Softwr

Agriculture · head to head

Davis Instruments WeatherLink vs Farmers Business Network (FBN)

Davis Instruments WeatherLink logo

Davis Instruments WeatherLink

Agriculture

Cloud service for Davis weather stations, priced per device per month with a genuinely usable free tier

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Farmers Business Network (FBN) logo

Farmers Business Network (FBN)

Agriculture

Farmer-to-farmer network and marketplace

From
$700/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Davis Instruments WeatherLink has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Davis Instruments WeatherLink pricing is per device, so a grower with a dozen stations pays a dozen subscriptions, and at Pro+ that is over 1,200 US dollars a year in software on top of hardware that already cost several thousand.; Farmers Business Network (FBN) the Internet Archive's capture of Farmers Business Network's homepage on 2 January 2021 stated core FBN membership is free, with fees applying only to add-on services such as FBN Direct input purchases, crop marketing advisory, brokerage, financing and insurance, each offered by separately licensed FBN subsidiary entities.
  • They diverge on capability: Davis Instruments WeatherLink covers Per-station cloud dashboards, Farmers Business Network (FBN) covers Seed performance analytics.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Davis Instruments WeatherLink and Farmers Business Network (FBN) actually diverge.

Attributes where Davis Instruments WeatherLink and Farmers Business Network (FBN) differ
AttributeDavis Instruments WeatherLinkFarmers Business Network (FBN)
Starting priceFree$700/year
Pricing modelPer device per monthsubscription
Free tierYesNo
FoundedUnknown2014

Identical on both: platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 Davis Instruments WeatherLink

  • Per-station cloud dashboards
  • Custom charting
  • Data export
  • Shareable public links
  • Third-party uploads
  • Mobilize agricultural views
  • Integrated pest management models
  • Network map

Only in Farmers Business Network (FBN)

  • Seed performance analytics
  • Input price transparency
  • Direct input purchasing
  • Yield analytics
  • Crop marketing tools
  • Farm financing
  • Agronomic insights
  • Farmer network access

What people use each for

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

Davis Instruments WeatherLink

  • An orchard running frost protection that needs one-minute temperature data to decide when to start wind machinesnot Farmers Business Network (FBN)
  • A vineyard driving disease models from on-site rather than airport weathernot Farmers Business Network (FBN)
  • A research station exporting long historical records from several instrumentsnot Farmers Business Network (FBN)
  • A grower sharing a public station page with neighbours and a spray contractornot Farmers Business Network (FBN)

Farmers Business Network (FBN)

  • Input purchasingnot Davis Instruments WeatherLink
  • Seed selectionnot Davis Instruments WeatherLink
  • Price comparisonnot Davis Instruments WeatherLink
  • Farm financingnot Davis Instruments WeatherLink
  • Market insightsnot Davis Instruments WeatherLink

Where each one falls short

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

Davis Instruments WeatherLink

  • Pricing is per device, so a grower with a dozen stations pays a dozen subscriptions, and at Pro+ that is over 1,200 US dollars a year in software on top of hardware that already cost several thousand.
  • The free tier only uploads to third parties every 15 minutes, which is too coarse for frost protection and short-interval spray decisions, so the tier that exists is not the tier a commercial grower can use.
  • Davis directs bulk device management to a sales conversation rather than publishing a volume discount, so large networks cannot budget from the public rate card.
  • Three-year commitments are the only way to reach the lower per-device rate, which locks a grower into a platform for longer than a station deployment plan often survives.
  • The hardware is durable enough to outlive several software generations, and owners of older Vantage stations have repeatedly had to buy new data loggers or gateways to stay compatible with the current cloud, turning a maintenance-free instrument into a recurring purchase.

Farmers Business Network (FBN)

  • The Internet Archive's capture of Farmers Business Network's homepage on 2 January 2021 stated core FBN membership is free, with fees applying only to add-on services such as FBN Direct input purchases, crop marketing advisory, brokerage, financing and insurance, each offered by separately licensed FBN subsidiary entities.

Pricing, plan by plan

Davis Instruments WeatherLink

Free
  • BasicFree
    • Data viewing and export
    • Custom charting and network map
    • Mobile app access
  • Pro$3.95/month
    • Per device, billed annually
    • 3.35 USD per device per month on a 3 year plan
    • 6 shareable links
  • Pro+$8.95/month
    • Per device, billed annually
    • 7.65 USD per device per month on a 3 year plan
    • 10 shareable links

Farmers Business Network (FBN)

$700/year
  • FBN Membership$700/year
    • Access to FBN Analytics
    • Seed performance data
    • Chemical price transparency
  • FBN DirectFree
    • Transparent input pricing
    • Direct-to-farm delivery
    • Seed & crop protection

Which should you pick?

Choose Davis Instruments WeatherLink if

  • You need per-station cloud dashboards.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want custom charting.
Davis Instruments WeatherLink review

Choose Farmers Business Network (FBN) if

  • You need seed performance analytics.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want input price transparency.
Farmers Business Network (FBN) review

Questions people ask

Is Davis Instruments WeatherLink or Farmers Business Network (FBN) better?
Neither clearly leads. Davis Instruments WeatherLink starts at Free and Farmers Business Network (FBN) at $700/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Davis Instruments WeatherLink or Farmers Business Network (FBN)?
Davis Instruments WeatherLink has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Davis Instruments WeatherLink and $700/year for Farmers Business Network (FBN).
Does Davis Instruments WeatherLink or Farmers Business Network (FBN) run on more platforms?
Davis Instruments WeatherLink runs on Web, iOS, Android. Farmers Business Network (FBN) runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use Davis Instruments WeatherLink for free?
Yes. Davis Instruments WeatherLink has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Farmers Business Network (FBN) starts at $700/year.
What is Davis Instruments WeatherLink best used for?
Davis Instruments WeatherLink is most often used for an orchard running frost protection that needs one-minute temperature data to decide when to start wind machines, a vineyard driving disease models from on-site rather than airport weather, a research station exporting long historical records from several instruments, a grower sharing a public station page with neighbours and a spray contractor. Of those, an orchard running frost protection that needs one-minute temperature data to decide when to start wind machines and a vineyard driving disease models from on-site rather than airport weather are not what Farmers Business Network (FBN) is typically brought in for.
What can Davis Instruments WeatherLink do that Farmers Business Network (FBN) cannot?
Davis Instruments WeatherLink covers Per-station cloud dashboards, Custom charting, Data export, Shareable public links. Farmers Business Network (FBN) covers Seed performance analytics, Input price transparency, Direct input purchasing, Yield analytics.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Davis Instruments WeatherLink: Is WeatherLink free?

There is a permanently free Basic tier with charting and export, but third-party uploads run only every 15 minutes and there are no shareable links.

Davis Instruments WeatherLink: What does the paid tier actually add?

Faster upload intervals, five minutes on Pro and one minute on Pro+, plus shareable public links. The faster cadence is what matters for frost and spray timing.

Davis Instruments WeatherLink: Is pricing per account or per station?

Per device. Every station you own needs its own subscription.

Davis Instruments WeatherLink: Can I get the data out via an API?

Yes, Davis publishes a WeatherLink API, but practical use depends on your account tier and station model, so confirm before designing around it.

Share

Related pages

More on Davis Instruments WeatherLink

More on Farmers Business Network (FBN)

Keep looking

Other head to heads