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Agriculture · head to head

Soil Scout vs Trimble Ag Software

Soil Scout logo

Soil Scout

Agriculture

Buried wireless soil sensors with a ten to twenty year battery and no cables to the surface

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Trimble Ag Software logo

Trimble Ag Software

Agriculture

Connected farm solutions for precision agriculture

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Soil Scout sensors are unserviceable once buried, so a failed or drifting unit means excavation and the confidence you place in a single reading has no easy verification.; Trimble Ag Software no pricing information published on the website or dealer locator
  • They diverge on capability: Soil Scout covers Fully buried sensors, Trimble Ag Software covers GPS guidance.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Soil Scout and Trimble Ag Software actually diverge.

Attributes where Soil Scout and Trimble Ag Software differ
AttributeSoil ScoutTrimble Ag Software
Starting priceOn request$29/month
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWebWeb, Ios, Android, Hardware
FoundedUnknown1978

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 Soil Scout

  • Fully buried sensors
  • Ten to twenty year battery
  • Underground radio
  • Dual depth sensing
  • Moisture, temperature and salinity
  • Soil Scout Hub
  • Web service API
  • Long base station range

Only in Trimble Ag Software

  • GPS guidance
  • Variable rate prescriptions
  • Field mapping
  • Data management
  • Equipment connectivity
  • John Deere
  • CNH
  • AGCO

What people use each for

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

Soil Scout

  • A golf course monitoring greens moisture where a surface-mounted probe would be hit by mowers and playnot Trimble Ag Software
  • A stadium pitch under a closed roof where hand-held probing is impractical during the seasonnot Trimble Ag Software
  • A research plot needing consistent multi-year soil data below cultivation depthnot Trimble Ag Software
  • An irrigated field where a surface logger would not survive tillage or a spray boomnot Trimble Ag Software

Trimble Ag Software

  • Guidance, steering and machine control on farm equipment through Precision-IQnot Soil Scout
  • Digital farm management and agronomic record keeping through FarmENGAGEnot Soil Scout
  • Retrofitting autonomy to existing tractors with the OutRun kitnot Soil Scout

Where each one falls short

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

Soil Scout

  • Sensors are unserviceable once buried, so a failed or drifting unit means excavation and the confidence you place in a single reading has no easy verification.
  • No pricing is published at all, which makes it hard to justify against commodity probes that quote openly, and per-sensor cost is well above the alternatives.
  • It measures but does not control, so tying moisture readings to actual irrigation decisions requires either manual interpretation or a separate integration project with the control system.
  • Underground radio range depends on soil type and moisture; heavy wet clay attenuates the signal and can force more base stations than the headline kilometre figure suggests.
  • The company is small and Finland-based, so outside its established golf and sports turf distribution the support, spares and installation expertise depend entirely on whether a competent local distributor exists.

Trimble Ag Software

  • No pricing information published on the website or dealer locator
  • Pricing requires contacting dealers or PTx directly
  • Customized quoting model based on equipment configuration and regional factors

Pricing, plan by plan

Soil Scout

On request
  • Soil Scout$undefined/year
    • Sensors and base station quoted per site
    • Hub subscription terms quoted with the hardware
    • No individual sensor data plans required

Trimble Ag Software

$29/month
  • Farmer Core$800/year
    • Field records
    • Basic mapping
    • Reports
  • Farmer Pro$2500/year
    • Variable rate
    • Full analytics
    • Connected equipment

Which should you pick?

Choose Soil Scout if

  • You need fully buried sensors.
  • You also want ten to twenty year battery.
Soil Scout review

Choose Trimble Ag Software if

  • You need gps guidance.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Hardware.
  • You also want variable rate prescriptions.
Trimble Ag Software review

Questions people ask

Is Soil Scout or Trimble Ag Software better?
Neither clearly leads. Soil Scout starts at On request and Trimble Ag Software at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Soil Scout or Trimble Ag Software?
Soil Scout starts at On request and Trimble Ag Software at $29/month.
Does Soil Scout or Trimble Ag Software run on more platforms?
Soil Scout runs on Web. Trimble Ag Software runs on Web, Ios, Android, Hardware.
What is Soil Scout best used for?
Soil Scout is most often used for a golf course monitoring greens moisture where a surface-mounted probe would be hit by mowers and play, a stadium pitch under a closed roof where hand-held probing is impractical during the season, a research plot needing consistent multi-year soil data below cultivation depth, an irrigated field where a surface logger would not survive tillage or a spray boom. Of those, a golf course monitoring greens moisture where a surface-mounted probe would be hit by mowers and play and a stadium pitch under a closed roof where hand-held probing is impractical during the season are not what Trimble Ag Software is typically brought in for.
What can Soil Scout do that Trimble Ag Software cannot?
Soil Scout covers Fully buried sensors, Ten to twenty year battery, Underground radio, Dual depth sensing. Trimble Ag Software covers GPS guidance, Variable rate prescriptions, Field mapping, Data management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Soil Scout: How long do the sensors last?

Up to ten years for the Happi100 and up to twenty for the Hydra100, buried, with no battery replacement.

Trimble Ag Software: How much does Trimble agricultural software cost?

Trimble does not publish pricing for its agricultural software online. Pricing is quote-based and customized per implementation. Contact PTx directly or locate a regional dealer through their website to request a quote.

Source
Soil Scout: Do the sensors need mobile data plans?

No. Sensors transmit to a base station through the soil, and only the base station uses a cellular modem.

Trimble Ag Software: How do I get pricing information?

Visit the PTx website to use their dealer locator to find a regional dealer, or contact PTx directly through their contact form. Pricing varies based on specific equipment configurations and regional factors.

Source
Soil Scout: Can it control irrigation directly?

No. It is a measurement and alerting system; controlling valves needs an integration with your irrigation controller through the API.

Soil Scout: What happens if a buried sensor fails?

You dig it up. There is no remote service option, which is the trade-off for having nothing above ground to damage.

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