Softwr

Agriculture · head to head

GEA DairyNet vs Halter

GEA DairyNet logo

GEA DairyNet

Agriculture

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

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: 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.; 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: GEA DairyNet covers Herd module, Halter covers Virtual fencing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where GEA DairyNet and Halter differ
AttributeGEA DairyNetHalter
Starting priceOn request9.9/month
Pricing modelquotePer cow per month plus one-time install
PlatformsWindows, Web, 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 GEA DairyNet

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

Only in Halter

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

What people use each for

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

GEA DairyNet

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

Halter

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

Where each one falls short

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

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.

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

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

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 GEA DairyNet if

  • You need herd module.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want system monitoring.
GEA DairyNet 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 GEA DairyNet or Halter better?
Neither clearly leads. GEA DairyNet 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, GEA DairyNet or Halter?
GEA DairyNet starts at On request and Halter at 9.9/month.
Does GEA DairyNet or Halter run on more platforms?
GEA DairyNet runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android. Halter runs on iOS, Android, Web.
What is GEA DairyNet best used for?
GEA DairyNet is most often used for a dairy replacing an ageing dairyplan c21 installation on existing gea milking equipment, a robot barn running dairyrobot r9500 boxes that wants robot data and herd records in one place, a dairy adding cowscout activity monitoring and needing heat alerts to land in the herd software automatically, a herd manager who wants to pay for a youngstock module covering only the heifers rather than the whole herd. Of those, a dairy replacing an ageing dairyplan c21 installation on existing gea milking equipment and a robot barn running dairyrobot r9500 boxes that wants robot data and herd records in one place are not what Halter is typically brought in for.
What can GEA DairyNet do that Halter cannot?
GEA DairyNet covers Herd module, System monitoring, CowScout integration, Feeding module. Halter covers Virtual fencing, Remote shifting, Heat detection, Health alerts.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on GEA DairyNet

More on Halter

Keep looking

Other head to heads