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Agriculture · head to head

Gallagher eShepherd vs Halter

Gallagher eShepherd logo

Gallagher eShepherd

Agriculture

Virtual fencing where you own the solar collars outright and pay only a small monthly connectivity fee

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Halter logo

Halter

Agriculture

Solar collar virtual fencing and cow monitoring for dairy and beef grazing

From
9.9/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Gallagher eShepherd gallagher does not publish neckband prices, quoting instead by herd size, region and connectivity type, so the ownership-versus-lease advantage over subscription rivals cannot be verified without a sales conversation.; Halter the subscription is permanent and per head, so a 500 cow dairy carries a five-figure annual bill indefinitely and the collars become inert if it lapses; there is no owned-outright end state.
  • They diverge on capability: Gallagher eShepherd covers Map-drawn virtual paddocks, Halter covers Virtual fencing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Gallagher eShepherd and Halter actually diverge.

Attributes where Gallagher eShepherd and Halter differ
AttributeGallagher eShepherdHalter
Starting priceOn request9.9/month
Pricing modelquotePer cow per month plus one-time install
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidiOS, Android, Web

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 Gallagher eShepherd

  • Map-drawn virtual paddocks
  • Audio cue then pulse
  • Solar neckband
  • Cellular or LoRa connectivity
  • Animal location tracking
  • Grazing rotation management
  • Behaviour alerts

Only in Halter

  • Virtual fencing
  • Remote shifting
  • Heat detection
  • Health alerts
  • Pasture management
  • Solar collars

Both cover

  • Exclusion zones

What people use each for

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

Gallagher eShepherd

  • A ranch subdividing a 2,000 acre paddock for rotational grazing without buying a mile of wirenot Halter
  • A grazier fencing cattle out of a creek line for a stewardship scheme without building riparian fencenot Halter
  • An operation on leased ground where permanent fencing is not permitted or not recoverablenot Halter
  • A farm short of labour that needs paddock moves done from a phone rather than a quad bikenot Halter

Halter

  • A 600 cow grazing dairy that shifts breaks twice daily and cannot recruit enough staff to do itnot Gallagher eShepherd
  • A beef ranch fencing off riparian margins and wetlands without building physical fencenot Gallagher eShepherd
  • A dairy replacing a separate heat detection collar system with one collar that also does fencingnot Gallagher eShepherd
  • An operation running cell grazing on country where the cost of internal fencing exceeds the collar subscriptionnot Gallagher eShepherd

Where each one falls short

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

Gallagher eShepherd

  • Gallagher does not publish neckband prices, quoting instead by herd size, region and connectivity type, so the ownership-versus-lease advantage over subscription rivals cannot be verified without a sales conversation.
  • A minimum of about 20 animals is needed to train a mob, which rules out smallholders and makes the system awkward for operations that run many small separate groups.
  • It is cattle only: sheep, goats and deer are not supported, so a mixed grazing enterprise still needs conventional fencing for everything else.
  • The connectivity fee is per active neckband and continues indefinitely, so the collars are yours but the system stops fencing if you stop paying, which is the same dependency as a subscription with a different label.
  • Virtual fencing is regulated inconsistently: some jurisdictions restrict or have not yet ruled on aversive-stimulus containment, and welfare-scheme or organic certifier acceptance varies, so eligibility should be checked locally before ordering.

Halter

  • The subscription is permanent and per head, so a 500 cow dairy carries a five-figure annual bill indefinitely and the collars become inert if it lapses; there is no owned-outright end state.
  • On-farm tower infrastructure is a separate up-front install cost that is not in the headline per-cow price, and terrain with hills or bush can require more towers than the initial quote assumed.
  • Coverage is concentrated in New Zealand, Australia and parts of the United States; buyers elsewhere face no local support, no local install crew and uncertain regulatory acceptance of virtual fencing.
  • Virtual fencing is not universally legal or accepted: some jurisdictions and some organic or welfare certification schemes restrict aversive stimulus devices, which can decide eligibility before price is even discussed.
  • Total vendor lock-in on collar, towers, app and animal data means there is no second source for a replacement collar and no way to keep the fencing working if the commercial relationship ends.

Pricing, plan by plan

Gallagher eShepherd

On request
  • eShepherd neckband$undefined/year
    • Neckbands purchased outright, not leased per head
    • Small fixed monthly connectivity fee per active neckband
    • Fees charged only on active bands

Halter

9.9/month
  • Core$9.9/month
    • Virtual fencing and remote shifting
    • Per cow per month
    • On-farm tower infrastructure charged separately
  • Pro$undefined/month
    • Everything in Core
    • Heat detection and reproduction tools
    • Health and behaviour alerts
  • Unlimited$undefined/month
    • Everything in Pro
    • Full feature set for larger operations
    • Pasture and residual management

Which should you pick?

Choose Gallagher eShepherd if

  • You need map-drawn virtual paddocks.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want audio cue then pulse.
Gallagher eShepherd review

Choose Halter if

  • You need virtual fencing.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want remote shifting.
Halter review

Questions people ask

Is Gallagher eShepherd or Halter better?
Neither clearly leads. Gallagher eShepherd starts at On request and Halter at 9.9/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Gallagher eShepherd or Halter?
Gallagher eShepherd starts at On request and Halter at 9.9/month.
Does Gallagher eShepherd or Halter run on more platforms?
Gallagher eShepherd runs on Web, iOS, Android. Halter runs on iOS, Android, Web.
What is Gallagher eShepherd best used for?
Gallagher eShepherd is most often used for a ranch subdividing a 2,000 acre paddock for rotational grazing without buying a mile of wire, a grazier fencing cattle out of a creek line for a stewardship scheme without building riparian fence, an operation on leased ground where permanent fencing is not permitted or not recoverable, a farm short of labour that needs paddock moves done from a phone rather than a quad bike. Of those, a ranch subdividing a 2,000 acre paddock for rotational grazing without buying a mile of wire and a grazier fencing cattle out of a creek line for a stewardship scheme without building riparian fence are not what Halter is typically brought in for.
What can Gallagher eShepherd do that Halter cannot?
Gallagher eShepherd covers Map-drawn virtual paddocks, Audio cue then pulse, Solar neckband, Cellular or LoRa connectivity. Halter covers Virtual fencing, Remote shifting, Heat detection, Health alerts. Both handle Exclusion zones.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Gallagher eShepherd: Do I lease the collars or own them?

You buy them outright. The ongoing cost is a small monthly connectivity fee per active neckband, not a per-head lease.

Halter: Do I buy the collars or rent them?

In practice you are buying into a per-cow monthly subscription plus a one-time install for the towers. The collars are not useful without an active subscription.

Gallagher eShepherd: Do I need base stations?

Not with the cellular version, which uses existing mobile networks. The LoRa version needs small on-property base stations and suits areas with poor coverage.

Halter: What does it actually cost for 500 cows?

Starting from around NZ$9.90 per cow per month, that is roughly NZ$59,000 a year before the one-time tower infrastructure cost, and it recurs every year.

Gallagher eShepherd: How many cattle do I need?

At least 20 to train a mob, after which groups can be split into smaller mobs as long as each contains leaders and followers.

Halter: Can I finance it?

New Zealand dairy farmers can finance the install through ANZ, ASB, BNZ or Westpac over two years, and paying the subscription up front attracts a discount.

Gallagher eShepherd: Does it work for sheep?

No. eShepherd is a cattle system.

Halter: Does it replace heat detection collars?

Yes on the higher tiers. That is the main reason dairies justify the cost, because it removes a second per-cow system.

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