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Agriculture · head to head

METER Group ZENTRA vs Pix4Dfields

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
Pix4Dfields logo

Pix4Dfields

Agriculture

Drone mapping software for agriculture

From
$330/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; Pix4Dfields satellite imagery is sold as separate credit packages on top of the subscription, with only 100 free credits included per year
  • They diverge on capability: METER Group ZENTRA covers TEROS soil sensors, Pix4Dfields covers Orthomosaic generation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which METER Group ZENTRA and Pix4Dfields actually diverge.

Attributes where METER Group ZENTRA and Pix4Dfields differ
AttributeMETER Group ZENTRAPix4Dfields
Starting priceOn request$330/month
Pricing modelPer device subscriptionsubscription
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWindows, Ios
FoundedUnknown2011

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 METER Group ZENTRA

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

Only in Pix4Dfields

  • Orthomosaic generation
  • NDVI & vegetation indices
  • Multispectral processing
  • Zonation mapping
  • Prescription maps
  • Stand count
  • Export to machinery
  • Offline processing

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 Pix4Dfields
  • An irrigation district accounting for water applied and lost across a schemenot Pix4Dfields
  • A vineyard managing deficit irrigation from water potential rather than volumetric moisture alonenot Pix4Dfields
  • An environmental consultancy monitoring a remediation or drainage site where the data may be contestednot Pix4Dfields

Pix4Dfields

  • Processing drone imagery of fields into orthomosaics without acreage limitsnot METER Group ZENTRA
  • Generating vegetation indices and crop health maps from aerial surveysnot METER Group ZENTRA
  • Producing variable rate prescription maps for exporting to farm machinerynot METER Group ZENTRA
  • Agronomists producing crop scouting reports from drone flightsnot 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.

Pix4Dfields

  • Satellite imagery is sold as separate credit packages on top of the subscription, with only 100 free credits included per year
  • Monthly billing is listed at $165.83 per month against $1,990 for a year, so paying monthly costs substantially more
  • The software runs only on Windows and macOS, with no Linux build

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

Pix4Dfields

$330/month
  • Monthly$330/month
    • RGB & multispectral processing
    • Vegetation indices
    • Zonation maps
  • Annual$2640/year
    • Everything in Monthly
    • 33% savings
    • Priority support
  • Perpetual$5500/one-time
    • Lifetime license
    • 1 year updates
    • Local processing

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 Pix4Dfields if

  • You need orthomosaic generation.
  • You work on Windows, Ios.
  • You also want ndvi & vegetation indices.
Pix4Dfields review

Questions people ask

Is METER Group ZENTRA or Pix4Dfields better?
Neither clearly leads. METER Group ZENTRA starts at On request and Pix4Dfields at $330/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, METER Group ZENTRA or Pix4Dfields?
METER Group ZENTRA starts at On request and Pix4Dfields at $330/month.
Does METER Group ZENTRA or Pix4Dfields run on more platforms?
METER Group ZENTRA runs on Web, iOS, Android. Pix4Dfields runs on Windows, Ios.
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 Pix4Dfields is typically brought in for.
What can METER Group ZENTRA do that Pix4Dfields cannot?
METER Group ZENTRA covers TEROS soil sensors, Water potential measurement, ZL6 data loggers, ZENTRA Cloud. Pix4Dfields covers Orthomosaic generation, NDVI & vegetation indices, Multispectral processing, Zonation mapping.

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.

Pix4Dfields: How much does PIX4Dfields cost?

PIX4Dfields costs $111 per month for a monthly subscription plan. The software offers actionable data and insights from drone imagery for high efficiency and productivity in precision agriculture. Source: https://pix4d.com/pricing

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.

Pix4Dfields: Does PIX4Dfields offer a free trial?

Yes, PIX4Dfields provides a free 15-day trial that requires no credit card to start. You can cancel before renewal without incurring charges, though no refunds are issued upon cancellation. Source: https://pix4d.com/pricing

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.

Pix4Dfields: Can I add cloud processing credits to PIX4Dfields?

Yes, PIX4Dfields subscriptions allow you to add cloud processing credits to your account for additional image processing beyond the standard monthly allocation. Credits can be purchased as needed. Source: https://pix4d.com/pricing

Source
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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