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Agriculture · head to head

Halter vs Traction

Halter logo

Halter

Agriculture

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

From
9.9/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Traction logo

Traction

Agriculture

Modern marketplace for farm equipment

From
$950/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Traction limited to farm accounting and field data, less comprehensive than full farm management ERPs
  • They diverge on capability: Halter covers Virtual fencing, Traction covers Equipment marketplace.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Halter and Traction actually diverge.

Attributes where Halter and Traction differ
AttributeHalterTraction
Starting price9.9/month$950/year
Pricing modelPer cow per month plus one-time installUnknown
PlatformsiOS, Android, WebWeb, Mobile
FoundedUnknown2019

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 Halter

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

Only in Traction

  • Equipment marketplace
  • Parts sourcing
  • Dealer management
  • Price analytics
  • Lead generation
  • DMS systems
  • Website builders
  • CRM platforms

What people use each for

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

Halter

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

Traction

  • Equipment buying/sellingnot Halter
  • Inventory managementnot Halter
  • Market analysisnot Halter
  • Lead generationnot Halter

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Traction

  • Limited to farm accounting and field data, less comprehensive than full farm management ERPs
  • Integration capabilities are limited to John Deere and Climate FieldView platforms

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Traction

$950/year
  • Basic$950/year
    • Farm accounting
    • Field records
    • Basic reporting
  • Plus$1950/year
    • Farm accounting
    • Field records
    • Advanced reporting
  • Pro$3950/year
    • Farm accounting
    • Field records
    • Advanced reporting

Which should you pick?

Choose Halter if

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

Choose Traction if

  • You need equipment marketplace.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want parts sourcing.
Traction review

Questions people ask

Is Halter or Traction better?
Neither clearly leads. Halter starts at 9.9/month and Traction at $950/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Halter or Traction?
Halter starts at 9.9/month and Traction at $950/year.
Does Halter or Traction run on more platforms?
Halter runs on iOS, Android, Web. Traction runs on Web, Mobile.
What is Halter best used for?
Halter is most often used for a 600 cow grazing dairy that shifts breaks twice daily and cannot recruit enough staff to do it, a beef ranch fencing off riparian margins and wetlands without building physical fence, a dairy replacing a separate heat detection collar system with one collar that also does fencing, an operation running cell grazing on country where the cost of internal fencing exceeds the collar subscription. Of those, a 600 cow grazing dairy that shifts breaks twice daily and cannot recruit enough staff to do it and a beef ranch fencing off riparian margins and wetlands without building physical fence are not what Traction is typically brought in for.
What can Halter do that Traction cannot?
Halter covers Virtual fencing, Remote shifting, Heat detection, Health alerts. Traction covers Equipment marketplace, Parts sourcing, Dealer management, Price analytics.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Traction: Does Traction Ag integrate with John Deere equipment?

Yes. Traction Ag integrates with the John Deere Operations Center, allowing farmers to automatically pull in field data for application, tillage, seeding, and harvest records.

Source
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.

Traction: What is the starting price for Traction Ag?

Traction Ag offers three pricing tiers: Basic starts at $950 per year, Plus costs $1,950 per year, and Pro costs $3,950 per year.

Source
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.

Traction: Does Traction Ag offer a free trial?

Yes. Traction Ag offers a 30-day free trial providing access to farm accounting, field operations, and agronomy features.

Source
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.

Traction: What is the main difference between Traction Ag and other farm management software?

Traction Ag is the only farm management solution uniquely built for the cloud, integrating actual accounting numbers with field operations to provide real-time financial analysis.

Source
Traction: Can Traction Ag manage multiple farms?

Yes. Traction Ag includes multi-entity access under one login, allowing farmers to manage multiple farms and see field profitability tracking across all operations.

Source
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