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Agriculture · head to head

fieldmargin vs Nofence

fieldmargin logo

fieldmargin

Agriculture

Per-farm field mapping, records and team messaging for livestock and arable farms

From
£3.75/month
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: fieldmargin per-farm pricing inverts badly at the small end: a 30 hectare holding pays the same as a 3,000 hectare estate, so the effective cost per hectare on a smallholding is many times what a large farm pays.; 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: fieldmargin covers Field mapping, Nofence covers Virtual paddocks.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which fieldmargin and Nofence actually diverge.

Attributes where fieldmargin and Nofence differ
AttributefieldmarginNofence
Starting price£3.75/month$229/one-time
Pricing modelPer farm per month, unlimited hectaresOne-time collar purchase plus annual subscription per collar
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidiOS, 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 fieldmargin

  • Field mapping
  • Offline mobile
  • Team activity feed
  • Job assignment
  • Livestock groups
  • Input and application records
  • NDVI satellite imagery
  • Cost per field

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.

fieldmargin

  • A 900 hectare arable estate that wants field records without paying a per-hectare licence feenot Nofence
  • A livestock farm tracking mob movements and grazing rotation across fields on a phone with no signalnot Nofence
  • A farm manager assigning and checking off daily jobs for seasonal staff without phone callsnot Nofence
  • A mixed farm that wants photos and notes attached to specific field locations for later referencenot Nofence

Nofence

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

Where each one falls short

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

fieldmargin

  • Per-farm pricing inverts badly at the small end: a 30 hectare holding pays the same as a 3,000 hectare estate, so the effective cost per hectare on a smallholding is many times what a large farm pays.
  • It is not an agronomy platform, so there is no variable rate prescription engine and no nutrient planning to a standard a UK agronomist will certify, meaning most arable users still pay for Gatekeeper or an agronomist's own system alongside it.
  • There is no direct submission route into Basic Payment Scheme, Sustainable Farming Incentive or equivalent schemes, so the compliance paperwork that costs farms real money still has to be assembled elsewhere.
  • Machine integration is limited compared with Climate FieldView or Operations Center; as-applied data from the sprayer or drill generally is not flowing in automatically, so application records depend on someone typing them.
  • Satellite NDVI is confined to the top tier and is standard public imagery, so cloud cover in a British winter means long gaps and the imagery is not a substitute for the aircraft or drone capture that specialist providers sell.

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

fieldmargin

£3.75/month
  • Essentials$3.75/month
    • Field mapping and boundaries
    • Field notes and photos
    • Unlimited team members
  • Plus$20/month
    • Everything in Essentials
    • Job assignment and tracking
    • Input and application records
  • Pro$30/month
    • Everything in Plus
    • NDVI satellite imagery
    • Cost per field and crop analysis

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 fieldmargin if

  • You need field mapping.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want offline mobile.
fieldmargin 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 fieldmargin or Nofence better?
Neither clearly leads. fieldmargin starts at £3.75/month and Nofence at $229/one-time, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, fieldmargin or Nofence?
fieldmargin starts at £3.75/month and Nofence at $229/one-time.
Does fieldmargin or Nofence run on more platforms?
fieldmargin runs on Web, iOS, Android. Nofence runs on iOS, Android, Web.
What is fieldmargin best used for?
fieldmargin is most often used for a 900 hectare arable estate that wants field records without paying a per-hectare licence fee, a livestock farm tracking mob movements and grazing rotation across fields on a phone with no signal, a farm manager assigning and checking off daily jobs for seasonal staff without phone calls, a mixed farm that wants photos and notes attached to specific field locations for later reference. Of those, a 900 hectare arable estate that wants field records without paying a per-hectare licence fee and a livestock farm tracking mob movements and grazing rotation across fields on a phone with no signal are not what Nofence is typically brought in for.
What can fieldmargin do that Nofence cannot?
fieldmargin covers Field mapping, Offline mobile, Team activity feed, Job assignment. Nofence covers Virtual paddocks, No base station, Species range, Escape alerts.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

fieldmargin: Does it charge per hectare?

No. Subscriptions are per farm with unlimited hectares and unlimited team members, which is why it is cheap on large acreages and proportionally expensive on small ones.

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.

fieldmargin: Can I submit my BPS or SFI claim from it?

No. It holds the records that support a claim but there is no direct submission integration, so the claim itself is prepared elsewhere.

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.

fieldmargin: Does it work without mobile signal?

Yes. The mobile apps capture records offline and sync when the phone regains a connection, which is the main reason it gets used in the far corners of a farm.

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.

fieldmargin: Is there a free plan?

There is a 14 day trial rather than a permanently free tier. After that every farm is on a paid plan.

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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