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Smart Home · head to head

Control4 vs Lely Horizon

Control4 logo

Control4

Smart Home

Premium integrated control system for smart homes and buildings

From
$1000/project
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: Control4 requires professional installation and dealer network, with no self-install option; 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: Control4 covers Integrated Control, 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 Control4 and Lely Horizon actually diverge.

Attributes where Control4 and Lely Horizon differ
AttributeControl4Lely Horizon
Starting price$1000/projectOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
PlatformsMobile (iOS, Android), Web, In-home hubWeb, iOS, Android, Windows
CategorySmart HomeAgriculture
Founded2003Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Control4

  • Integrated Control
  • Lighting
  • Climate
  • Security
  • Entertainment
  • 1000+ devices
  • Voice Control
  • Mobile app

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.

Control4

  • Whole-home automationnot Lely Horizon
  • Commercial building controlnot Lely Horizon
  • Custom installationnot Lely Horizon
  • Luxury smart homenot 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 Control4
  • A farm adding Vector automatic feeding that wants ration delivery driven by the same cow data as milkingnot Control4
  • A dairy manager tracking transition cow health across two sites from one accountnot Control4
  • A Lely advisor benchmarking a client's robot utilisation against comparable farms before recommending a fourth boxnot Control4

Where each one falls short

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

Control4

  • Requires professional installation and dealer network, with no self-install option
  • Limited device compatibility; works best with Control4-certified ecosystems
  • Subscription required for remote access and advanced features
  • System complexity requires technical knowledge or ongoing dealer support

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

Control4

$1000/project

No published plan breakdown. See the Control4 review.

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 Control4 if

  • You need integrated control.
  • You work on Mobile (iOS, Android), Web, In-home hub.
  • You also want lighting.
Control4 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 Control4 or Lely Horizon better?
Neither clearly leads. Control4 starts at $1000/project and Lely Horizon at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Control4 or Lely Horizon?
Control4 starts at $1000/project and Lely Horizon at On request.
Does Control4 or Lely Horizon run on more platforms?
Control4 runs on Mobile (iOS, Android), Web, In-home hub. Lely Horizon runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
What is Control4 best used for?
Control4 is most often used for whole-home automation, commercial building control, custom installation, luxury smart home. Of those, whole-home automation and commercial building control are not what Lely Horizon is typically brought in for.
What can Control4 do that Lely Horizon cannot?
Control4 covers Integrated Control, Lighting, Climate, Security. Lely Horizon covers Per-cow milking data, Health and fertility alerts, Work list generation, Feed management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Control4: What devices can Control4 control?

Control4 controls connected home devices including lighting, audio, video, climate control, locks, intercoms, and security systems. Compatibility varies by device brand and integration type.

Source
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.

Control4: Does Control4 require a subscription?

Control4 systems work locally without subscription, but the Connect service subscription adds remote access and premium features. Connect pricing varies; as of 2026, base Connect is optional.

Source
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.

Control4: Is professional installation required for Control4?

Yes. Control4 systems are professionally installed and configured by certified Control4 dealers. Installation complexity and cost depend on system scope and home size.

Source
Lely Horizon: What happened to T4C?

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

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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