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Agriculture · head to head

Datamars Livestock vs Nofence

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
Nofence logo

Nofence

Agriculture

GPS collar virtual fencing for cattle, sheep and goats with no base station required

From
$229/one-time
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.; Nofence everything depends on mobile network coverage, so a farm in a signal shadow cannot change boundaries, receive escape alerts or rely on the fence at all, and no amount of spending fixes that.
  • They diverge on capability: Datamars Livestock covers EID and visual tag management, Nofence covers Virtual paddocks.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Datamars Livestock and Nofence actually diverge.

Attributes where Datamars Livestock and Nofence differ
AttributeDatamars LivestockNofence
Starting priceOn request$229/one-time
Pricing modelquoteOne-time collar purchase plus annual subscription per collar
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, WindowsiOS, Android, Web

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 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 Nofence

  • Virtual paddocks
  • No base station
  • Species range
  • Escape alerts
  • Grazing history
  • Solar charging
  • Multi-user access

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 Nofence
  • A sheep producer tracking lamb growth rates by sire to inform ram selectionnot Nofence
  • A New Zealand farm needing NAIT-compliant movement records generated from the same scans used for weighingnot Nofence
  • A grazier comparing average daily gain across mobs on different paddocks or supplementsnot Nofence

Nofence

  • A conservation body grazing cattle on open heath or moorland where fencing is prohibited or impracticalnot Datamars Livestock
  • A contractor running goats to clear scrub and maintain firebreaks on rotating sitesnot Datamars Livestock
  • A smallholder rotating a small mob through awkward parcels without building temporary fencenot Datamars Livestock
  • A grazier renting seasonal parcels where investing in permanent fence makes no sensenot 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.

Nofence

  • Everything depends on mobile network coverage, so a farm in a signal shadow cannot change boundaries, receive escape alerts or rely on the fence at all, and no amount of spending fixes that.
  • Collar purchase is a real up-front barrier at roughly $349 a head for cattle, so fencing a 200 cow herd is a five-figure hardware outlay before the first subscription renewal.
  • Battery life depends on daylight and on how often the animal challenges the boundary; a busy animal in a Nordic or British winter runs the collar down faster than the headline figures suggest.
  • Virtual fencing is restricted or unaccepted in some jurisdictions and by some welfare and organic certification schemes, which can rule the product out on eligibility grounds regardless of cost.
  • It is a fencing product first, so herd health, rumination and reproduction monitoring are thin compared with dairy-focused collar systems, and a dairy will still need separate heat detection.

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

Nofence

$229/one-time
  • Sheep and goat collar$229/one-time
    • One-time collar purchase
    • First 12 months subscription included
    • Five year warranty
  • Cattle collar$349/one-time
    • One-time collar purchase for 1 to 24 collars
    • Approximately $309 per collar at 25 or more
    • First 12 months subscription included
  • Annual subscription$45/year
    • Per collar per year after the first 12 months
    • Approximately $35 per collar at 100 or more
    • Monthly option around $6.50 per collar

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 Nofence if

  • You need virtual paddocks.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want no base station.
Nofence review

Questions people ask

Is Datamars Livestock or Nofence better?
Neither clearly leads. Datamars Livestock starts at On request and Nofence at $229/one-time, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Datamars Livestock or Nofence?
Datamars Livestock starts at On request and Nofence at $229/one-time.
Does Datamars Livestock or Nofence run on more platforms?
Datamars Livestock runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows. Nofence runs on iOS, Android, Web.
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 Nofence is typically brought in for.
What can Datamars Livestock do that Nofence cannot?
Datamars Livestock covers EID and visual tag management, Weigh session capture, Average daily gain, Auto-drafting. Nofence covers Virtual paddocks, No base station, Species range, Escape alerts.

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.

Nofence: Do I need towers or a base station?

No. Nofence collars connect to the mobile network directly, which is the main structural difference from tower-based virtual fencing and removes the largest install cost.

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.

Nofence: What does the subscription cost after year one?

Roughly $45 per collar per year, dropping to about $35 for herds of 100 or more. Monthly options are around $6.50 and $4.50 per collar.

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.

Nofence: Is the first year of subscription really included?

Yes, twelve months of subscription come with each collar purchase, so the first renewal bill arrives a year after install.

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.

Nofence: Will it work for sheep?

Yes, with the smaller collar designed for sheep and goats, though horned and small-framed animals need care with fit.

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