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Agriculture · head to head

Lely Horizon vs WiseConn DropControl

Lely Horizon logo

Lely Horizon

Agriculture

Dairy herd management software billed per lactating cow that only runs a Lely robot barn

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
WiseConn DropControl logo

WiseConn DropControl

Agriculture

Wireless irrigation automation for permanent crops, built around solar radio nodes rather than trenched cable

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Lely Horizon billing is per lactating cow, so the software cost grows with the herd indefinitely and a farm that expands from 120 to 200 cows takes a permanent software cost increase it did not budget when it bought the robots.; WiseConn DropControl the platform runs on WiseConn’s own radio nodes, so the cost is set by how many valves and sensors you want covered and expanding monitoring later means buying more proprietary hardware rather than any third-party sensor.
  • They diverge on capability: Lely Horizon covers Per-cow milking data, WiseConn DropControl covers Solar wireless nodes.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lely Horizon and WiseConn DropControl actually diverge.

Attributes where Lely Horizon and WiseConn DropControl differ
AttributeLely HorizonWiseConn DropControl
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, WindowsWeb, 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 Lely Horizon

  • Per-cow milking data
  • Health and fertility alerts
  • Work list generation
  • Feed management
  • Farm Management Support
  • Multi-site view
  • Mobile alerts
  • Reporting and benchmarking

Only in WiseConn DropControl

  • Solar wireless nodes
  • Valve control
  • Soil moisture monitoring
  • Flow and pressure monitoring
  • Fertigation control
  • Digital twin view
  • Alerts
  • Water use reporting

What people use each for

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

Lely Horizon

  • A 180-cow dairy running four Astronaut robots that needs the attention list to replace walking the barn twice a daynot WiseConn DropControl
  • A farm adding Vector automatic feeding that wants ration delivery driven by the same cow data as milkingnot WiseConn DropControl
  • A dairy manager tracking transition cow health across two sites from one accountnot WiseConn DropControl
  • A Lely advisor benchmarking a client's robot utilisation against comparable farms before recommending a fourth boxnot WiseConn DropControl

WiseConn DropControl

  • A mature almond block where trenching a two-wire path between rows would cut through established rootsnot Lely Horizon
  • A table grape operation in a water-scarce district that must report applied volume per blocknot Lely Horizon
  • A grower whose filter station blocks repeatedly and who needs flow deviation alerts before pressure reaches the emittersnot Lely Horizon
  • A multi-ranch operation consolidating irrigation control across sites that were automated by different contractorsnot Lely Horizon

Where each one falls short

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

Lely Horizon

  • Billing is per lactating cow, so the software cost grows with the herd indefinitely and a farm that expands from 120 to 200 cows takes a permanent software cost increase it did not budget when it bought the robots.
  • Horizon is not optional: the barn equipment depends on it, so the subscription cannot be cancelled in a difficult year the way a discretionary analytics tool can, which removes any negotiating position at renewal.
  • It manages Lely equipment and effectively nothing else, so a farm running a Lely robot alongside a conventional parlour or another manufacturer's feeder ends up with two systems and no combined cow record.
  • The migration from the older T4C system was compulsory and rebuilt the interface and reporting, and farms that had years of T4C reports and custom lists found the equivalents either missing or shaped differently, costing retraining time.
  • Everything is bought and supported through the local Lely Center, so pricing, response time and the quality of advice vary by dealer with no published rate card, and a farm with a weak local centre has no practical alternative supplier.

WiseConn DropControl

  • The platform runs on WiseConn’s own radio nodes, so the cost is set by how many valves and sensors you want covered and expanding monitoring later means buying more proprietary hardware rather than any third-party sensor.
  • No pricing is published in any market, and quotes are produced from a site design, so a grower cannot compare the platform against alternatives without commissioning two designs.
  • Solar nodes need light and battery health management: dense canopy, dusty conditions and long winters degrade reporting, and a node that stops charging is a block you are no longer controlling.
  • It is a private mid-sized company competing against Netafim, Toro and Lindsay, so a grower buying for the fifteen-year life of a permanent planting is taking on more supplier continuity risk than with the larger incumbents.
  • Support quality is uneven across its newer markets: it is well established in Chile and California but only entered Australia in 2021 and Europe in 2022, so buyers in those regions get a thinner installer and spares network.

