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Agriculture · head to head

fieldmargin vs SMARTBOW

fieldmargin logo

fieldmargin

Agriculture

Per-farm field mapping, records and team messaging for livestock and arable farms

From
£3.75/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: fieldmargin per-farm pricing inverts badly at the small end: a 30 hectare holding pays the same as a 3,000 hectare estate, so the effective cost per hectare on a smallholding is many times what a large farm pays.; 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: fieldmargin covers Field mapping, SMARTBOW covers Real-time location.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which fieldmargin and SMARTBOW actually diverge.

Attributes where fieldmargin and SMARTBOW differ
AttributefieldmarginSMARTBOW
Starting price£3.75/monthOn request
Pricing modelPer farm per month, unlimited hectaresquote
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWindows, 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 fieldmargin

  • Field mapping
  • Offline mobile
  • Team activity feed
  • Job assignment
  • Livestock groups
  • Input and application records
  • NDVI satellite imagery
  • Cost per field

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.

fieldmargin

  • A 900 hectare arable estate that wants field records without paying a per-hectare licence feenot SMARTBOW
  • A livestock farm tracking mob movements and grazing rotation across fields on a phone with no signalnot SMARTBOW
  • A farm manager assigning and checking off daily jobs for seasonal staff without phone callsnot SMARTBOW
  • A mixed farm that wants photos and notes attached to specific field locations for later referencenot SMARTBOW

SMARTBOW

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

Where each one falls short

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

fieldmargin

  • Per-farm pricing inverts badly at the small end: a 30 hectare holding pays the same as a 3,000 hectare estate, so the effective cost per hectare on a smallholding is many times what a large farm pays.
  • It is not an agronomy platform, so there is no variable rate prescription engine and no nutrient planning to a standard a UK agronomist will certify, meaning most arable users still pay for Gatekeeper or an agronomist's own system alongside it.
  • There is no direct submission route into Basic Payment Scheme, Sustainable Farming Incentive or equivalent schemes, so the compliance paperwork that costs farms real money still has to be assembled elsewhere.
  • Machine integration is limited compared with Climate FieldView or Operations Center; as-applied data from the sprayer or drill generally is not flowing in automatically, so application records depend on someone typing them.
  • Satellite NDVI is confined to the top tier and is standard public imagery, so cloud cover in a British winter means long gaps and the imagery is not a substitute for the aircraft or drone capture that specialist providers sell.

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

fieldmargin

£3.75/month
  • Essentials$3.75/month
    • Field mapping and boundaries
    • Field notes and photos
    • Unlimited team members
  • Plus$20/month
    • Everything in Essentials
    • Job assignment and tracking
    • Input and application records
  • Pro$30/month
    • Everything in Plus
    • NDVI satellite imagery
    • Cost per field and crop analysis

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 fieldmargin if

  • You need field mapping.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want offline mobile.
fieldmargin 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 fieldmargin or SMARTBOW better?
Neither clearly leads. fieldmargin starts at £3.75/month and SMARTBOW at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, fieldmargin or SMARTBOW?
fieldmargin starts at £3.75/month and SMARTBOW at On request.
Does fieldmargin or SMARTBOW run on more platforms?
fieldmargin runs on Web, iOS, Android. SMARTBOW runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
What is fieldmargin best used for?
fieldmargin is most often used for a 900 hectare arable estate that wants field records without paying a per-hectare licence fee, a livestock farm tracking mob movements and grazing rotation across fields on a phone with no signal, a farm manager assigning and checking off daily jobs for seasonal staff without phone calls, a mixed farm that wants photos and notes attached to specific field locations for later reference. Of those, a 900 hectare arable estate that wants field records without paying a per-hectare licence fee and a livestock farm tracking mob movements and grazing rotation across fields on a phone with no signal are not what SMARTBOW is typically brought in for.
What can fieldmargin do that SMARTBOW cannot?
fieldmargin covers Field mapping, Offline mobile, Team activity feed, Job assignment. SMARTBOW covers Real-time location, Heat detection, Rumination monitoring, Health alerts.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

fieldmargin: Does it charge per hectare?

No. Subscriptions are per farm with unlimited hectares and unlimited team members, which is why it is cheap on large acreages and proportionally expensive on small ones.

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.

fieldmargin: Can I submit my BPS or SFI claim from it?

No. It holds the records that support a claim but there is no direct submission integration, so the claim itself is prepared elsewhere.

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.

fieldmargin: Does it work without mobile signal?

Yes. The mobile apps capture records offline and sync when the phone regains a connection, which is the main reason it gets used in the far corners of a farm.

SMARTBOW: Who owns it?

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

fieldmargin: Is there a free plan?

There is a 14 day trial rather than a permanently free tier. After that every farm is on a paid plan.

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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