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Agriculture · head to head

Lely Horizon vs Netafim NetBeat

Lely Horizon logo

Lely Horizon

Agriculture

Dairy herd management software billed per lactating cow that only runs a Lely robot barn

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Netafim NetBeat logo

Netafim NetBeat

Agriculture

Irrigation and fertigation control that only runs on Netafim NetMCU controllers in the field

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Lely Horizon billing is per lactating cow, so the software cost grows with the herd indefinitely and a farm that expands from 120 to 200 cows takes a permanent software cost increase it did not budget when it bought the robots.; Netafim NetBeat netBeat runs on Netafim NetMCU hardware, so a grower with a functioning controller from another manufacturer has to replace working equipment to adopt it rather than adding software.
  • They diverge on capability: Lely Horizon covers Per-cow milking data, Netafim NetBeat covers NetMCU controller.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lely Horizon and Netafim NetBeat actually diverge.

Attributes where Lely Horizon and Netafim NetBeat differ
AttributeLely HorizonNetafim NetBeat
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, WindowsWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), 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 Lely Horizon

  • Per-cow milking data
  • Health and fertility alerts
  • Work list generation
  • Feed management
  • Farm Management Support
  • Multi-site view
  • Mobile alerts
  • Reporting and benchmarking

Only in Netafim NetBeat

  • NetMCU controller
  • NetRTU remote units
  • Irrigation model
  • Fertigation control
  • Flow and pressure monitoring
  • Soil moisture integration
  • Remote valve control
  • Alerts and reporting

What people use each for

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

Lely Horizon

  • A 180-cow dairy running four Astronaut robots that needs the attention list to replace walking the barn twice a daynot Netafim NetBeat
  • A farm adding Vector automatic feeding that wants ration delivery driven by the same cow data as milkingnot Netafim NetBeat
  • A dairy manager tracking transition cow health across two sites from one accountnot Netafim NetBeat
  • A Lely advisor benchmarking a client's robot utilisation against comparable farms before recommending a fourth boxnot Netafim NetBeat

Netafim NetBeat

  • A new orchard planting Netafim drip that wants scheduling and fertigation designed in from the startnot Lely Horizon
  • A grower under a water allocation who needs per-block application records for the regulatornot Lely Horizon
  • A vine operation trying to reduce fertiliser cost by dosing to crop stage rather than a fixed programmenot Lely Horizon
  • A block with a persistent emitter clogging problem where flow deviation alerts find it before yield dropsnot Lely Horizon

Where each one falls short

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

Lely Horizon

  • Billing is per lactating cow, so the software cost grows with the herd indefinitely and a farm that expands from 120 to 200 cows takes a permanent software cost increase it did not budget when it bought the robots.
  • Horizon is not optional: the barn equipment depends on it, so the subscription cannot be cancelled in a difficult year the way a discretionary analytics tool can, which removes any negotiating position at renewal.
  • It manages Lely equipment and effectively nothing else, so a farm running a Lely robot alongside a conventional parlour or another manufacturer's feeder ends up with two systems and no combined cow record.
  • The migration from the older T4C system was compulsory and rebuilt the interface and reporting, and farms that had years of T4C reports and custom lists found the equivalents either missing or shaped differently, costing retraining time.
  • Everything is bought and supported through the local Lely Center, so pricing, response time and the quality of advice vary by dealer with no published rate card, and a farm with a weak local centre has no practical alternative supplier.

Netafim NetBeat

  • NetBeat runs on Netafim NetMCU hardware, so a grower with a functioning controller from another manufacturer has to replace working equipment to adopt it rather than adding software.
  • NetRTU units communicate over Netafim’s own LoRa implementation, which means expanding sensing later means buying Netafim radios rather than the cheapest compatible sensor on the market.
  • No pricing is published in any market and the platform is sold as part of a system design, so growers cannot compare the software cost against rivals without commissioning a design.
  • Netafim is majority owned by Orbia, a Mexican-listed polymers and infrastructure group, so the digital product competes for investment against pipe manufacturing and building materials rather than being the parent’s core business.
  • Availability and support depth vary sharply by country: strong in Israel, India, Australia and parts of Europe, much thinner in North America, so a grower’s experience depends on whether a competent local Netafim team exists.

Pricing, plan by plan

Lely Horizon

On request
  • Horizon Basic$undefined/month
    • Core robot operation and monitoring
    • Per lactating cow subscription
    • Invoiced digitally by the local Lely Center
  • Horizon Control$undefined/month
    • Adds herd management and fertility tooling
    • Per lactating cow subscription
  • Horizon Advance$undefined/month
    • Adds analysis, benchmarking and advisor tooling
    • Per lactating cow subscription

Netafim NetBeat

On request
  • NetBeat$undefined/year
    • Requires NetMCU field controller
    • NetRTU remote terminal units per monitored or controlled point
    • Monitor, analyse and automate modules

Which should you pick?

Choose Lely Horizon if

  • You need per-cow milking data.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
  • You also want health and fertility alerts.
Lely Horizon review

Choose Netafim NetBeat if

  • You need netmcu controller.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want netrtu remote units.
Netafim NetBeat review

Questions people ask

Is Lely Horizon or Netafim NetBeat better?
Neither clearly leads. Lely Horizon starts at On request and Netafim NetBeat at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lely Horizon or Netafim NetBeat?
Lely Horizon starts at On request and Netafim NetBeat at On request.
Does Lely Horizon or Netafim NetBeat run on more platforms?
Lely Horizon runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows. Netafim NetBeat runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Lely Horizon best used for?
Lely Horizon is most often used for a 180-cow dairy running four astronaut robots that needs the attention list to replace walking the barn twice a day, a farm adding vector automatic feeding that wants ration delivery driven by the same cow data as milking, a dairy manager tracking transition cow health across two sites from one account, a lely advisor benchmarking a client's robot utilisation against comparable farms before recommending a fourth box. Of those, a 180-cow dairy running four astronaut robots that needs the attention list to replace walking the barn twice a day and a farm adding vector automatic feeding that wants ration delivery driven by the same cow data as milking are not what Netafim NetBeat is typically brought in for.
What can Lely Horizon do that Netafim NetBeat cannot?
Lely Horizon covers Per-cow milking data, Health and fertility alerts, Work list generation, Feed management. Netafim NetBeat covers NetMCU controller, NetRTU remote units, Irrigation model, Fertigation control.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Lely Horizon: How is Lely Horizon priced?

As a subscription per lactating cow milked by the Astronaut robots, in Basic, Control and Advance tiers. Lely does not publish rates; the local Lely Center quotes them.

Netafim NetBeat: Can I use NetBeat with a controller I already own?

No. It requires Netafim’s NetMCU controller, with NetRTU units for distributed sensing and valve control.

Lely Horizon: Can I run Horizon without Lely robots?

No. It is the control and management layer for Lely equipment and has no meaningful function without it.

Netafim NetBeat: Is NetBeat sold as a standalone subscription?

Not in practice. It is quoted as part of an irrigation system design by a local Netafim office, with no published rate card.

Lely Horizon: What happened to T4C?

Horizon replaced it. Migration was required rather than optional, and reporting was rebuilt rather than ported.

Netafim NetBeat: Who owns Netafim?

Orbia, the Mexican-listed materials and infrastructure group, holds the majority. That shapes how much investment the digital line attracts.

Lely Horizon: Does the subscription end when the robot is paid off?

No. It continues for as long as the robots are milking, which is the cost most robot business cases understate.

Netafim NetBeat: Does it handle fertigation as well as irrigation?

Yes, injection scheduling and dosing run off the same crop and soil model as water application.

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