Pricing, plan by plan

Lely Horizon

On request
  • Horizon Basic$undefined/month
    • Core robot operation and monitoring
    • Per lactating cow subscription
    • Invoiced digitally by the local Lely Center
  • Horizon Control$undefined/month
    • Adds herd management and fertility tooling
    • Per lactating cow subscription
  • Horizon Advance$undefined/month
    • Adds analysis, benchmarking and advisor tooling
    • Per lactating cow subscription

WiseConn DropControl

On request
  • DropControl$undefined/year
    • Priced by node count, sensor count and controlled points
    • Solar radio nodes required at every controlled or monitored point
    • Cloud platform subscription bundled into the system quote

Which should you pick?

Choose Lely Horizon if

  • You need per-cow milking data.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
  • You also want health and fertility alerts.
Lely Horizon review

Choose WiseConn DropControl if

  • You need solar wireless nodes.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want valve control.
WiseConn DropControl review

Questions people ask

Is Lely Horizon or WiseConn DropControl better?
Neither clearly leads. Lely Horizon starts at On request and WiseConn DropControl at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lely Horizon or WiseConn DropControl?
Lely Horizon starts at On request and WiseConn DropControl at On request.
Does Lely Horizon or WiseConn DropControl run on more platforms?
Lely Horizon runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows. WiseConn DropControl runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Lely Horizon best used for?
Lely Horizon is most often used for a 180-cow dairy running four astronaut robots that needs the attention list to replace walking the barn twice a day, a farm adding vector automatic feeding that wants ration delivery driven by the same cow data as milking, a dairy manager tracking transition cow health across two sites from one account, a lely advisor benchmarking a client's robot utilisation against comparable farms before recommending a fourth box. Of those, a 180-cow dairy running four astronaut robots that needs the attention list to replace walking the barn twice a day and a farm adding vector automatic feeding that wants ration delivery driven by the same cow data as milking are not what WiseConn DropControl is typically brought in for.
What can Lely Horizon do that WiseConn DropControl cannot?
Lely Horizon covers Per-cow milking data, Health and fertility alerts, Work list generation, Feed management. WiseConn DropControl covers Solar wireless nodes, Valve control, Soil moisture monitoring, Flow and pressure monitoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Lely Horizon: How is Lely Horizon priced?

As a subscription per lactating cow milked by the Astronaut robots, in Basic, Control and Advance tiers. Lely does not publish rates; the local Lely Center quotes them.

WiseConn DropControl: Does DropControl need wires run to every valve?

No, that is the point of it. Nodes are solar powered and radio linked, which is why it suits retrofits on established orchards.

Lely Horizon: Can I run Horizon without Lely robots?

No. It is the control and management layer for Lely equipment and has no meaningful function without it.

WiseConn DropControl: Can I use third-party sensors?

Some probes and weather stations are supported, but the control and communication layer is WiseConn hardware, so the node network is a lock-in.

Lely Horizon: What happened to T4C?

Horizon replaced it. Migration was required rather than optional, and reporting was rebuilt rather than ported.

WiseConn DropControl: What does it cost?

WiseConn does not publish pricing. Quotes come from a site design based on the number of controlled and monitored points.

Lely Horizon: Does the subscription end when the robot is paid off?

No. It continues for as long as the robots are milking, which is the cost most robot business cases understate.

WiseConn DropControl: Where is it best supported?

Chile and California are the strongest markets. Australia and Europe are recent additions with thinner installer networks.

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