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Agriculture · head to head

Farmers Business Network (FBN) vs Nofence

Farmers Business Network (FBN) logo

Farmers Business Network (FBN)

Agriculture

Farmer-to-farmer network and marketplace

From
$700/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Nofence logo

Nofence

Agriculture

GPS collar virtual fencing for cattle, sheep and goats with no base station required

From
$229/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Nofence everything depends on mobile network coverage, so a farm in a signal shadow cannot change boundaries, receive escape alerts or rely on the fence at all, and no amount of spending fixes that.
  • They diverge on capability: Farmers Business Network (FBN) covers Seed performance analytics, Nofence covers Virtual paddocks.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Farmers Business Network (FBN) and Nofence actually diverge.

Attributes where Farmers Business Network (FBN) and Nofence differ
AttributeFarmers Business Network (FBN)Nofence
Starting price$700/year$229/one-time
Pricing modelsubscriptionOne-time collar purchase plus annual subscription per collar
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidiOS, Android, Web
Founded2014Unknown

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 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

Only in Nofence

  • Virtual paddocks
  • No base station
  • Species range
  • Escape alerts
  • Grazing history
  • Solar charging
  • Multi-user access

What people use each for

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

Farmers Business Network (FBN)

  • Input purchasingnot Nofence
  • Seed selectionnot Nofence
  • Price comparisonnot Nofence
  • Farm financingnot Nofence
  • Market insightsnot Nofence

Nofence

  • A conservation body grazing cattle on open heath or moorland where fencing is prohibited or impracticalnot Farmers Business Network (FBN)
  • A contractor running goats to clear scrub and maintain firebreaks on rotating sitesnot Farmers Business Network (FBN)
  • A smallholder rotating a small mob through awkward parcels without building temporary fencenot Farmers Business Network (FBN)
  • A grazier renting seasonal parcels where investing in permanent fence makes no sensenot Farmers Business Network (FBN)

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Nofence

  • Everything depends on mobile network coverage, so a farm in a signal shadow cannot change boundaries, receive escape alerts or rely on the fence at all, and no amount of spending fixes that.
  • Collar purchase is a real up-front barrier at roughly $349 a head for cattle, so fencing a 200 cow herd is a five-figure hardware outlay before the first subscription renewal.
  • Battery life depends on daylight and on how often the animal challenges the boundary; a busy animal in a Nordic or British winter runs the collar down faster than the headline figures suggest.
  • Virtual fencing is restricted or unaccepted in some jurisdictions and by some welfare and organic certification schemes, which can rule the product out on eligibility grounds regardless of cost.
  • It is a fencing product first, so herd health, rumination and reproduction monitoring are thin compared with dairy-focused collar systems, and a dairy will still need separate heat detection.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Nofence

$229/one-time
  • Sheep and goat collar$229/one-time
    • One-time collar purchase
    • First 12 months subscription included
    • Five year warranty
  • Cattle collar$349/one-time
    • One-time collar purchase for 1 to 24 collars
    • Approximately $309 per collar at 25 or more
    • First 12 months subscription included
  • Annual subscription$45/year
    • Per collar per year after the first 12 months
    • Approximately $35 per collar at 100 or more
    • Monthly option around $6.50 per collar

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Nofence if

  • You need virtual paddocks.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want no base station.
Nofence review

Questions people ask

Is Farmers Business Network (FBN) or Nofence better?
Neither clearly leads. Farmers Business Network (FBN) starts at $700/year and Nofence at $229/one-time, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Farmers Business Network (FBN) or Nofence?
Farmers Business Network (FBN) starts at $700/year and Nofence at $229/one-time.
Does Farmers Business Network (FBN) or Nofence run on more platforms?
Farmers Business Network (FBN) runs on Web, Ios, Android. Nofence runs on iOS, Android, Web.
What is Farmers Business Network (FBN) best used for?
Farmers Business Network (FBN) is most often used for input purchasing, seed selection, price comparison, farm financing. Of those, input purchasing and seed selection are not what Nofence is typically brought in for.
What can Farmers Business Network (FBN) do that Nofence cannot?
Farmers Business Network (FBN) covers Seed performance analytics, Input price transparency, Direct input purchasing, Yield analytics. Nofence covers Virtual paddocks, No base station, Species range, Escape alerts.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Nofence: Do I need towers or a base station?

No. Nofence collars connect to the mobile network directly, which is the main structural difference from tower-based virtual fencing and removes the largest install cost.

Nofence: What does the subscription cost after year one?

Roughly $45 per collar per year, dropping to about $35 for herds of 100 or more. Monthly options are around $6.50 and $4.50 per collar.

Nofence: Is the first year of subscription really included?

Yes, twelve months of subscription come with each collar purchase, so the first renewal bill arrives a year after install.

Nofence: Will it work for sheep?

Yes, with the smaller collar designed for sheep and goats, though horned and small-framed animals need care with fit.

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