The Softonic report this month on robot dogs walking fields to catch crop problems early is a fair reminder that most farms already carry a computer in every pocket. It is called an Android phone, and while the crop side has years of imaging tools, the livestock side has stayed stubbornly analogue. Cows still get an ear tag and a note in a paper diary until a vet visit forces the file to move somewhere digital.
We tested the best apps for livestock tracking on Android with three real herd sizes in mind. A hobby smallholder with 12 sheep and one milking goat, a mid-size dairy with 340 milkers, and a beef operation with 900 head across four pastures. The same tests ran on each app: capture a new arrival, record a treatment, tag a calving, and produce a compliance report ready for the vet or the paying auditor. Seven apps went through the drill.
What to look for in a livestock tracking app
- Ear-tag scanning (RFID or barcode) so entry is faster than paper.
- Treatment log with withdrawal-period tracking, so slaughter or milk-drop dates are automatic.
- Batch actions for weighing, dosing, and moving a whole pasture, not one head at a time.
- Offline mode that queues writes while the phone is out of coverage on the back forty.
- Compliance reports pre-formatted for the local regulator (DEFRA, USDA, DAFM, MLA, and so on).
- Multi-user sync so the herder, the manager, and the vet see the same file in real time.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Platforms | Free plan | Starting price/mo | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herdwatch | UK and Ireland herds | Android, iOS, web | 30-day trial | $16 | 4.5 |
| AgriWebb | Large ranches and paddock rotation | Android, iOS, web | Free tier for 1 user | $29 | 4.4 |
| Farmbrite | Mixed livestock plus crops | Android, iOS, web | Free trial | $19 | 4.5 |
| CattleMax | US beef operations | Android, iOS, web | 30-day trial | $17 | 4.3 |
| MooMonitor | Dairy heat and health | Android, iOS | Trial only | $12/cow/year | 4.2 |
| Cattle Manager | Solo operator, no cloud | Android | Free with ads | $2.99 one-time | 4.2 |
| Livestocked | Hobby smallholders | Android | Free basic | $4 | 4.3 |
1. Herdwatch, best overall
Herdwatch is the app most Irish, UK, French, and Australian herds now run out of habit, and the reason is compliance. Every field can be pre-configured for the local regulator’s report, and the Mobile-Only Recording (MOR) feature files the required electronic movement notifications with the government feed system with no re-typing.
The scanning is quick. Point the phone at a standard 15-digit EID, and the animal card opens with the last treatment, the current weight, and the last calving. Batch actions cover dosing a whole shed in one pass. Herdwatch for livestock tracking earns its subscription on paperwork saved alone, before any of the herd-health analytics.
Where it falls short: Feature depth outside compliance is uneven. The pasture-rotation tools are basic next to AgriWebb, and the dairy heat detection is not the equal of MooMonitor for a dedicated dairy.
Pricing:
- Free: 30-day trial
- Paid: Farm plan from $16 per month billed annually, per farm
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
Bottom line: Right for a farm whose compliance filings eat as much time as the actual herd work.
2. AgriWebb, best for large ranches
AgriWebb is a New South Wales-born ranch-management app that reads more like a full farm ERP than a livestock diary. Paddock rotations, feed budgets, weight-gain tracking against average daily gain targets, and per-animal treatment logs all live in the same dashboard. The paddock rotation planner projects grass-cover deficits before they happen.
For a beef operation running two-shepherd rotational grazing on more than 300 hectares, this is the app that ties the plan to the daily reality.
Where it falls short: The learning curve is longer than any other app on the list; expect two weeks to shake down the fields. Pricing scales fast for larger herds.
Pricing:
- Free: 1 user, basic records
- Paid: Business plan from $29 per month, priced per property and headcount above 300
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
Bottom line: Pick for the beef ranch already thinking in paddocks per hectare.
3. Farmbrite, best mixed operation
Farmbrite is the pick when the same operation runs cattle, poultry, and a market garden. Livestock records sit next to crop plans and equipment logs in one file, with sales orders and invoices tied to individual animals. For a diversified farm the win is that the tax file and the herd file no longer live in different silos.
The mobile app is a solid subset of the web dashboard: enough to capture births, treatments, and sales in the field, with the fuller analytics saved for a laptop later.
Where it falls short: The single-animal card is not as deep as CattleMax for pedigree-heavy operations. Report templates for regulators outside the US and Canada require manual work.
Pricing:
- Free: 30-day trial
- Paid: Hobby plan $19 per month; Business $30; Enterprise $55
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
Bottom line: The right pick for a mixed farm that hates duplicating records into three tools.
