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Agriculture · head to head

Raven Slingshot vs SMARTBOW

Raven Slingshot logo

Raven Slingshot

Agriculture

Seamless field data connectivity

From
$600/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SMARTBOW logo

SMARTBOW

Agriculture

Ear tag cow monitoring with real-time indoor location, from Zoetis

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Raven Slingshot requires cell network connectivity, limiting utility in areas with poor cellular coverage; SMARTBOW real-time location depends on receivers covering the whole barn plus an on-farm server, so the install is a building project and the price bears no relation to what a simple activity collar costs.
  • They diverge on capability: Raven Slingshot covers Wireless data transfer, SMARTBOW covers Real-time location.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Raven Slingshot and SMARTBOW actually diverge.

Attributes where Raven Slingshot and SMARTBOW differ
AttributeRaven SlingshotSMARTBOW
Starting price$600/yearOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsCloud, MobileWindows, Web, iOS, Android
Founded1956Unknown

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 Raven Slingshot

  • Wireless data transfer
  • Field mapping
  • As-applied maps
  • Equipment connectivity
  • Cloud storage
  • Raven equipment
  • John Deere
  • Case IH

Only in SMARTBOW

  • Real-time location
  • Heat detection
  • Rumination monitoring
  • Health alerts
  • On-farm server
  • Individual baselines
  • Herd software integration

What people use each for

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

Raven Slingshot

  • Data transfernot SMARTBOW
  • Prescription deliverynot SMARTBOW
  • As-applied recordsnot SMARTBOW
  • Fleet managementnot SMARTBOW

SMARTBOW

  • A 1,500 cow freestall barn where finding a flagged animal by eye takes twenty minutesnot Raven Slingshot
  • A dairy replacing visual heat detection with per-animal oestrus alerts to tighten calving intervalsnot Raven Slingshot
  • A herd manager wanting rumination-based early warning of displaced abomasum or metritisnot Raven Slingshot
  • A vet practice using behavioural data to audit transition cow management across client herdsnot Raven Slingshot

Where each one falls short

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

Raven Slingshot

  • Requires cell network connectivity, limiting utility in areas with poor cellular coverage
  • Ecosystem is agriculture-specific, with limited applicability to other field operations

SMARTBOW

  • Real-time location depends on receivers covering the whole barn plus an on-farm server, so the install is a building project and the price bears no relation to what a simple activity collar costs.
  • It is an indoor system; a grazing or partly grazed herd loses the location capability that is the main reason to choose it over cheaper monitoring.
  • Ear tags are consumable and go missing with the tag, so the running cost includes replacements at a rate that depends on how rough your handling facilities are.
  • Zoetis ownership means a pharmaceutical company holds continuous behavioural data on every animal alongside your treatment records, and the integration roadmap favours other Zoetis products.
  • Nothing is published on price, and sales run through veterinary and dealer channels, so comparing it against DeLaval, Nedap or CowManager requires several quotes and there is no reference list price.

Pricing, plan by plan

Raven Slingshot

$600/year
  • Standard$600/year
    • Data transfer
    • Field management
    • Basic analytics
  • Premium$1200/year
    • All Standard features
    • Remote support
    • Advanced analytics

SMARTBOW

On request
  • SMARTBOW$undefined/year
    • Ear tags priced per animal
    • Barn receiver infrastructure and on-farm server quoted per building
    • Installation and commissioning quoted separately

Which should you pick?

Choose Raven Slingshot if

  • You need wireless data transfer.
  • You work on Cloud, Mobile.
  • You also want field mapping.
Raven Slingshot review

Choose SMARTBOW if

  • You need real-time location.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want heat detection.
SMARTBOW review

Questions people ask

Is Raven Slingshot or SMARTBOW better?
Neither clearly leads. Raven Slingshot starts at $600/year and SMARTBOW at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Raven Slingshot or SMARTBOW?
Raven Slingshot starts at $600/year and SMARTBOW at On request.
Does Raven Slingshot or SMARTBOW run on more platforms?
Raven Slingshot runs on Cloud, Mobile. SMARTBOW runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
What is Raven Slingshot best used for?
Raven Slingshot is most often used for data transfer, prescription delivery, as-applied records, fleet management. Of those, data transfer and prescription delivery are not what SMARTBOW is typically brought in for.
What can Raven Slingshot do that SMARTBOW cannot?
Raven Slingshot covers Wireless data transfer, Field mapping, As-applied maps, Equipment connectivity. SMARTBOW covers Real-time location, Heat detection, Rumination monitoring, Health alerts.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Raven Slingshot: What does Raven Slingshot do?

Raven Slingshot is a wireless data management and logistics solution that enables prescription file delivery to field equipment, real-time machine data uploads to the cloud, and seamless data flow between farm management software and field equipment without manual downloads.

Source
SMARTBOW: What does SMARTBOW do that other activity monitors do not?

Real-time indoor location. It tells you where the flagged cow physically is, not just that she is behaving abnormally.

Raven Slingshot: How does Slingshot work with farm management software?

Slingshot provides an open ecosystem API designed to work with software developed by other companies, enabling growers, retailers, agronomists, and software vendors to share agronomic data securely.

Source
SMARTBOW: Does it work on grazing herds?

Poorly. Location depends on barn-mounted receivers, so animals out at pasture fall outside the system's coverage.

Raven Slingshot: Does Slingshot require internet connectivity?

Raven Slingshot uses high-speed connectivity via cell technology and cloud-based data transfer for real-time data uploads and prescription delivery to equipment.

Source
SMARTBOW: Who owns it?

Zoetis, which also owns Valley Agricultural Software and DairyComp. The technology came from Smartbow GmbH in Austria.

SMARTBOW: Is it cloud based?

Analysis runs on an on-farm server rather than in the cloud, which keeps it working during an internet outage but makes the server your responsibility.

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