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Agriculture · head to head

DroneDeploy vs SMARTBOW

DroneDeploy logo

DroneDeploy

Agriculture

Drone mapping and analytics for agriculture

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SMARTBOW logo

SMARTBOW

Agriculture

Ear tag cow monitoring with real-time indoor location, from Zoetis

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: DroneDeploy sold as annual subscriptions rather than monthly, at $1,908 a year for the agriculture plan; SMARTBOW real-time location depends on receivers covering the whole barn plus an on-farm server, so the install is a building project and the price bears no relation to what a simple activity collar costs.
  • They diverge on capability: DroneDeploy covers Automated flight planning, SMARTBOW covers Real-time location.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DroneDeploy and SMARTBOW actually diverge.

Attributes where DroneDeploy and SMARTBOW differ
AttributeDroneDeploySMARTBOW
Starting price$29/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWindows, Web, iOS, Android
Founded2013Unknown

Identical on both: 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 DroneDeploy

  • Automated flight planning
  • Orthomosaic maps
  • NDVI analysis
  • 3D modeling
  • Progress tracking
  • DJI
  • John Deere
  • Climate FieldView

Only in SMARTBOW

  • Real-time location
  • Heat detection
  • Rumination monitoring
  • Health alerts
  • On-farm server
  • Individual baselines
  • Herd software integration

What people use each for

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

DroneDeploy

  • Mapping fields with drone imagery for crop health analysisnot SMARTBOW
  • Producing stand counts and plant health indices from aerial surveysnot SMARTBOW

SMARTBOW

  • A 1,500 cow freestall barn where finding a flagged animal by eye takes twenty minutesnot DroneDeploy
  • A dairy replacing visual heat detection with per-animal oestrus alerts to tighten calving intervalsnot DroneDeploy
  • A herd manager wanting rumination-based early warning of displaced abomasum or metritisnot DroneDeploy
  • A vet practice using behavioural data to audit transition cow management across client herdsnot DroneDeploy

Where each one falls short

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

DroneDeploy

  • Sold as annual subscriptions rather than monthly, at $1,908 a year for the agriculture plan
  • Images per map are capped by plan, at 1,000 on Ag Lite and 3,000 on the general individual plan
  • The Ag Lite plan is limited to the VARI index for RGB plant health rather than the full analysis set
  • Ground capture processing is excluded from every published individual plan
  • Team plans publish no price at all and require a custom quote

SMARTBOW

  • Real-time location depends on receivers covering the whole barn plus an on-farm server, so the install is a building project and the price bears no relation to what a simple activity collar costs.
  • It is an indoor system; a grazing or partly grazed herd loses the location capability that is the main reason to choose it over cheaper monitoring.
  • Ear tags are consumable and go missing with the tag, so the running cost includes replacements at a rate that depends on how rough your handling facilities are.
  • Zoetis ownership means a pharmaceutical company holds continuous behavioural data on every animal alongside your treatment records, and the integration roadmap favours other Zoetis products.
  • Nothing is published on price, and sales run through veterinary and dealer channels, so comparing it against DeLaval, Nedap or CowManager requires several quotes and there is no reference list price.

Pricing, plan by plan

DroneDeploy

$29/month
  • Individual$299/month
    • Unlimited maps
    • 3D models
    • Basic analytics
  • Business$599/month
    • Team features
    • NDVI analysis
    • API access

SMARTBOW

On request
  • SMARTBOW$undefined/year
    • Ear tags priced per animal
    • Barn receiver infrastructure and on-farm server quoted per building
    • Installation and commissioning quoted separately

Which should you pick?

Choose DroneDeploy if

  • You need automated flight planning.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want orthomosaic maps.
DroneDeploy review

Choose SMARTBOW if

  • You need real-time location.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want heat detection.
SMARTBOW review

Questions people ask

Is DroneDeploy or SMARTBOW better?
Neither clearly leads. DroneDeploy starts at $29/month and SMARTBOW at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DroneDeploy or SMARTBOW?
DroneDeploy starts at $29/month and SMARTBOW at On request.
Does DroneDeploy or SMARTBOW run on more platforms?
DroneDeploy runs on Web, Ios, Android. SMARTBOW runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
What is DroneDeploy best used for?
DroneDeploy is most often used for mapping fields with drone imagery for crop health analysis, producing stand counts and plant health indices from aerial surveys. Of those, mapping fields with drone imagery for crop health analysis and producing stand counts and plant health indices from aerial surveys are not what SMARTBOW is typically brought in for.
What can DroneDeploy do that SMARTBOW cannot?
DroneDeploy covers Automated flight planning, Orthomosaic maps, NDVI analysis, 3D modeling. SMARTBOW covers Real-time location, Heat detection, Rumination monitoring, Health alerts.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

DroneDeploy: What is the cost of DroneDeploy's Flight & Analysis plan for individual pilots?

The Flight & Analysis Plan costs $4,188/year billed annually for a single user license, with support for up to 3,000 images per map and email/live chat support.

Source
SMARTBOW: What does SMARTBOW do that other activity monitors do not?

Real-time indoor location. It tells you where the flagged cow physically is, not just that she is behaving abnormally.

DroneDeploy: Does DroneDeploy have a specialized agriculture plan?

Yes. The Ag Lite Plan costs $1,908/year and is designed for agriculture pilots with up to 1,000 images per map, stand count analysis, and plant health tools.

Source
SMARTBOW: Does it work on grazing herds?

Poorly. Location depends on barn-mounted receivers, so animals out at pasture fall outside the system's coverage.

DroneDeploy: How long is the DroneDeploy free trial?

DroneDeploy offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.

Source
SMARTBOW: Who owns it?

Zoetis, which also owns Valley Agricultural Software and DairyComp. The technology came from Smartbow GmbH in Austria.

DroneDeploy: Can I cancel my DroneDeploy subscription early?

Yes. DroneDeploy billing is flexible with monthly or annual payment options (annual offers savings). Cancellations take effect at your billing cycle end. After cancellation, you retain basic data access for 30 days.

Source
SMARTBOW: Is it cloud based?

Analysis runs on an on-farm server rather than in the cloud, which keeps it working during an internet outage but makes the server your responsibility.

DroneDeploy: What is the image upload limit on DroneDeploy's Advanced Flight & Analysis plan?

The Advanced Flight & Analysis Plan has a 10,000 image upload limit and includes cut/fill analysis, thermal imaging, and unlimited Google Cloud Print mapping. This plan requires a custom quote.

Source
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