4. CattleMax, best US beef pick
CattleMax is a Texas veteran that has been iterating on US beef workflows for two decades. Pedigree tracking, ADG (average daily gain) reports, breeding calendars, and per-animal profit calculations are the standouts. The mobile app pairs neatly with a Bluetooth chute stick for weigh-day, with the numbers going straight to the animal’s card.
The customer support is unusually good for the category. Real humans answer support tickets within a few hours during US business days.
Where it falls short: Interface is dated even after the last redesign. Non-US compliance reports are an afterthought.
Pricing:
- Free: 30-day trial, full feature access
- Paid: Basic $17/month; Standard $27; Premium $47
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
Bottom line: For US beef producers who care about pedigree and gains, this is the app the vets actually recommend.
5. MooMonitor, best dairy heat detection
MooMonitor pairs the phone app with a herd of collar-worn sensors and turns the whole system into an early-warning heat and health board. When a cow enters standing heat, an alert lands on the herder’s phone, and when a lame or off-feed animal starts moving less, a second alert follows. The precision on rebreed timing is meaningfully above visual observation on herds over 100 milkers.
Where it falls short: Fully bought into MooMonitor collars; if the herd is already on a rival sensor system (Nedap, Allflex, SCR), this app is not the fit. Priced per cow per year.
Pricing:
- Free: Trial only
- Paid: Approximately $12 per cow per year (bundled with collars)
Platforms: Android, iOS
Bottom line: The pick when the dairy runs the whole herd on Dairymaster collars; not the app to try in isolation.
6. Cattle Manager, best offline solo tool
Cattle Manager is a small independent Android app that keeps everything on-device. No cloud, no subscription tier that hides features behind a paywall. Add an animal, log a treatment, mark a calving, and the file lives in local storage. Backups are a manual export to a spreadsheet.
For a solo operator on a small farm with unreliable rural signal, this is the app that never blocks a task waiting for a sync.
Where it falls short: Everything runs on one device; a lost phone means a lost file unless you exported yesterday. No compliance reports, no shared editing.
Pricing:
- Free: Full features with occasional ads
- Paid: $2.99 one-time to remove ads
Platforms: Android
Bottom line: For the smallholder who does not need cloud sync and will not pay a subscription for a diary.
7. Livestocked, best for hobby herds
Livestocked is the friendliest app on this list and the one we recommend to new smallholders learning to keep records. Sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, and beehives are first-class objects, not shoved into a cattle-shaped schema. The interface is closer to a note-taking app than a compliance tool, which is exactly right for someone with 20 birds and one house cow.
Where it falls short: The commercial reporting suite lags behind Herdwatch or AgriWebb. Not the pick above a couple of hundred head.
Pricing:
- Free: Up to 25 animals
- Paid: $4 per month for unlimited animals, sharing, and photo attachments
Platforms: Android
Bottom line: For a hobby farm with mixed species and no compliance to answer to.
How to pick the right one
- If the operation is subject to DEFRA, DAFM, or MLA electronic movement filing: Herdwatch.
- If the farm is a US cow-calf beef operation with pedigree records: CattleMax.
- If the paddock rotation and the feed budget are as important as the animal cards: AgriWebb.
- If the operation runs livestock and crops in one file: Farmbrite.
- If the dairy is already on Dairymaster collars: MooMonitor.
- If a smallholder wants a private local record with no subscription: Cattle Manager or Livestocked.
FAQ
What is the best free livestock tracking app for Android? Cattle Manager for on-device records and Livestocked for cloud-synced records up to 25 animals. Above that, most useful apps move to paid subscriptions because compliance and vet integrations cost real money to keep current.
Can I scan RFID ear tags with a phone? Yes for most Herdwatch, AgriWebb, and CattleMax setups, though the practical scan distance from a phone-only reader is short. A Bluetooth stick reader is the reliable option once the herd exceeds a few dozen head.
Does a livestock app work offline? Herdwatch, AgriWebb, Farmbrite, CattleMax, and Cattle Manager all queue writes offline and sync when a signal returns. MooMonitor requires connectivity for the sensor data feed but caches the last read.
Which app is best for dairy heat detection? MooMonitor when the herd is on Dairymaster collars. On a rival collar system, use the manufacturer’s own app.
Is a livestock app worth it for a smallholder with fewer than 20 animals? Livestocked’s free tier is the honest answer. A paper diary works, but a phone note with a photo of the ear tag is faster to reopen a year later.
