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Agriculture · head to head

METER Group ZENTRA vs OneSoil

METER Group ZENTRA logo

METER Group ZENTRA

Agriculture

Research-grade soil, plant and atmosphere sensors with the ZENTRA Cloud data platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
OneSoil logo

OneSoil

Agriculture

Free precision farming app powered by AI

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only OneSoil has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: METER Group ZENTRA hardware costs several times what commodity soil probes cost, so a farm that only needs a rough irrigation trigger is paying for calibration accuracy it will never use.; OneSoil no price, tier or minimum is published; enterprise access requires scheduling a demo and the only self-serve entry point is a free demo app
  • They diverge on capability: METER Group ZENTRA covers TEROS soil sensors, OneSoil covers Satellite field monitoring.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which METER Group ZENTRA and OneSoil actually diverge.

Attributes where METER Group ZENTRA and OneSoil differ
AttributeMETER Group ZENTRAOneSoil
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelPer device subscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
FoundedUnknown2017

Identical on both: platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 METER Group ZENTRA

  • TEROS soil sensors
  • Water potential measurement
  • ZL6 data loggers
  • ZENTRA Cloud
  • Threshold alerts
  • Open API
  • ATMOS weather stations

Only in OneSoil

  • Satellite field monitoring
  • NDVI vegetation analysis
  • Variable rate maps
  • Field productivity zones
  • Weather integration
  • Crop rotation history
  • Field boundaries auto-detect
  • Equipment compatibility

What people use each for

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

METER Group ZENTRA

  • A university soil physics group that needs measurements defensible enough for peer reviewnot OneSoil
  • An irrigation district accounting for water applied and lost across a schemenot OneSoil
  • A vineyard managing deficit irrigation from water potential rather than volumetric moisture alonenot OneSoil
  • An environmental consultancy monitoring a remediation or drainage site where the data may be contestednot OneSoil

OneSoil

  • Monitoring crop health across fields using satellite NDVI mapsnot METER Group ZENTRA
  • Producing variable rate application maps to vary inputs within a fieldnot METER Group ZENTRA
  • Identifying crops and estimating planted area across regions for traders and food companiesnot METER Group ZENTRA

Where each one falls short

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

METER Group ZENTRA

  • Hardware costs several times what commodity soil probes cost, so a farm that only needs a rough irrigation trigger is paying for calibration accuracy it will never use.
  • ZENTRA Cloud is a per-device subscription, so a large sensor network carries a recurring bill that grows linearly with every probe added and is easy to underestimate at design stage.
  • The three-year subscription bundled with the ZL6 Pro means the renewal decision arrives exactly when a typical research grant has ended, which is how long-running datasets get abandoned.
  • METER sells measurement rather than recommendations; there is no irrigation scheduling engine, so someone has to turn the numbers into decisions or buy a second platform that will.
  • Installation quality dominates results with soil sensors, and a badly installed TEROS probe produces confidently wrong data, so the accuracy you paid for depends on field technique the vendor cannot supply.

OneSoil

  • No price, tier or minimum is published; enterprise access requires scheduling a demo and the only self-serve entry point is a free demo app
  • Field monitoring is satellite based, so the platform provides no in-field sensor or soil measurement of its own

Pricing, plan by plan

METER Group ZENTRA

On request
  • ZENTRA Cloud$undefined/year
    • Priced per activated device, pay for what you use
    • Three year subscription included with the ZL6 Pro logger
    • Cellular data included in the device subscription

OneSoil

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited fields
    • Satellite imagery
    • NDVI monitoring
  • Pro$2/hectare/year
    • Everything in Free
    • Variable rate maps
    • Field zones creation

Which should you pick?

Choose METER Group ZENTRA if

  • You need teros soil sensors.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want water potential measurement.
METER Group ZENTRA review

Choose OneSoil if

  • You need satellite field monitoring.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want ndvi vegetation analysis.
OneSoil review

Questions people ask

Is METER Group ZENTRA or OneSoil better?
Neither clearly leads. METER Group ZENTRA starts at On request and OneSoil at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, METER Group ZENTRA or OneSoil?
OneSoil has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for METER Group ZENTRA and Free for OneSoil.
Does METER Group ZENTRA or OneSoil run on more platforms?
METER Group ZENTRA runs on Web, iOS, Android. OneSoil runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use OneSoil for free?
Yes. OneSoil has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. METER Group ZENTRA starts at On request.
What is METER Group ZENTRA best used for?
METER Group ZENTRA is most often used for a university soil physics group that needs measurements defensible enough for peer review, an irrigation district accounting for water applied and lost across a scheme, a vineyard managing deficit irrigation from water potential rather than volumetric moisture alone, an environmental consultancy monitoring a remediation or drainage site where the data may be contested. Of those, a university soil physics group that needs measurements defensible enough for peer review and an irrigation district accounting for water applied and lost across a scheme are not what OneSoil is typically brought in for.
What can METER Group ZENTRA do that OneSoil cannot?
METER Group ZENTRA covers TEROS soil sensors, Water potential measurement, ZL6 data loggers, ZENTRA Cloud. OneSoil covers Satellite field monitoring, NDVI vegetation analysis, Variable rate maps, Field productivity zones.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

METER Group ZENTRA: Is ZENTRA Cloud included with the loggers?

A three-year subscription is included with the ZL6 Pro. Other loggers require a separate per-device subscription.

OneSoil: How much does OneSoil cost?

OneSoil does not publish pricing on its website. The platform offers a free trial at app.onesoil.ai or a demo can be scheduled through their contact form.

Source
METER Group ZENTRA: Do I need a separate cellular data plan?

No. Cellular data is covered within the device subscription rather than billed as a separate SIM contract.

OneSoil: What pricing model does OneSoil use?

OneSoil's pricing model is not disclosed on their public website. Contact [email protected] or schedule a demo to learn about pricing and subscription options.

Source
METER Group ZENTRA: Will it tell me when to irrigate?

No. METER provides measurement, not scheduling recommendations. You either interpret the data yourself or feed it into a scheduling platform.

METER Group ZENTRA: Why is it more expensive than commodity soil probes?

Individual sensor calibration and documented measurement physics, which is what makes the data hold up in research, regulatory and legal contexts.

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