Built for the bush, not the 'burbs"
Beekeeping Software Comparison 2026
HiveSmartHQ vs HiveTracks vs ApiaryBook
Why compare beekeeping software?
Most beekeeping management apps share a common core: hive inspection records, queen tracking, and basic varroa logging. The differences that actually affect day-to-day use are in the pricing model, offline capability, honey traceability depth, analytics, and the level of privacy supported.
HiveSmartHQ has been supporting beekeepers across New Zealand, Australia, the UK, the US, Canada, and Europe since 2016. This page compares it honestly against two of the most widely reviewed alternatives - HiveTracks and ApiaryBook - so you can decide which fits best your needs.
Competitor information is sourced from publicly available product pages and independent third-party reviews (verified June 2026). Features and pricing do change - confirm latest details directly with each provider.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | HiveSmartHQ | HiveTracks | ApiaryBook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost & Access | |||
| Pricing model | Usage-based (inspections) | Subscription | Advertising + Subscription |
| Free "tier" | ✅ Available to all. 100 inspections + 1 per Hive registered. No feature restrictions or advertising | ✅ Features restricted (e.g. no data export/printing, reporting) or 30 day free trial of Pro version | ✅ Up to 9 hives. Advertising. No data export |
| Availability of data | ✅ Always (with printing & export) | ⚠️ Subscription-dependent | ⚠️ Accessible but no export for free tier |
| Open access | ✅ No login, email or gateway payment details required | ✗ Account required | ✗ Account required |
| Privacy | ✅ No personal details collected. Data not shared. Optional GPS-identification of hive locations | ⚠️ Account registration required. Data not shared. GPS-tracking. | ⚠️ Account registration required. Optional data sharing. Optional GPS-identification of hive locations |
| App-store independent | ✅ Browser-based; optionally installable as a web app (no store) | ✗ Has web dashboard - requires āpp download for entry | ✗ Has web dashboard - requires app download for entry |
| Actively developed & supported since | 2016 | 2010 | 2015 |
| Platform & Field Use | |||
| Mobile use (iOS & Android) | ✅ Mobile browser - web app install option | ✅ App install required | ✅ App install required |
| Desktop / laptop use | ✅ Full feature parity on any desktop browser - offline supported | ⚠️ Web dashboard only - online only | ⚠️ Web dashboard only - online only |
| Architecture & Reliability | ✅ Offline-first by design; no connectivity needed in the field | ⚠️ Some support - cloud-first architecture | ⚠️ Some support - cloud-first architecture |
| GPS / apiary mapping & Weather | ✅ GPS-based location mapping (optional). Weather recording | ✅ GPS-based apiary mapping | ✅ GPS mapping with real-time weather overlays |
| Integrated photo support | ✗ Not currently | ✅ | ✅ |
| Hive Inspection Records | |||
| Hive inspection / service records | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Queen status tracking | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Hive population tracking | ✅ Auto-calc plus estimator sandbox | ✅ | ✅ |
| Disease/pest & treatment records | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Hive movement records between locations | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Observation flags | ✅ Fully customisable to your region and methods | ⚠️ Preset aspects only | ⚠️ Preset aspects only |
| Hive Feedings | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Hive weight | ✅ Including auto-calc of changes between inspections | ✅ via Notes or integration with BroodMinder | ✅ |
| Supports a mix of Top Bar Hives & boxed hives | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Collections (e.g. propolis, pollen, queens, cells, wax) | ✅ | ✗ | ✅ |
| Varroa Monitoring | |||
| Varroa test result recording | ✅ Any method e.g alcohol wash, sugar shake, sticky board | ✅ Basic count entry | ✅ Method, count and/or level |
| Threshold alerts | ✅ Adjustable thresholds; automatic alert when a hive exceeds them | ✗ | ✗ |
| Varroa trending indicators over time | ✅ Trending per hive, with directional indicators | ✗ | ✗ |
| Compare varroa results across hives and locations | ✅ | ✗ | ✗ |
| AI-powered varroa image scanning | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Honey: Extraction & Inventory | |||
| Honey extraction recording | ✅ By location (and optionally by Hive) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Moisture readings per container | ✅ | ✗ | ⚠️ Notes only per extraction |
| Storage vessel / container management | ✅ Individual or batch vessels with content amount | ✗ | ✗ |
| Vessel-to-vessel honey transfers | ✅ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Source-of-origin per storage vessel | ✅ Full origin chain - location (and optionally hives) portioned to each container | ✗ | ✗ |
| Full honey traceability: hive → extraction → vessel → sale | ✅ End-to-end for complete traceability compliance | ✗ | ✗ |
| Honey inventory valuation | ✅ with customisable Valuation profiles | ✗ | ✗ |
