Softwr

Agriculture · head to head

Datamars Livestock vs Nedap Livestock Management

Datamars Livestock logo

Datamars Livestock

Agriculture

EID tag, weigh scale and livestock data platform behind the Tru-Test brand

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Nedap Livestock Management logo

Nedap Livestock Management

Agriculture

CowControl and Velos sensor platform sold almost entirely through OEM partners rather than direct

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Datamars Livestock the software exists to sell tags, readers and scales, so its feature depth in breeding, financials and grazing planning is well short of dedicated herd management systems.; Nedap Livestock Management nedap publishes no pricing whatsoever and sells through dealers, so two comparable farms routinely pay materially different amounts for the same sensors and there is no rate card to argue against.
  • They diverge on capability: Datamars Livestock covers EID and visual tag management, Nedap Livestock Management covers Smarttag Neck and Leg.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Datamars Livestock and Nedap Livestock Management actually diverge.

Attributes where Datamars Livestock and Nedap Livestock Management differ
AttributeDatamars LivestockNedap Livestock Management

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android, Windows), 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 Datamars Livestock

  • EID and visual tag management
  • Weigh session capture
  • Average daily gain
  • Auto-drafting
  • Traceability records
  • Bluetooth reader sync
  • Treatment and animal events

Only in Nedap Livestock Management

  • Smarttag Neck and Leg
  • Heat detection
  • Health monitoring
  • RealTime positioning
  • Velos sow feeding
  • Automatic sorting
  • Nedap Now
  • Open OEM platform

What people use each for

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

Datamars Livestock

  • A beef finisher drafting cattle to a target weight automatically at the crushnot Nedap Livestock Management
  • A sheep producer tracking lamb growth rates by sire to inform ram selectionnot Nedap Livestock Management
  • A New Zealand farm needing NAIT-compliant movement records generated from the same scans used for weighingnot Nedap Livestock Management
  • A grazier comparing average daily gain across mobs on different paddocks or supplementsnot Nedap Livestock Management

Nedap Livestock Management

  • A 500-cow loose-housed dairy where finding a single flagged cow by eye wastes twenty minutes a timenot Datamars Livestock
  • A sow unit moving to group gestation housing that needs electronic feeding to comply with welfare rulesnot Datamars Livestock
  • A farm that wants heat detection independent of the milking parlour manufacturernot Datamars Livestock
  • An equipment maker embedding proven animal monitoring rather than developing sensors in-housenot Datamars Livestock

Where each one falls short

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

Datamars Livestock

  • The software exists to sell tags, readers and scales, so its feature depth in breeding, financials and grazing planning is well short of dedicated herd management systems.
  • A migration to new cloud software is scheduled from January 2026 for Tru-Test indicator and reader customers, which puts historical Data Link desktop records at risk if they are not exported deliberately before support changes.
  • Hardware lock-in is real: the automatic capture that makes the platform useful depends on Datamars and Tru-Test devices, and a farm with Gallagher scales gets a much thinner experience.
  • Software being bundled with hardware means it has never been priced or sold on its own merits, so there is no published cost, no clear upgrade path and no leverage if the bundling arrangement changes.
  • Traceability support is country-specific and uneven, so a farm outside the main New Zealand, Australian, UK and North American markets may find its national scheme is not directly supported and needs manual file preparation.

Nedap Livestock Management

  • Nedap publishes no pricing whatsoever and sells through dealers, so two comparable farms routinely pay materially different amounts for the same sensors and there is no rate card to argue against.
  • A large share of the technology ships inside other manufacturers' branded systems, which means the support you get, the firmware version you run and whether you can access the raw data depend on the badge on the box rather than on Nedap.
  • The system needs in-barn antennas, readers and a processing unit installed and commissioned, so the sensor price per cow understates the project cost and retrofitting an existing shed adds cabling work.
  • Adding RealTime positioning generally requires more antenna infrastructure than basic heat detection, so a farm that starts cheap and wants positioning later faces a second installation rather than a software toggle.
  • Nedap N.V. is a listed company with several unrelated divisions and livestock is one segment among retail, healthcare and security, so roadmap priority for agriculture competes with businesses that have nothing to do with farming.

