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Agriculture · head to head

Raven Slingshot vs Tend

Raven Slingshot logo

Raven Slingshot

Agriculture

Seamless field data connectivity

From
$600/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tend logo

Tend

Agriculture

Crop planning and record keeping for small diversified market farms, priced in flat tiers rather than by acre

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Tend has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Raven Slingshot requires cell network connectivity, limiting utility in areas with poor cellular coverage; Tend the free tier keeps only three years of history and 500 MB of storage, so a grower who stays on it loses the multi-season comparison that makes crop planning software worth having in the first place.
  • They diverge on capability: Raven Slingshot covers Wireless data transfer, Tend covers Visual crop planning.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Raven Slingshot and Tend differ
AttributeRaven SlingshotTend
Starting price$600/yearFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer month by user count
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsCloud, MobileWeb, iOS, Android
Founded1956Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Tend

  • Visual crop planning
  • Growing templates
  • Crop library
  • Task management
  • Harvest and inventory tracking
  • CSA and sales storefront
  • Financial reporting
  • AI credits

What people use each for

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

Raven Slingshot

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

Tend

  • A three-acre market garden running weekly lettuce successions that needs the seeding calendar to generate itself from the harvest targetnot Raven Slingshot
  • A cut-flower farm planning bed space against wedding orders months aheadnot Raven Slingshot
  • A CSA operation managing 150 member shares alongside the planting plan that has to fill themnot Raven Slingshot
  • A two-person farm replacing a spreadsheet and a whiteboard without paying a per-acre platform's minimumnot 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

Tend

  • The free tier keeps only three years of history and 500 MB of storage, so a grower who stays on it loses the multi-season comparison that makes crop planning software worth having in the first place.
  • Data retention is a paid feature at every level below Ultimate, which is an unusual thing to meter: a farm that downgrades from Pro to Free after a bad year risks losing records it may need for organic certification audits.
  • There is no machinery, telematics, soil sampling or variable-rate capability at all, so any operation that adds broadacre ground has to run a second platform rather than extend this one.
  • AI features are metered in credits rather than included, and the allowances are small at the lower tiers, so the assistant becomes something you ration rather than rely on.
  • The company is small and privately held with a narrow customer base, which means integrations outside payments and basic accounting are thin and a request for a connector to a regional distributor or certifier is unlikely to be built.

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

Tend

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 user
    • 25 AI credits per month
    • 3 years data retention
  • Pro$30/month
    • 5 users
    • 500 AI credits per month
    • 7 years data retention
  • Ultimate$75/month
    • Unlimited users
    • 2,500 AI credits per month
    • Unlimited data retention
  • Enterprise$400/month
    • Unlimited users
    • 10,000+ AI credits per month
    • 250 GB storage and up

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 Tend if

  • You need visual crop planning.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want growing templates.
Tend review

Questions people ask

Is Raven Slingshot or Tend better?
Neither clearly leads. Raven Slingshot starts at $600/year and Tend at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Raven Slingshot or Tend?
Tend has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $600/year for Raven Slingshot and Free for Tend.
Does Raven Slingshot or Tend run on more platforms?
Raven Slingshot runs on Cloud, Mobile. Tend runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Tend for free?
Yes. Tend has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Raven Slingshot starts at $600/year.
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 Tend is typically brought in for.
What can Raven Slingshot do that Tend cannot?
Raven Slingshot covers Wireless data transfer, Field mapping, As-applied maps, Equipment connectivity. Tend covers Visual crop planning, Growing templates, Crop library, Task management.

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
Tend: Does Tend charge by the acre?

No. Pricing is flat by user count, and there are no acreage or crop limits on any tier including the free one. That is the main reason small growers pick it over broadacre platforms.

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
Tend: Can Tend handle a CSA?

Yes, including member share management and a farm-stand storefront, though payment processing runs through a third party.

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
Tend: Is it suitable for a 500 acre grain farm?

No. There is no machinery data, no prescription writing and no as-applied reporting. It is built for high-crop-count, low-acreage operations.

Tend: What happens to my records if I cancel?

Export before you cancel. Retention limits apply per tier, and the free tier keeps three years, so downgrading is not a safe archive strategy.

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