| Financial | |||
| Honey sales tracking with revenue reporting | ✅ By Location (and optionally by Hive) | ✗ | ✗ |
| Hive sales with revenue reporting | ✅ | ✗ | ⚠️ Bee families sold only |
| Other bee-related sales (wax, propolis, queens, jelly, pollination services etc.) | ✅ | ✗ | ⚠️ Ledger entry only |
| Revenue analytics | ✅ By Location and optionally by Hive | ✗ | ✗ |
| Expense tracking | ✗ | ✗ | ⚠️ Ledger entry only |
| Operations & Productivity | |||
| Equipment inventory (in-use & in-stock) | ✅ Fully customisable | ✅ | ✅ |
| Action items / to-do reminders | ✅ Task management with optional reminders | ✅ Automated and manual | ✅ Task management with reminders |
| Seasonal checklists | ✅ Customisable for Inspections and Extractions | ✅ Dynamic subject to Season and weather | ✗ |
| KnowledgeBase | ✅ And optionally by Location | ✗ | ✗ |
| Customisable to region, hive type & method | ✅ Extensive | ⚠️ Limited customisation | ⚠️ Limited customisation |
| Production analytics by Location and Hive | ✅ Extensive including non-honey elements (including Revenue earnings) | ✅ Extractions only | ✅ |
| Real-time multi-user / team collaboration | ⚠️ Limited - via user-initiated device-to-device data transfer | ✅ When online | ✅ Including community sharing when online |
| Compliance & Data | |||
| Compliance record-keeping: inspection, treatment, movement, harvest | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Audit-ready views and reporting | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Printing & Export | ✅ Printable: All inspections and reports. All Inspection data can be exported (CSV). All other data exported on request. | ✅ Printable inspection reports. Limited data exporting | ✅ Supports data portability via CSV & PDF generation |
| Data storage control | ✅ Offline-first; cloud backup is optional and user-initiated | ✗ Cloud-hosted | ✗ Cloud-hosted |
| Data not shared with, or sold to, third parties by provider | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Option to permanently delete cloud data | ✅ At any time | ✅ At any time | ✅ At any time |
✅ = supported | ✗ = not offered |
⚠️ = partial or with caveats
Competitor data sourced from public product pages and independent reviews, June 2026.
Verify latest features and pricing with each provider.
Pricing compared
HiveSmartHQ
Pay-per-inspection
- ✅ Free: 100 inspections + first per Hive then <$0.10/inspection
- ✅ All features & data always available - No subscription or advertising
- ✅ Offline-first by design.
- ✅ Inspections through to Sales with full traceability.
- ✅ Full privacy - no login.
HiveTracks
Subscription
- ✅ Free tier with feature restrictions - no advertising
- ✅ Subscription for full access ($USD6.99/month)
- ✅ Cloud-centric design
- ✅ GPS apiary mapping
- ✅ Team / multi-user access
Verify current pricing at hivetracks.com
ApiaryBook
Freemium + subscription
- ✅ Free tier up to 9 hives with advertising
- ✅ Subscription for unrestricted use (from €6.66/month)
- ✅ Cloud-centric design
- ✅ GPS + weather overlays
- ✅ Photo capture
Verify current pricing at apiarybook.com
What the pricing difference means in practice
A hobbyist with 5 hives inspecting roughly every 3 weeks uses about 80–100 inspection credits per year. The 100 credits included with HiveSmartHQ effectively means the first year of operation is free and is less than $10 per year thereafter.
Subscription-based apps typically charge the same rate year-round regardless of seasonal activity. If a subscription lapses access to records is often restricted. With HiveSmartHQ, all data remains accessible to view, print or export even if the inspections credit balance reaches zero.
Consider HiveSmartHQ if you're after a clean, ad-free environment, designed to operate in remote areas that gives you unrestricted device (mobile or computer) with complete data control & privacy.
Who is each tool best suited to?
HiveSmartHQ is a strong fit if you…
- Want the lowest ongoing cost with no advertising or subscription commitment
- Look after a few hives through to several hundred
- Work in remote apiaries with poor or no mobile coverage
- Prefer full honey traceability from location (and hive) in each honey vessel
- Wish to know the locations (and hives) that earn you the most revenue
- Want to use it anywhere on a phone, tablet or computer
- Need compliance records
- Prioritise privacy - no login, no email, no account
Other tools may suit you better if you…
- Need GPS-mapped apiaries with real-time weather overlays - ApiaryBook or HiveTracks
- Want photo capture attached to each hive inspection - ApiaryBook or HiveTracks
- Run a large team needing live data sync across devices simultaneously - HiveTracks or ApiaryBook
- Want AI-powered varroa image detection from brood-frame photos - HiveLog AI or BeeScanning
- Need IoT sensor integration (weight, temperature, sound monitoring) - BroodMinder
- Prioritise the most advanced automated varroa threshold management - VarroaVault
The best beekeeping app is the one you'll actually use consistently. Try the HiveSmartHQ demo to see how it's easy-to-use and tailorable to your situation.