Pricing, plan by plan

Datamars Livestock

On request
  • Datamars Livestock$undefined/year
    • Historically bundled with purchase of Datamars and Tru-Test hardware
    • Tag, reader and weigh indicator hardware is the actual cost
    • Cloud platform terms changing with the January 2026 migration

Nedap Livestock Management

On request
  • Nedap CowControl$undefined/year
    • Smarttag Neck or Leg sensors per animal
    • Barn antennas, readers and processor unit
    • Heat, health and rumination applications
  • Nedap Velos$undefined/year
    • Electronic sow feeding and separation
    • Heat detection for group housing
    • Nedap Now cloud access

Which should you pick?

Choose Datamars Livestock if

  • You need eid and visual tag management.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
  • You also want weigh session capture.
Datamars Livestock review

Choose Nedap Livestock Management if

  • You need smarttag neck and leg.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
  • You also want heat detection.
Nedap Livestock Management review

Questions people ask

Is Datamars Livestock or Nedap Livestock Management better?
Neither clearly leads. Datamars Livestock starts at On request and Nedap Livestock Management at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Datamars Livestock or Nedap Livestock Management?
Datamars Livestock starts at On request and Nedap Livestock Management at On request.
Does Datamars Livestock or Nedap Livestock Management run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, Windows, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Datamars Livestock best used for?
Datamars Livestock is most often used for a beef finisher drafting cattle to a target weight automatically at the crush, a sheep producer tracking lamb growth rates by sire to inform ram selection, a new zealand farm needing nait-compliant movement records generated from the same scans used for weighing, a grazier comparing average daily gain across mobs on different paddocks or supplements. Of those, a beef finisher drafting cattle to a target weight automatically at the crush and a sheep producer tracking lamb growth rates by sire to inform ram selection are not what Nedap Livestock Management is typically brought in for.
What can Datamars Livestock do that Nedap Livestock Management cannot?
Datamars Livestock covers EID and visual tag management, Weigh session capture, Average daily gain, Auto-drafting. Nedap Livestock Management covers Smarttag Neck and Leg, Heat detection, Health monitoring, RealTime positioning.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Datamars Livestock: Do I have to pay for the software?

It has historically been included with purchase of Datamars and Tru-Test hardware. The January 2026 cloud migration is the point at which to confirm what the ongoing terms are.

Nedap Livestock Management: Can I buy Nedap direct?

Usually not. It sells through regional dealers and through OEM partners who rebadge the technology, so your quote and your support both come from an intermediary.

Datamars Livestock: What happens to my Data Link records?

They need to be migrated to the new cloud platform. Export your historical weigh sessions before the transition rather than assuming everything carries across.

Nedap Livestock Management: Am I already using Nedap without knowing?

Possibly. Several dairy equipment manufacturers embed Nedap sensing under their own brand names, so check what the tags in your barn actually are before buying a second system.

Datamars Livestock: Will it work with Gallagher scales?

Not natively in the way it works with Tru-Test hardware. You lose the automatic session sync that is the main reason to use it.

Nedap Livestock Management: What does RealTime positioning need?

Additional in-barn antenna coverage beyond what basic heat detection requires, which is why it is cheaper to specify at installation than to add later.

Datamars Livestock: Does it handle NAIT and NLIS?

Yes, for New Zealand and Australia respectively, generating movement and identification records from the same EID scans used for weighing.

Nedap Livestock Management: Does it work with my milking parlour?

It integrates with several major parlour and herd management systems, but the depth varies by partner, so confirm the specific combination before ordering.

Share

Related pages

More on Datamars Livestock

More on Nedap Livestock Management

Keep looking

Other head to heads