Softwr

Agriculture · head to head

Nofence vs Toro Lynx Central Control

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
Toro Lynx Central Control logo

Toro Lynx Central Control

Agriculture

Golf course irrigation control where the mobile app stops working if you let the NSN subscription lapse

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Toro Lynx Central Control nSN is free only for the first year after purchase, and the Lynx mobile app is tied to an active NSN subscription, so the remote control feature demonstrated at sale disappears in year two unless the club renews an item the capital budget did not carry.
  • They diverge on capability: Nofence covers Virtual paddocks, Toro Lynx Central Control covers Course mapping.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Nofence and Toro Lynx Central Control actually diverge.

Attributes where Nofence and Toro Lynx Central Control differ
AttributeNofenceToro Lynx Central Control
Starting price$229/one-timeOn request
Pricing modelOne-time collar purchase plus annual subscription per collarquote
PlatformsiOS, Android, WebWindows, Web, iOS, Android

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 Nofence

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

Only in Toro Lynx Central Control

  • Course mapping
  • Flow management
  • ET and weather adjustment
  • Lynx Smart Module
  • Lynx Cloud
  • Mobile app
  • IntelliDash
  • NSN support

What people use each for

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

Nofence

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

Toro Lynx Central Control

  • An 18-hole course replacing a 20-year-old central control where sprinkler-level adjustment currently means walking out with a keynot Nofence
  • A superintendent chasing a night-time main break who needs the flow alarm before the green floodsnot Nofence
  • A resort with three courses on one pump network balancing demand across a limited windownot Nofence
  • A municipal complex under a water restriction that must document applied volume by areanot Nofence

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Toro Lynx Central Control

  • NSN is free only for the first year after purchase, and the Lynx mobile app is tied to an active NSN subscription, so the remote control feature demonstrated at sale disappears in year two unless the club renews an item the capital budget did not carry.
  • Lynx controls Toro field hardware, so central control and sprinkler manufacturer are a single twenty-year decision and a club cannot switch software without rewiring the course.
  • It runs on a Windows workstation in the maintenance building as the system of record, which means a machine that has to be patched, backed up and eventually replaced, and courses routinely run it on hardware well past support.
  • Toro publishes no pricing at all: everything comes through a distributor quote inside a large irrigation project, so a club cannot separate the software cost from the pipe and heads to judge whether it is fair.
  • Full capability depends on the field hardware generation, and courses with older Toro satellites cannot use head-level Smart Module control without a field upgrade that costs more than the software ever did.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Toro Lynx Central Control

On request
  • Lynx Central Control$undefined/year
    • Bought as part of a Toro irrigation system through a distributor
    • Lynx Cloud included with each system
    • NSN support free for one year after purchase, paid subscription thereafter

Which should you pick?

Choose Nofence if

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

Choose Toro Lynx Central Control if

  • You need course mapping.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want flow management.
Toro Lynx Central Control review

Questions people ask

Is Nofence or Toro Lynx Central Control better?
Neither clearly leads. Nofence starts at $229/one-time and Toro Lynx Central Control at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Nofence or Toro Lynx Central Control?
Nofence starts at $229/one-time and Toro Lynx Central Control at On request.
Does Nofence or Toro Lynx Central Control run on more platforms?
Nofence runs on iOS, Android, Web. Toro Lynx Central Control runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
What is Nofence best used for?
Nofence is most often used for a conservation body grazing cattle on open heath or moorland where fencing is prohibited or impractical, a contractor running goats to clear scrub and maintain firebreaks on rotating sites, a smallholder rotating a small mob through awkward parcels without building temporary fence, a grazier renting seasonal parcels where investing in permanent fence makes no sense. Of those, a conservation body grazing cattle on open heath or moorland where fencing is prohibited or impractical and a contractor running goats to clear scrub and maintain firebreaks on rotating sites are not what Toro Lynx Central Control is typically brought in for.
What can Nofence do that Toro Lynx Central Control cannot?
Nofence covers Virtual paddocks, No base station, Species range, Escape alerts. Toro Lynx Central Control covers Course mapping, Flow management, ET and weather adjustment, Lynx Smart Module.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Toro Lynx Central Control: Is the Lynx mobile app free?

No. App access is included with an active NSN subscription. NSN is free for one year after the Lynx purchase and paid after that.

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.

Toro Lynx Central Control: Can Lynx control another manufacturer’s sprinklers?

Not meaningfully. It is built around Toro satellites and two-wire modules.

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.

Toro Lynx Central Control: Is Lynx cloud-based?

Lynx Cloud is included and handles remote access and updates, but the core system still runs on an on-site Windows workstation.

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.

Toro Lynx Central Control: What does NSN actually provide?

24 hour specialist support, remote diagnostics, the mobile app, IntelliDash and training, delivered from Abilene, Texas with offices in Belgium and Australia.

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