Softwr

Agriculture · head to head

FarmCommand vs SMARTBOW

FarmCommand logo

FarmCommand

Agriculture

Precision agriculture command center

From
$75/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

  • They diverge on capability: FarmCommand covers Field mapping & boundaries, SMARTBOW covers Real-time location.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which FarmCommand and SMARTBOW actually diverge.

Attributes where FarmCommand and SMARTBOW differ
AttributeFarmCommandSMARTBOW
Starting price$75/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWindows, Web, iOS, Android
Founded2016Unknown

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 FarmCommand

  • Field mapping & boundaries
  • Variable rate technology
  • Yield mapping
  • Equipment tracking
  • Weather integration
  • John Deere
  • Case IH
  • AGCO

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.

FarmCommand

  • Variable rate applicationnot SMARTBOW
  • Yield optimizationnot SMARTBOW
  • Equipment managementnot SMARTBOW
  • Field planningnot SMARTBOW

SMARTBOW

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

Where each one falls short

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

FarmCommand

Nothing recorded yet. See the FarmCommand review.

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

FarmCommand

$75/month
  • Basic$75/month
    • Field mapping
    • Basic analytics
    • Weather data
  • Professional$150/month
    • All Basic features
    • Variable rate prescriptions
    • Satellite imagery
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Custom solutions
    • API access
    • Dedicated support

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 FarmCommand if

  • You need field mapping & boundaries.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want variable rate technology.
FarmCommand 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 FarmCommand or SMARTBOW better?
Neither clearly leads. FarmCommand starts at $75/month and SMARTBOW at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, FarmCommand or SMARTBOW?
FarmCommand starts at $75/month and SMARTBOW at On request.
Does FarmCommand or SMARTBOW run on more platforms?
FarmCommand runs on Web, Ios, Android. SMARTBOW runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
What is FarmCommand best used for?
FarmCommand is most often used for variable rate application, yield optimization, equipment management, field planning. Of those, variable rate application and yield optimization are not what SMARTBOW is typically brought in for.
What can FarmCommand do that SMARTBOW cannot?
FarmCommand covers Field mapping & boundaries, Variable rate technology, Yield mapping, Equipment tracking. SMARTBOW covers Real-time location, Heat detection, Rumination monitoring, Health alerts.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

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.

SMARTBOW: Who owns it?

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

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.

Share

Related pages

More on FarmCommand

More on SMARTBOW

Keep looking

Other head to heads