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Agriculture · head to head

FarmLogs vs METER Group ZENTRA

FarmLogs logo

FarmLogs

Agriculture

Simple, powerful farm management software

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
METER Group ZENTRA logo

METER Group ZENTRA

Agriculture

Research-grade soil, plant and atmosphere sensors with the ZENTRA Cloud data platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only FarmLogs has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: FarmLogs farm management plans are billed annually and cap at 20,000 acres, with larger operations required to contact sales for custom pricing; METER Group ZENTRA hardware costs several times what commodity soil probes cost, so a farm that only needs a rough irrigation trigger is paying for calibration accuracy it will never use.
  • They diverge on capability: FarmLogs covers Field mapping & boundaries, METER Group ZENTRA covers TEROS soil sensors.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which FarmLogs and METER Group ZENTRA actually diverge.

Attributes where FarmLogs and METER Group ZENTRA differ
AttributeFarmLogsMETER Group ZENTRA
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer device subscription
Free tierYesNo
Founded2012Unknown

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 FarmLogs

  • Field mapping & boundaries
  • Activity tracking & logging
  • Satellite imagery analysis
  • Crop health monitoring
  • Weather & rainfall data
  • Yield tracking
  • Input cost tracking
  • Profit/loss analysis

Only in METER Group ZENTRA

  • TEROS soil sensors
  • Water potential measurement
  • ZL6 data loggers
  • ZENTRA Cloud
  • Threshold alerts
  • Open API
  • ATMOS weather stations

What people use each for

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

FarmLogs

  • Tracking farm operations, rainfall history and profit and loss under the FarmLogs product, now sold as Bushel Farmnot METER Group ZENTRA

METER Group ZENTRA

  • A university soil physics group that needs measurements defensible enough for peer reviewnot FarmLogs
  • An irrigation district accounting for water applied and lost across a schemenot FarmLogs
  • A vineyard managing deficit irrigation from water potential rather than volumetric moisture alonenot FarmLogs
  • An environmental consultancy monitoring a remediation or drainage site where the data may be contestednot FarmLogs

Where each one falls short

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

FarmLogs

  • Farm management plans are billed annually and cap at 20,000 acres, with larger operations required to contact sales for custom pricing
  • Machine data connections are a separate add-on costing $999 per year on top of the $599 per year Essentials plan

METER Group ZENTRA

  • Hardware costs several times what commodity soil probes cost, so a farm that only needs a rough irrigation trigger is paying for calibration accuracy it will never use.
  • ZENTRA Cloud is a per-device subscription, so a large sensor network carries a recurring bill that grows linearly with every probe added and is easy to underestimate at design stage.
  • The three-year subscription bundled with the ZL6 Pro means the renewal decision arrives exactly when a typical research grant has ended, which is how long-running datasets get abandoned.
  • METER sells measurement rather than recommendations; there is no irrigation scheduling engine, so someone has to turn the numbers into decisions or buy a second platform that will.
  • Installation quality dominates results with soil sensors, and a badly installed TEROS probe produces confidently wrong data, so the accuracy you paid for depends on field technique the vendor cannot supply.

Pricing, plan by plan

FarmLogs

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Field mapping
    • Basic activity tracking
    • Weather insights
  • Essentials$20/month
    • Everything in Free
    • Satellite imagery
    • Crop health monitoring
  • Premium$50/month
    • Everything in Essentials
    • Advanced analytics
    • Profit & loss tracking

METER Group ZENTRA

On request
  • ZENTRA Cloud$undefined/year
    • Priced per activated device, pay for what you use
    • Three year subscription included with the ZL6 Pro logger
    • Cellular data included in the device subscription

Which should you pick?

Choose FarmLogs if

  • You need field mapping & boundaries.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want activity tracking & logging.
FarmLogs review

Choose METER Group ZENTRA if

  • You need teros soil sensors.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want water potential measurement.
METER Group ZENTRA review

Questions people ask

Is FarmLogs or METER Group ZENTRA better?
Neither clearly leads. FarmLogs starts at Free and METER Group ZENTRA at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, FarmLogs or METER Group ZENTRA?
FarmLogs has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for FarmLogs and On request for METER Group ZENTRA.
Does FarmLogs or METER Group ZENTRA run on more platforms?
FarmLogs runs on Web, Ios, Android. METER Group ZENTRA runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use FarmLogs for free?
Yes. FarmLogs has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. METER Group ZENTRA starts at On request.
What is FarmLogs best used for?
FarmLogs is most often used for tracking farm operations, rainfall history and profit and loss under the farmlogs product, now sold as bushel farm. Of those, tracking farm operations, rainfall history and profit and loss under the farmlogs product, now sold as bushel farm is not what METER Group ZENTRA is typically brought in for.
What can FarmLogs do that METER Group ZENTRA cannot?
FarmLogs covers Field mapping & boundaries, Activity tracking & logging, Satellite imagery analysis, Crop health monitoring. METER Group ZENTRA covers TEROS soil sensors, Water potential measurement, ZL6 data loggers, ZENTRA Cloud.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

FarmLogs: What does the annual subscription cost for Bushel Farm?

Bushel Farm offers three main plans: Rainfall at $75 per year, Lite at $199 per year, and Essentials at $599 per year, which is marked as the best value tier. For farming operations exceeding 20,000 acres, custom pricing is available upon request. Machine data connections are available as an add-on for $999 per year.

Source
METER Group ZENTRA: Is ZENTRA Cloud included with the loggers?

A three-year subscription is included with the ZL6 Pro. Other loggers require a separate per-device subscription.

FarmLogs: Is there a free trial available without contacting sales?

Yes, Bushel Farm provides a 30-day free trial that gives access to all features. Users can explore the full platform capabilities during this period before committing to a subscription.

Source
METER Group ZENTRA: Do I need a separate cellular data plan?

No. Cellular data is covered within the device subscription rather than billed as a separate SIM contract.

FarmLogs: What billing cycle does Bushel Farm use?

Bushel Farm bills annually with no hidden fees. The platform emphasizes transparent, straightforward pricing structures with yearly billing cycles.

Source
METER Group ZENTRA: Will it tell me when to irrigate?

No. METER provides measurement, not scheduling recommendations. You either interpret the data yourself or feed it into a scheduling platform.

FarmLogs: What features does each Bushel Farm tier include?

Rainfall includes recent rainfall data, field mapping, soil maps, futures prices, and digital wallet access. Lite adds historical rain and heat data, monthly rainfall reports, automated contract entry, scouting, equipment and inputs tracking. Essentials provides profit and loss calculations, expense and revenue tracking, land costs, work orders, marketing tools, satellite imagery, local prices, and reporting capabilities.

Source
METER Group ZENTRA: Why is it more expensive than commodity soil probes?

Individual sensor calibration and documented measurement physics, which is what makes the data hold up in research, regulatory and legal contexts.

FarmLogs: What devices can I access Bushel Farm from?

All subscription plans are accessible across phones, tablets, and desktop devices, providing flexibility for farm management from any location.

Source
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