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Agriculture · head to head

METER Group ZENTRA vs Trimble Ag Software

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
Trimble Ag Software logo

Trimble Ag Software

Agriculture

Connected farm solutions for precision agriculture

From
$29/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.; Trimble Ag Software no pricing information published on the website or dealer locator
  • They diverge on capability: METER Group ZENTRA covers TEROS soil sensors, Trimble Ag Software covers GPS guidance.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which METER Group ZENTRA and Trimble Ag Software actually diverge.

Attributes where METER Group ZENTRA and Trimble Ag Software differ
AttributeMETER Group ZENTRATrimble Ag Software
Starting priceOn request$29/month
Pricing modelPer device subscriptionsubscription
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Ios, Android, Hardware
FoundedUnknown1978

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 Trimble Ag Software

  • GPS guidance
  • Variable rate prescriptions
  • Field mapping
  • Data management
  • Equipment connectivity
  • John Deere
  • CNH
  • AGCO

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

Trimble Ag Software

  • Guidance, steering and machine control on farm equipment through Precision-IQnot METER Group ZENTRA
  • Digital farm management and agronomic record keeping through FarmENGAGEnot METER Group ZENTRA
  • Retrofitting autonomy to existing tractors with the OutRun kitnot 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.

Trimble Ag Software

  • No pricing information published on the website or dealer locator
  • Pricing requires contacting dealers or PTx directly
  • Customized quoting model based on equipment configuration and regional factors

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

Trimble Ag Software

$29/month
  • Farmer Core$800/year
    • Field records
    • Basic mapping
    • Reports
  • Farmer Pro$2500/year
    • Variable rate
    • Full analytics
    • Connected equipment

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 Trimble Ag Software if

  • You need gps guidance.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Hardware.
  • You also want variable rate prescriptions.
Trimble Ag Software review

Questions people ask

Is METER Group ZENTRA or Trimble Ag Software better?
Neither clearly leads. METER Group ZENTRA starts at On request and Trimble Ag Software at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, METER Group ZENTRA or Trimble Ag Software?
METER Group ZENTRA starts at On request and Trimble Ag Software at $29/month.
Does METER Group ZENTRA or Trimble Ag Software run on more platforms?
METER Group ZENTRA runs on Web, iOS, Android. Trimble Ag Software runs on Web, Ios, Android, Hardware.
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 Trimble Ag Software is typically brought in for.
What can METER Group ZENTRA do that Trimble Ag Software cannot?
METER Group ZENTRA covers TEROS soil sensors, Water potential measurement, ZL6 data loggers, ZENTRA Cloud. Trimble Ag Software covers GPS guidance, Variable rate prescriptions, Field mapping, Data management.

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.

Trimble Ag Software: How much does Trimble agricultural software cost?

Trimble does not publish pricing for its agricultural software online. Pricing is quote-based and customized per implementation. Contact PTx directly or locate a regional dealer through their website to request a quote.

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.

Trimble Ag Software: How do I get pricing information?

Visit the PTx website to use their dealer locator to find a regional dealer, or contact PTx directly through their contact form. Pricing varies based on specific equipment configurations and regional factors.

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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