Built for the bush, not the 'burbs
Try HiveSmartHQ obligation-free to see how it suits you.
The demo is pre-loaded with sample hives, inspections, varroa records, extractions and sales - no login or email required to explore it.
Frequently Asked Questions
(Tap a question for the answer.)
How does HiveSmartHQ compare to HiveTracks?
Both HiveSmartHQ and HiveTracks support comprehensive hive inspection records, queen tracking, varroa monitoring, and production analytics - and both have been actively developed for over a decade.
HiveTracks is a cloud-based platform with strong GPS-mapped apiary management and real-time team collaboration, making it a solid choice for operations that prioritise those features.
HiveSmartHQ differs in three ways that matter to many beekeepers: it requires no login or personal information of any kind, operates fully offline without any cloud dependency in the field, and uses a pay-per-inspection credit model rather than a subscription - so there is no monthly fee and records are never locked regardless of usage.
How does HiveSmartHQ compare to ApiaryBook?
The ApiaryBook app is another mature product that supports comprehensive Hive inspections and offers GPS mapping with weather overlays, photo capture during inspections, and community sharing features.
HiveSmartHQ provides a deeper honey traceability chain - from extraction batches through named storage vessels (with moisture readings and vessel-to-vessel transfers) to individual sales - and requires no login or email address to use at all.
ApiaryBook's free tier covers up to 9 hives with advertising. For more Hives and reduced advertising, a monthly subscription is required. HiveSmartHQ starts free with 100 inspections and uses pay-as-you-go credits with no subscription at any scale.
What beekeeping software has no subscription?
HiveSmartHQ is one of very few beekeeping management tools that operates with no subscription at any scale. Instead of a flat monthly or annual fee, it uses a pay-per-inspection credit system: the first 100 inspections are free, and additional credits cost less than $0.10 each. Unused credits never expire.
Most other leading beekeeping apps - including HiveTracks and ApiaryBook beyond their free tier - require a monthly or annual subscription to access full features.
Which beekeeping app works best offline in remote apiaries?
HiveSmartHQ is designed from the ground up for offline use. Data is stored on the device itself, and no internet connection is needed during a field visit. Connectivity is only required occasionally for optional features such as location mapping, syncing data to the cloud, or topping up service credits.
Both ApiaryBook and HiveTracks are primarily cloud-based with some offline capabilities. However, weather widgets, social forums, and banner ads that look great on your couch fall apart or drain your phone’s battery in a remote location. HiveSmartHQ strips out the online noise and the offline engine doesn't waste battery life hunting for ad servers, and features don't break just because there's no wifi or cell towers around.
Which beekeeping software provides the best honey traceability?
HiveSmartHQ provides end-to-end honey traceability covering the full chain: extraction batches (by location and individual hive) → named storage vessels (with moisture readings) → vessel-to-vessel transfers → sale. Every vessel shows the source-of-origin honey it contains, supporting industry traceability requirements in NZ, Australia, the UK, the US, Canada, and Europe.
This depth of honey traceability chain - from the hive right through to the sale record - is not a feature of other leading beekeeping apps. HiveSmartHQ not only tracks which Location (and optionally) Hive is most productive, it also tracks the revenue earned from each Location (and optionally Hive).
Does HiveSmartHQ require a login, email or personal details?
No. HiveSmartHQ requires no login, email address, or personally identifiable information of any kind. Simply open the web app and start using it immediately. Because there is no account, there is also no risk of records being locked if a subscription lapses or an account is closed.
What are the main limitations of HiveSmartHQ compared to other beekeeping apps?
HiveSmartHQ does not currently offer: integrated photo capture, weather overlays, AI-powered varroa image scanning, or real-time multi-user collaboration (data sharing between devices requires a manual upload/download step rather than live sync).
If inspection photos, or live team sync are your primary requirements, tools such as ApiaryBook or HiveTracks may be a better fit. If AI-powered varroa image detection is the priority, specialist tools such as HiveLog AI or BeeScanning are worth evaluating.
HiveSmartHQ - New Zealand-made and supporting beekeepers worldwide since 2016.
No subscription · No login · No advertising