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Agriculture · head to head

METER Group ZENTRA vs Traction

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
Traction logo

Traction

Agriculture

Modern marketplace for farm equipment

From
$950/year
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.; Traction limited to farm accounting and field data, less comprehensive than full farm management ERPs
  • They diverge on capability: METER Group ZENTRA covers TEROS soil sensors, Traction covers Equipment marketplace.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where METER Group ZENTRA and Traction differ
AttributeMETER Group ZENTRATraction
Starting priceOn request$950/year
Pricing modelPer device subscriptionUnknown
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, 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 METER Group ZENTRA

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

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.

METER Group ZENTRA

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

Traction

  • Equipment buying/sellingnot METER Group ZENTRA
  • Inventory managementnot METER Group ZENTRA
  • Market analysisnot METER Group ZENTRA
  • Lead generationnot 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.

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

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

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 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 Traction if

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

Questions people ask

Is METER Group ZENTRA or Traction better?
Neither clearly leads. METER Group ZENTRA starts at On request and Traction at $950/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, METER Group ZENTRA or Traction?
METER Group ZENTRA starts at On request and Traction at $950/year.
Does METER Group ZENTRA or Traction run on more platforms?
METER Group ZENTRA runs on Web, iOS, Android. Traction runs on Web, Mobile.
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 Traction is typically brought in for.
What can METER Group ZENTRA do that Traction cannot?
METER Group ZENTRA covers TEROS soil sensors, Water potential measurement, ZL6 data loggers, ZENTRA Cloud. Traction covers Equipment marketplace, Parts sourcing, Dealer management, Price analytics.

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.

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
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.

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
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.

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
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.

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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