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Agriculture · head to head

DairyComp vs Datamars Livestock

DairyComp logo

DairyComp

Agriculture

Command-line dairy herd management software used by large North American dairies

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Datamars Livestock logo

Datamars Livestock

Agriculture

EID tag, weigh scale and livestock data platform behind the Tru-Test brand

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: DairyComp the command language interface takes weeks to learn and effectively ties the dairy to whichever staff member knows it, so losing a herd manager can strand the herd record until someone else is trained.; Datamars Livestock the software exists to sell tags, readers and scales, so its feature depth in breeding, financials and grazing planning is well short of dedicated herd management systems.
  • They diverge on capability: DairyComp covers Command language reporting, Datamars Livestock covers EID and visual tag management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DairyComp and Datamars Livestock actually diverge.

Attributes where DairyComp and Datamars Livestock differ
AttributeDairyCompDatamars Livestock
PlatformsWindowsWeb, 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 DairyComp

  • Command language reporting
  • Complete lactation records
  • Parlour and meter integration
  • Reproduction management
  • Health event tracking
  • Genetic evaluation import
  • Benchmarking exports

Only in Datamars Livestock

  • EID and visual tag management
  • Weigh session capture
  • Average daily gain
  • Auto-drafting
  • Traceability records
  • Bluetooth reader sync
  • Treatment and animal events

What people use each for

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

DairyComp

  • A 3,000 cow freestall dairy whose herd manager needs to build an arbitrary cull or breeding cohort in secondsnot Datamars Livestock
  • A dairy consultant working across a dozen client herds who needs identical reporting on all of themnot Datamars Livestock
  • A dairy integrating parlour milk weights and conductivity into the animal record for early mastitis detectionnot Datamars Livestock
  • A veterinary practice running repro audits and protocol compliance checks across a client basenot Datamars Livestock

Datamars Livestock

  • A beef finisher drafting cattle to a target weight automatically at the crushnot DairyComp
  • A sheep producer tracking lamb growth rates by sire to inform ram selectionnot DairyComp
  • A New Zealand farm needing NAIT-compliant movement records generated from the same scans used for weighingnot DairyComp
  • A grazier comparing average daily gain across mobs on different paddocks or supplementsnot DairyComp

Where each one falls short

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

DairyComp

  • The command language interface takes weeks to learn and effectively ties the dairy to whichever staff member knows it, so losing a herd manager can strand the herd record until someone else is trained.
  • It is a Windows desktop application at heart rather than a cloud service, so multi-site access, remote working and mobile data entry are bolt-ons rather than native, and back-ups are the dairy's own problem.
  • Zoetis ownership puts a pharmaceutical company in control of every treatment record on the farm and biases the integration roadmap towards Zoetis sensors and services rather than the best available.
  • No pricing is published anywhere, so herd-size-based quotes vary by dealer and there is no way to benchmark what you are being charged without asking neighbouring dairies.
  • It assumes North American dairy conventions, so European dairies dealing with different milk recording bodies, national herd databases and statutory reporting formats find the fit poor and often need local software alongside.

Datamars Livestock

  • The software exists to sell tags, readers and scales, so its feature depth in breeding, financials and grazing planning is well short of dedicated herd management systems.
  • A migration to new cloud software is scheduled from January 2026 for Tru-Test indicator and reader customers, which puts historical Data Link desktop records at risk if they are not exported deliberately before support changes.
  • Hardware lock-in is real: the automatic capture that makes the platform useful depends on Datamars and Tru-Test devices, and a farm with Gallagher scales gets a much thinner experience.
  • Software being bundled with hardware means it has never been priced or sold on its own merits, so there is no published cost, no clear upgrade path and no leverage if the bundling arrangement changes.
  • Traceability support is country-specific and uneven, so a farm outside the main New Zealand, Australian, UK and North American markets may find its national scheme is not directly supported and needs manual file preparation.

Pricing, plan by plan

DairyComp

On request
  • DairyComp$undefined/year
    • Licensed per dairy, priced on herd size
    • Support and update contract quoted separately
    • Parlour and meter interface modules quoted per system

Datamars Livestock

On request
  • Datamars Livestock$undefined/year
    • Historically bundled with purchase of Datamars and Tru-Test hardware
    • Tag, reader and weigh indicator hardware is the actual cost
    • Cloud platform terms changing with the January 2026 migration

Which should you pick?

Choose DairyComp if

  • You need command language reporting.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want complete lactation records.
DairyComp review

Choose Datamars Livestock if

  • You need eid and visual tag management.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
  • You also want weigh session capture.
Datamars Livestock review

Questions people ask

Is DairyComp or Datamars Livestock better?
Neither clearly leads. DairyComp starts at On request and Datamars Livestock at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DairyComp or Datamars Livestock?
DairyComp starts at On request and Datamars Livestock at On request.
Does DairyComp or Datamars Livestock run on more platforms?
DairyComp runs on Windows. Datamars Livestock runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
What is DairyComp best used for?
DairyComp is most often used for a 3,000 cow freestall dairy whose herd manager needs to build an arbitrary cull or breeding cohort in seconds, a dairy consultant working across a dozen client herds who needs identical reporting on all of them, a dairy integrating parlour milk weights and conductivity into the animal record for early mastitis detection, a veterinary practice running repro audits and protocol compliance checks across a client base. Of those, a 3,000 cow freestall dairy whose herd manager needs to build an arbitrary cull or breeding cohort in seconds and a dairy consultant working across a dozen client herds who needs identical reporting on all of them are not what Datamars Livestock is typically brought in for.
What can DairyComp do that Datamars Livestock cannot?
DairyComp covers Command language reporting, Complete lactation records, Parlour and meter integration, Reproduction management. Datamars Livestock covers EID and visual tag management, Weigh session capture, Average daily gain, Auto-drafting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

DairyComp: Who owns DairyComp now?

Zoetis, through its acquisition of Valley Agricultural Software. It sits in the same portfolio as the Smartbow cow monitoring system.

Datamars Livestock: Do I have to pay for the software?

It has historically been included with purchase of Datamars and Tru-Test hardware. The January 2026 cloud migration is the point at which to confirm what the ongoing terms are.

DairyComp: Is it hard to learn?

Yes, genuinely. It is driven by a typed command language rather than menus, and most new users need weeks of practice before they are productive.

Datamars Livestock: What happens to my Data Link records?

They need to be migrated to the new cloud platform. Export your historical weigh sessions before the transition rather than assuming everything carries across.

DairyComp: Does it run in the cloud?

It is fundamentally a Windows application. Hosted and multi-site arrangements exist but the software is not a browser-native cloud product.

Datamars Livestock: Will it work with Gallagher scales?

Not natively in the way it works with Tru-Test hardware. You lose the automatic session sync that is the main reason to use it.

DairyComp: What does it cost?

Nothing is published. Pricing is quoted per dairy based on herd size, plus separate charges for support and for each parlour or meter interface.

Datamars Livestock: Does it handle NAIT and NLIS?

Yes, for New Zealand and Australia respectively, generating movement and identification records from the same EID scans used for weighing.

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