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Agriculture · head to head

Sentera vs SMARTBOW

Sentera logo

Sentera

Agriculture

Precision agriculture sensors and analytics

From
$29/month
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: Sentera the offering bundles Sentera sensor hardware with the software, with hardware covered by separate Hardware and Services Addenda to the master agreement; 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: Sentera covers Multispectral imaging, SMARTBOW covers Real-time location.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Sentera and SMARTBOW actually diverge.

Attributes where Sentera and SMARTBOW differ
AttributeSenteraSMARTBOW
Starting price$29/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, HardwareWindows, Web, iOS, Android
Founded2014Unknown

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 Sentera

  • Multispectral imaging
  • Stand counts
  • Weed detection
  • Crop stress analysis
  • Variable rate prescriptions
  • DJI
  • John Deere
  • Climate FieldView

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.

Sentera

  • Capturing multispectral and high-resolution aerial imagery of fieldsnot SMARTBOW
  • Turning drone imagery into stand counts and crop health analytics in FieldAgentnot SMARTBOW
  • Generating variable rate prescriptions with SmartScriptnot SMARTBOW

SMARTBOW

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

Where each one falls short

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

Sentera

  • The offering bundles Sentera sensor hardware with the software, with hardware covered by separate Hardware and Services Addenda to the master agreement
  • No price, rate or minimum is published anywhere on the site

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

Sentera

$29/month
  • Scout$1500/year
    • Basic analytics
    • NDVI maps
    • 5000 acres
  • Advanced$5000/year
    • Full analytics
    • Stand counts
    • Unlimited acres

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 Sentera if

  • You need multispectral imaging.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Hardware.
  • You also want stand counts.
Sentera 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 Sentera or SMARTBOW better?
Neither clearly leads. Sentera starts at $29/month and SMARTBOW at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Sentera or SMARTBOW?
Sentera starts at $29/month and SMARTBOW at On request.
Does Sentera or SMARTBOW run on more platforms?
Sentera runs on Web, Ios, Android, Hardware. SMARTBOW runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
What is Sentera best used for?
Sentera is most often used for capturing multispectral and high-resolution aerial imagery of fields, turning drone imagery into stand counts and crop health analytics in fieldagent, generating variable rate prescriptions with smartscript. Of those, capturing multispectral and high-resolution aerial imagery of fields and turning drone imagery into stand counts and crop health analytics in fieldagent are not what SMARTBOW is typically brought in for.
What can Sentera do that SMARTBOW cannot?
Sentera covers Multispectral imaging, Stand counts, Weed detection, Crop stress analysis. SMARTBOW covers Real-time location, Heat detection, Rumination monitoring, Health alerts.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Sentera: How much does Sentera cost?

Sentera does not publish pricing on their website. The company describes solutions as scalable and affordable but requires direct contact for specific pricing. Customers can call 1-844-SENTERA or use the contact page.

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.

Sentera: How can I get a Sentera pricing quote?

You can contact Sentera directly at 1-844-SENTERA or through their contact page. You can also log into FieldAgent or explore the product catalog and mission calculator for more information about specific offerings.

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.

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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