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Agriculture · head to head

Galcon vs GEA DairyNet

Galcon logo

Galcon

Agriculture

Battery and mains irrigation, fertigation and climate controllers with cloud management

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
GEA DairyNet logo

GEA DairyNet

Agriculture

Modular herd and farm management software for dairies running GEA milking equipment

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Galcon distribution and support run through regional wholesalers, so in markets where Galcon has no strong distributor you get the hardware and very little else.; GEA DairyNet the value depends on GEA hardware, so a barn with mixed-vendor parlours, sensors or feeders loses most of the native integration that justifies the software.
  • They diverge on capability: Galcon covers Battery DC controllers, GEA DairyNet covers Herd module.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Galcon and GEA DairyNet actually diverge.

Attributes where Galcon and GEA DairyNet differ
AttributeGalconGEA DairyNet
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWindows, Web, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), 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 Galcon

  • Battery DC controllers
  • GSI cloud
  • Galileo Cloud
  • Fertigation control
  • Greenhouse climate
  • Water budget reporting
  • Sensor inputs

Only in GEA DairyNet

  • Herd module
  • System monitoring
  • CowScout integration
  • Feeding module
  • Youngstock module
  • Cloud data history
  • Modular subscription

What people use each for

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

Galcon

  • A parks department scheduling roadside and median planting beds where no valve has mains powernot GEA DairyNet
  • An orchard automating block irrigation without trenching electricity to every valvenot GEA DairyNet
  • A greenhouse dosing fertiliser to EC and pH targets alongside climate controlnot GEA DairyNet
  • A landscape contractor managing irrigation across dozens of client sites from one cloud accountnot GEA DairyNet

GEA DairyNet

  • A dairy replacing an ageing DairyPlan C21 installation on existing GEA milking equipmentnot Galcon
  • A robot barn running DairyRobot R9500 boxes that wants robot data and herd records in one placenot Galcon
  • A dairy adding CowScout activity monitoring and needing heat alerts to land in the herd software automaticallynot Galcon
  • A herd manager who wants to pay for a youngstock module covering only the heifers rather than the whole herdnot Galcon

Where each one falls short

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

Galcon

  • Distribution and support run through regional wholesalers, so in markets where Galcon has no strong distributor you get the hardware and very little else.
  • The cloud software is functional rather than refined, and its third-party integration list is short compared with Hunter Centralus or Rain Bird IQ, which matters if you want irrigation data in a wider asset system.
  • Battery-powered controllers mean battery replacement schedules across a large estate, and a dead battery on a remote valve is a silent failure that shows up as a dead planting bed weeks later.
  • No pricing is published for hardware or cloud subscriptions, and pricing varies by country and wholesaler, so budgeting a municipal rollout requires several quotes.
  • The product range is broad and fragmented across GSI, GSI PRO, Galileo Cloud and legacy timers, which makes it genuinely hard to work out which product line a given site should be on.

GEA DairyNet

  • The value depends on GEA hardware, so a barn with mixed-vendor parlours, sensors or feeders loses most of the native integration that justifies the software.
  • Nothing is published: not module prices, not per-animal rates, not installation costs, so every comparison against DeLaval or Lely requires a dealer quote and there is no way to sanity check it.
  • Per-module per-animal pricing is granular but also means costs climb quietly as you add modules and grow the herd, and the monthly cancellation option does not help once the barn depends on a module.
  • It is a successor to DairyPlan C21 rather than a rewrite of the category, so dairies migrating carry across conventions and data structures that predate cloud software and the transition itself needs dealer time.
  • GEA sells only through authorised partners, so support quality, installation competence and how quickly you get a fault fixed are determined by your regional dealer rather than by GEA.

Pricing, plan by plan

Galcon

On request
  • Galcon GSI and Galileo Cloud$undefined/year
    • Controller hardware priced through irrigation wholesalers
    • Cloud subscription quoted by number of controllers and zones
    • Cellular connectivity charges vary by country

GEA DairyNet

On request
  • GEA DairyNet$undefined/month
    • Priced per module, by the number of animals using that module
    • Modules can be cancelled monthly
    • One-time cost for sensors, system technology and installation quoted separately

Which should you pick?

Choose Galcon if

  • You need battery dc controllers.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want gsi cloud.
Galcon review

Choose GEA DairyNet if

  • You need herd module.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want system monitoring.
GEA DairyNet review

Questions people ask

Is Galcon or GEA DairyNet better?
Neither clearly leads. Galcon starts at On request and GEA DairyNet at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Galcon or GEA DairyNet?
Galcon starts at On request and GEA DairyNet at On request.
Does Galcon or GEA DairyNet run on more platforms?
Galcon runs on Web, iOS, Android. GEA DairyNet runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
What is Galcon best used for?
Galcon is most often used for a parks department scheduling roadside and median planting beds where no valve has mains power, an orchard automating block irrigation without trenching electricity to every valve, a greenhouse dosing fertiliser to ec and ph targets alongside climate control, a landscape contractor managing irrigation across dozens of client sites from one cloud account. Of those, a parks department scheduling roadside and median planting beds where no valve has mains power and an orchard automating block irrigation without trenching electricity to every valve are not what GEA DairyNet is typically brought in for.
What can Galcon do that GEA DairyNet cannot?
Galcon covers Battery DC controllers, GSI cloud, Galileo Cloud, Fertigation control. GEA DairyNet covers Herd module, System monitoring, CowScout integration, Feeding module.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Galcon: Do Galcon controllers need mains power?

The DC range does not. They run latching solenoids from internal batteries, which is the main reason they are specified where getting power to the valve is expensive.

GEA DairyNet: Does DairyNet replace DairyPlan C21?

Yes. It is the successor product, built on the same decades of DairyPlan development but restructured into cloud-connected modules.

Galcon: Is there a cloud subscription?

Yes for the connected GSI and Galileo Cloud products. Terms are quoted by controller count and vary by country along with cellular charges.

GEA DairyNet: How is it priced?

Per module, with each module priced on the number of animals actually using that module's functions. Modules can be cancelled monthly. No rates are published.

Galcon: Can it control fertigation?

Yes. Galcon makes dedicated fertigation and greenhouse climate controllers with EC and pH monitoring, sold as separate systems from the field controllers.

GEA DairyNet: Will it work with non-GEA milking equipment?

Basic herd records will, but the sensor, robot and parlour integrations that make it worth buying are GEA-specific.

Galcon: How does it compare with Hunter or Rain Bird?

It competes on battery operation and price rather than ecosystem breadth. The American brands have deeper central control software and broader integration.

GEA DairyNet: Is the software cost the main expense?

No. The one-time investment in sensors, system technology and installation is the larger figure, and it is quoted separately by the sales partner.

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