Softwr

Agriculture · head to head

Gallagher eShepherd vs Nofence

Gallagher eShepherd logo

Gallagher eShepherd

Agriculture

Virtual fencing where you own the solar collars outright and pay only a small monthly connectivity fee

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: Gallagher eShepherd gallagher does not publish neckband prices, quoting instead by herd size, region and connectivity type, so the ownership-versus-lease advantage over subscription rivals cannot be verified without a sales conversation.; 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: Gallagher eShepherd covers Map-drawn virtual paddocks, Nofence covers Virtual paddocks.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Gallagher eShepherd and Nofence actually diverge.

Attributes where Gallagher eShepherd and Nofence differ
AttributeGallagher eShepherdNofence
Starting priceOn request$229/one-time
Pricing modelquoteOne-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 Gallagher eShepherd

  • Map-drawn virtual paddocks
  • Audio cue then pulse
  • Solar neckband
  • Cellular or LoRa connectivity
  • Animal location tracking
  • Grazing rotation management
  • Exclusion zones
  • Behaviour alerts

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.

Gallagher eShepherd

  • A ranch subdividing a 2,000 acre paddock for rotational grazing without buying a mile of wirenot Nofence
  • A grazier fencing cattle out of a creek line for a stewardship scheme without building riparian fencenot Nofence
  • An operation on leased ground where permanent fencing is not permitted or not recoverablenot Nofence
  • A farm short of labour that needs paddock moves done from a phone rather than a quad bikenot Nofence

Nofence

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

Where each one falls short

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

Gallagher eShepherd

  • Gallagher does not publish neckband prices, quoting instead by herd size, region and connectivity type, so the ownership-versus-lease advantage over subscription rivals cannot be verified without a sales conversation.
  • A minimum of about 20 animals is needed to train a mob, which rules out smallholders and makes the system awkward for operations that run many small separate groups.
  • It is cattle only: sheep, goats and deer are not supported, so a mixed grazing enterprise still needs conventional fencing for everything else.
  • The connectivity fee is per active neckband and continues indefinitely, so the collars are yours but the system stops fencing if you stop paying, which is the same dependency as a subscription with a different label.
  • Virtual fencing is regulated inconsistently: some jurisdictions restrict or have not yet ruled on aversive-stimulus containment, and welfare-scheme or organic certifier acceptance varies, so eligibility should be checked locally before ordering.

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

Gallagher eShepherd

On request
  • eShepherd neckband$undefined/year
    • Neckbands purchased outright, not leased per head
    • Small fixed monthly connectivity fee per active neckband
    • Fees charged only on active bands

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 Gallagher eShepherd if

  • You need map-drawn virtual paddocks.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want audio cue then pulse.
Gallagher eShepherd 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 Gallagher eShepherd or Nofence better?
Neither clearly leads. Gallagher eShepherd 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, Gallagher eShepherd or Nofence?
Gallagher eShepherd starts at On request and Nofence at $229/one-time.
Does Gallagher eShepherd or Nofence run on more platforms?
Gallagher eShepherd runs on Web, iOS, Android. Nofence runs on iOS, Android, Web.
What is Gallagher eShepherd best used for?
Gallagher eShepherd is most often used for a ranch subdividing a 2,000 acre paddock for rotational grazing without buying a mile of wire, a grazier fencing cattle out of a creek line for a stewardship scheme without building riparian fence, an operation on leased ground where permanent fencing is not permitted or not recoverable, a farm short of labour that needs paddock moves done from a phone rather than a quad bike. Of those, a ranch subdividing a 2,000 acre paddock for rotational grazing without buying a mile of wire and a grazier fencing cattle out of a creek line for a stewardship scheme without building riparian fence are not what Nofence is typically brought in for.
What can Gallagher eShepherd do that Nofence cannot?
Gallagher eShepherd covers Map-drawn virtual paddocks, Audio cue then pulse, Solar neckband, Cellular or LoRa connectivity. Nofence covers Virtual paddocks, No base station, Species range, Escape alerts.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Gallagher eShepherd: Do I lease the collars or own them?

You buy them outright. The ongoing cost is a small monthly connectivity fee per active neckband, not a per-head lease.

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.

Gallagher eShepherd: Do I need base stations?

Not with the cellular version, which uses existing mobile networks. The LoRa version needs small on-property base stations and suits areas with poor coverage.

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.

Gallagher eShepherd: How many cattle do I need?

At least 20 to train a mob, after which groups can be split into smaller mobs as long as each contains leaders and followers.

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.

Gallagher eShepherd: Does it work for sheep?

No. eShepherd is a cattle system.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on Gallagher eShepherd

More on Nofence

Keep looking

Other head to heads