Best Free Farming App: What Free Really Means (2026)
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If you want a free farming app that is not just a trial, Livestock Manager is our top pick for individual farmers and small farms, because its Starter plan is free with no end date and covers batches, records, medicine, sales and reminders inside set limits. Free always means limits, so read them before you rely on it. If you only need to test a bigger system for a few weeks, the trials below may suit you better.
Disclosure: Livestock Manager is our app. We checked the other tools' prices and features on their own websites on 2026-09-30, and prices can change.
Three things "free" can mean
Farm apps use "free" for three different offers.
- A permanent free plan. You can use it as long as you like, with caps on what you can store or do.
- A free trial. You get the full tool for a set number of days, then you pay or lose access.
- Free but manual. A paper notebook or a spreadsheet costs nothing, but you do all the work.
What farmers need from a free farming app
- A plan that does not expire. Your records should still be there after the trial period would have ended.
- Limits you can read. You should know how many batches, records and sales entries fit before you start.
- Fast entry. A phone you can use with one hand, in your own language.
- The records that matter. Eggs, milk or weight, feed, medicine and money in one place. Our farm record keeping guide lists what is worth writing down.
- A clear upgrade path. When you outgrow the free plan, you should know what the next step gives you.
Our picks
Livestock Manager: a free plan for small farms that stays free
Livestock Manager runs on iOS, Android and the web, in 15 languages. The Starter plan is free. On Starter, the limits are these.
- Batches: 2 per farm.
- Animal profiles: 5 per farm.
- Records: 50 per month.
- Transactions: 30 per month (sales and expenses).
- Speak or type: 10 records per day.
- Medicines: 5 in your medicine store.
- Schedules: 5.
- Contacts: 5.
- Team: one team member (you).
- Web: the web app is read-only on Starter. You record on the phone.
- Not included: invoicing, automatic records, and bulk create or import.
What can you realistically do inside that? A farmer with a flock of layers and a batch of broilers can log eggs, feed and losses, record a vaccination, and note each sale. Thirty transactions a month is about one a day. If you sell a tray of eggs daily, you fit. If you sell to many customers and need invoices, you will not. Our lessons on creating a livestock batch, recording eggs, milk and daily production and farm income and expense tracking show how each record works.
Limits of Livestock Manager: it needs an internet connection, so it has no offline mode. It has no paddock map. Crops are light crop batches, not a full crop planner. For paid plans (Growth, Scale, Enterprise), see the pricing page. Growth allows three people on the farm including the owner, and Scale allows ten.
Farmbrite: a 14-day free trial
Farmbrite is a trial, not a free plan. Its site says you can start with a free 14-day trial, with no credit card needed, and says there is no permanent free plan after it. It sells plans for livestock, crops or both, so it suits farms that grow as well as raise animals.
CattleMax: a 21-day free trial
CattleMax advertises a 21-day free trial with no credit card required. Its plans are priced by herd size. A backyard flock or a mixed farm gets less from it.
Bushel Farm: a 30-day free trial
Bushel Farm's pricing page offers a 30-day free trial and lists paid plans after it. Its plans run from $75 to $599 a year; the $75 Rainfall plan covers recent rainfall, field mapping, soil maps, futures prices and a digital wallet.
AgriWebb: a free trial, length not stated
AgriWebb promotes a "Try for free" button, but the length of the trial is not stated on its site. Its site does not state a free plan, so treat it as a trial too.
Spreadsheets and paper: free, and manual
A paper notebook or a Google Sheet costs nothing and works for a handful of animals. You do the sums, keep the backups and remember the medicine withdrawal dates. See best farm management software by farm type for the wider comparison.
Free plan vs trial vs spreadsheet
| Livestock Manager free plan | Free trial (Farmbrite, CattleMax, Bushel Farm) | Spreadsheet or paper | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How long it is free | No end date | 14, 21 or 30 days | No end date |
| Card needed | No | Farmbrite and CattleMax: no; Bushel Farm: not stated | No |
| Limits | Yes, listed above | Trial only; then paid | None, but manual |
| Reminders and totals | Yes, within limits | Yes, during trial | You do them |
| Internet needed | Yes | Varies: Farmbrite lists offline use; CattleMax and Bushel not stated | No |
| Best for | Small farm, long term | Testing a bigger tool | A few animals |
How to get started
- Set up your farm. Create an account and name your farm. Follow how to set up your farm account.
- Add your first batch. Two batches and five animal profiles fit on Starter. See how to create a livestock batch.
- Record what happens each day. Try Speak or type, described in record farm data by voice or text.
- Track medicine and feed. Five medicines fit. See livestock health records and medicine stock.
- Watch your limits. Note when you reach 50 records or 30 transactions, and decide if it is time to upgrade. Farm income and expense tracking helps you see what you spend.
When to move to a paid plan
Move up when a limit stops work you do every week. A third batch, invoices for customers, a helper with their own login, or automatic daily records all need Growth or above. If you hit a limit once a month, stay free. Check the pricing page for current prices.
Frequently asked questions
What will a free farming app not do?
A free plan will not lift its limits. On Livestock Manager's Starter plan you get no invoicing, no automatic records and no bulk import, and the web app is read-only. A free trial ends after 14, 21 or 30 days, and a spreadsheet does no totals or reminders for you.
What can I do on the free plan of Livestock Manager?
You can keep two batches and five animal profiles, log up to 50 records and 30 sales or expense entries a month, and use Speak or type for up to 10 records a day. You can also store five medicines, five contacts and five schedules. Invoicing, automatic records and bulk import need a paid plan.
Do I need a credit card for a free farm app?
Farmbrite and CattleMax state on their sites that their free trials need no credit card. Bushel Farm and AgriWebb do not say so in the pages we checked. Read the sign-up page of any tool before you enter payment details.
How do I know I have outgrown the free limits?
You have outgrown them when you hit a cap on the same task every week: a third batch, a sixth animal profile, records past 50 a month, invoices for customers, or a helper who needs their own login. If you only touch a limit now and then, the free plan is still doing its job.
Is a spreadsheet good enough instead of a farming app?
A spreadsheet works for a few animals and one or two kinds of record. It gets slow as you add feed, medicine and sales, because you do the totals, reminders and backups yourself. Many farmers start there and move when the sheet stops being quick to update.
