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Agriculture · head to head

SMARTBOW vs Taranis

SMARTBOW logo

SMARTBOW

Agriculture

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Taranis logo

Taranis

Agriculture

AI-powered crop intelligence platform

From
$5/acre/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Taranis pricing is by quote only, with no rate, per acre figure or minimum published; the only route to a price is a Get a Demo request
  • They diverge on capability: SMARTBOW covers Real-time location, Taranis covers Ultra-high resolution imagery.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which SMARTBOW and Taranis actually diverge.

Attributes where SMARTBOW and Taranis differ
AttributeSMARTBOWTaranis
Starting priceOn request$5/acre/year
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWindows, Web, iOS, AndroidWeb, Ios, Android, Api
FoundedUnknown2015

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 SMARTBOW

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

Only in Taranis

  • Ultra-high resolution imagery
  • AI insect detection
  • Disease identification
  • Weed pressure mapping
  • Nutrient deficiency analysis
  • Stand & emergence counts
  • Prescription maps
  • Mobile scouting app

What people use each for

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

SMARTBOW

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

Taranis

  • Leaf-level crop scouting from submillimeter resolution drone imagerynot SMARTBOW
  • Agronomic advisors documenting in-season crop issues for grower customersnot SMARTBOW
  • Detecting weeds, insects and disease across whole fields without walking themnot SMARTBOW

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Taranis

  • Pricing is by quote only, with no rate, per acre figure or minimum published; the only route to a price is a Get a Demo request
  • Insights depend on Taranis flying drones over the acres in question rather than on grower-supplied data
  • The product is positioned for agronomic advisors serving growers rather than for direct grower purchase

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Taranis

$5/acre/year
  • Scout$5/acre/year
    • AI pest detection
    • Disease identification
    • Weed mapping
  • Scout Plus$8/acre/year
    • Everything in Scout
    • Stand counts
    • Nutrient deficiency
  • Enterprise$undefined/acre/year
    • Everything in Scout Plus
    • Custom models
    • API access

Which should you pick?

Choose SMARTBOW if

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

Choose Taranis if

  • You need ultra-high resolution imagery.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want ai insect detection.
Taranis review

Questions people ask

Is SMARTBOW or Taranis better?
Neither clearly leads. SMARTBOW starts at On request and Taranis at $5/acre/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, SMARTBOW or Taranis?
SMARTBOW starts at On request and Taranis at $5/acre/year.
Does SMARTBOW or Taranis run on more platforms?
SMARTBOW runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android. Taranis runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
What is SMARTBOW best used for?
SMARTBOW is most often used for a 1,500 cow freestall barn where finding a flagged animal by eye takes twenty minutes, a dairy replacing visual heat detection with per-animal oestrus alerts to tighten calving intervals, a herd manager wanting rumination-based early warning of displaced abomasum or metritis, a vet practice using behavioural data to audit transition cow management across client herds. Of those, a 1,500 cow freestall barn where finding a flagged animal by eye takes twenty minutes and a dairy replacing visual heat detection with per-animal oestrus alerts to tighten calving intervals are not what Taranis is typically brought in for.
What can SMARTBOW do that Taranis cannot?
SMARTBOW covers Real-time location, Heat detection, Rumination monitoring, Health alerts. Taranis covers Ultra-high resolution imagery, AI insect detection, Disease identification, Weed pressure mapping.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Taranis: How much does Taranis cost?

Taranis does not publish pricing on its website. Three service plans (Advanced+, Elite+, Pro+) are described, but customers must contact the company for pricing details.

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.

Taranis: What is included in Taranis plans?

Taranis plans include features like satellite monitoring, AI-driven leaf-level insights, seasonal analysis, historic data access, and 24/7 support, but pricing and plan-specific details require contacting sales.

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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