  • Fully buried sensors
  • Ten to twenty year battery
  • Underground radio
  • Dual depth sensing
  • Moisture, temperature and salinity
  • Soil Scout Hub
  • Web service API
  • Long base station range

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 Soil Scout
  • A nutritionist who needs one view across a dozen client herds instead of a dozen vendor loginsnot Soil Scout
  • A processor or co-operative pulling herd emissions data through an API for supply-chain reportingnot Soil Scout
  • A farm running a Lely robot and a separate feeding system that wants one combined cow picturenot Soil Scout

Soil Scout

  • A golf course monitoring greens moisture where a surface-mounted probe would be hit by mowers and playnot Connecterra
  • A stadium pitch under a closed roof where hand-held probing is impractical during the seasonnot Connecterra
  • A research plot needing consistent multi-year soil data below cultivation depthnot Connecterra
  • An irrigated field where a surface logger would not survive tillage or a spray boomnot 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.

Soil Scout

  • Sensors are unserviceable once buried, so a failed or drifting unit means excavation and the confidence you place in a single reading has no easy verification.
  • No pricing is published at all, which makes it hard to justify against commodity probes that quote openly, and per-sensor cost is well above the alternatives.
  • It measures but does not control, so tying moisture readings to actual irrigation decisions requires either manual interpretation or a separate integration project with the control system.
  • Underground radio range depends on soil type and moisture; heavy wet clay attenuates the signal and can force more base stations than the headline kilometre figure suggests.
  • The company is small and Finland-based, so outside its established golf and sports turf distribution the support, spares and installation expertise depend entirely on whether a competent local distributor exists.

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

Soil Scout

On request
  • Soil Scout$undefined/year
    • Sensors and base station quoted per site
    • Hub subscription terms quoted with the hardware
    • No individual sensor data plans required

Which should you pick?

Choose Connecterra if

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

Choose Soil Scout if

  • You need fully buried sensors.
  • You also want ten to twenty year battery.
Soil Scout review

Questions people ask

Is Connecterra or Soil Scout better?
Neither clearly leads. Connecterra starts at On request and Soil Scout at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Connecterra or Soil Scout?
Connecterra starts at On request and Soil Scout at On request.
Does Connecterra or Soil Scout run on more platforms?
Connecterra runs on Web, iOS, Android. Soil Scout runs on Web.
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 Soil Scout is typically brought in for.
What can Connecterra do that Soil Scout cannot?
Connecterra covers Analytics, Copilot, Decision support, Advisor collaboration. Soil Scout covers Fully buried sensors, Ten to twenty year battery, Underground radio, Dual depth sensing.

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.

Soil Scout: How long do the sensors last?

Up to ten years for the Happi100 and up to twenty for the Hydra100, buried, with no battery replacement.

Connecterra: How is it priced?

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

Soil Scout: Do the sensors need mobile data plans?

No. Sensors transmit to a base station through the soil, and only the base station uses a cellular modem.

Connecterra: Is there a free option?

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

Soil Scout: Can it control irrigation directly?

No. It is a measurement and alerting system; controlling valves needs an integration with your irrigation controller through the API.

Connecterra: What happened to Ida?

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

Soil Scout: What happens if a buried sensor fails?

You dig it up. There is no remote service option, which is the trade-off for having nothing above ground to damage.

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