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Agriculture · head to head

DairyComp vs Teralytic

DairyComp logo

DairyComp

Agriculture

Command-line dairy herd management software used by large North American dairies

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Teralytic logo

Teralytic

Agriculture

Wireless soil probe reading NPK at three depths, sold as an annual per-probe service rather than a sensor

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: DairyComp the command language interface takes weeks to learn and effectively ties the dairy to whichever staff member knows it, so losing a herd manager can strand the herd record until someone else is trained.; Teralytic the company is reported at around six employees, so if it stops trading the buried probes become inert hardware, which is the single biggest risk in a multi-year soil sensing deployment.
  • They diverge on capability: DairyComp covers Command language reporting, Teralytic covers Wireless NPK sensing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DairyComp and Teralytic actually diverge.

Attributes where DairyComp and Teralytic differ
AttributeDairyCompTeralytic
PlatformsWindowsWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), 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 DairyComp

  • Command language reporting
  • Complete lactation records
  • Parlour and meter integration
  • Reproduction management
  • Health event tracking
  • Genetic evaluation import
  • Benchmarking exports

Only in Teralytic

  • Wireless NPK sensing
  • Three-depth profile
  • Soil respiration and aeration
  • Long-range radio uplink
  • Cloud analytics
  • Above-ground sensing
  • API access
  • Multi-field deployment view

What people use each for

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

DairyComp

  • A 3,000 cow freestall dairy whose herd manager needs to build an arbitrary cull or breeding cohort in secondsnot Teralytic
  • A dairy consultant working across a dozen client herds who needs identical reporting on all of themnot Teralytic
  • A dairy integrating parlour milk weights and conductivity into the animal record for early mastitis detectionnot Teralytic
  • A veterinary practice running repro audits and protocol compliance checks across a client basenot Teralytic

Teralytic

  • A research trial that needs continuous nitrogen readings between sampling dates rather than two lab tests a seasonnot DairyComp
  • A vegetable grower on sandy ground where leaching after rain makes a fortnightly lab test worthlessnot DairyComp
  • An almond or vine operation tracking salinity build-up under drip irrigationnot DairyComp
  • An agronomist validating a variable-rate nitrogen prescription against in-ground readingsnot DairyComp

Where each one falls short

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

DairyComp

  • The command language interface takes weeks to learn and effectively ties the dairy to whichever staff member knows it, so losing a herd manager can strand the herd record until someone else is trained.
  • It is a Windows desktop application at heart rather than a cloud service, so multi-site access, remote working and mobile data entry are bolt-ons rather than native, and back-ups are the dairy's own problem.
  • Zoetis ownership puts a pharmaceutical company in control of every treatment record on the farm and biases the integration roadmap towards Zoetis sensors and services rather than the best available.
  • No pricing is published anywhere, so herd-size-based quotes vary by dealer and there is no way to benchmark what you are being charged without asking neighbouring dairies.
  • It assumes North American dairy conventions, so European dairies dealing with different milk recording bodies, national herd databases and statutory reporting formats find the fit poor and often need local software alongside.

Teralytic

  • The company is reported at around six employees, so if it stops trading the buried probes become inert hardware, which is the single biggest risk in a multi-year soil sensing deployment.
  • No current pricing is published and reported figures have moved between roughly 300 and 500 US dollars per probe per year, so a buyer cannot model the cost of a hundred-probe deployment without a quote.
  • The subscription is mandatory for the probe to report at all, so the up-front hardware payment buys nothing durable and a lapsed account means a field full of dead instruments.
  • In-field NPK sensing is scientifically contested and readings need interpretation against soil type and calibration, so agronomists will not treat the numbers as interchangeable with a lab test and many will insist on both.
  • Spatial coverage is the unsolved problem: a probe measures one point, soil varies over metres, and covering a field properly multiplies both the hardware and the annual subscription by the number of zones you care about.

Pricing, plan by plan

DairyComp

On request
  • DairyComp$undefined/year
    • Licensed per dairy, priced on herd size
    • Support and update contract quoted separately
    • Parlour and meter interface modules quoted per system

Teralytic

On request
  • Teralytic Soil Probe$undefined/year
    • Probe purchased or supplied with an annual per-probe subscription
    • Subscription covers hardware, network, software and analytics
    • Reported figures have ranged from roughly 300 to 500 USD per probe per year

Which should you pick?

Choose DairyComp if

  • You need command language reporting.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want complete lactation records.
DairyComp review

Choose Teralytic if

  • You need wireless npk sensing.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want three-depth profile.
Teralytic review

Questions people ask

Is DairyComp or Teralytic better?
Neither clearly leads. DairyComp starts at On request and Teralytic at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DairyComp or Teralytic?
DairyComp starts at On request and Teralytic at On request.
Does DairyComp or Teralytic run on more platforms?
DairyComp runs on Windows. Teralytic runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is DairyComp best used for?
DairyComp is most often used for a 3,000 cow freestall dairy whose herd manager needs to build an arbitrary cull or breeding cohort in seconds, a dairy consultant working across a dozen client herds who needs identical reporting on all of them, a dairy integrating parlour milk weights and conductivity into the animal record for early mastitis detection, a veterinary practice running repro audits and protocol compliance checks across a client base. Of those, a 3,000 cow freestall dairy whose herd manager needs to build an arbitrary cull or breeding cohort in seconds and a dairy consultant working across a dozen client herds who needs identical reporting on all of them are not what Teralytic is typically brought in for.
What can DairyComp do that Teralytic cannot?
DairyComp covers Command language reporting, Complete lactation records, Parlour and meter integration, Reproduction management. Teralytic covers Wireless NPK sensing, Three-depth profile, Soil respiration and aeration, Long-range radio uplink.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

DairyComp: Who owns DairyComp now?

Zoetis, through its acquisition of Valley Agricultural Software. It sits in the same portfolio as the Smartbow cow monitoring system.

Teralytic: Can I buy the probe without a subscription?

No. The probe reports through Teralytic’s network into its cloud, and without an active subscription it does not deliver data.

DairyComp: Is it hard to learn?

Yes, genuinely. It is driven by a typed command language rather than menus, and most new users need weeks of practice before they are productive.

Teralytic: Does it replace lab soil tests?

No. It gives continuous in-season trend data. Most agronomists will still want lab results for absolute nutrient values and for compliance records.

DairyComp: Does it run in the cloud?

It is fundamentally a Windows application. Hosted and multi-site arrangements exist but the software is not a browser-native cloud product.

Teralytic: How much does it cost?

Teralytic does not publish current pricing. Reported figures have ranged from roughly 300 to 500 US dollars per probe per year including hardware and connectivity.

DairyComp: What does it cost?

Nothing is published. Pricing is quoted per dairy based on herd size, plus separate charges for support and for each parlour or meter interface.

Teralytic: How many probes does a field need?

That depends on soil variability. One probe represents one point, so a field with several distinct soil zones needs one per zone to be meaningful.

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