FarmLogs built a strong reputation as one of the first digital farm management platforms. But over the years, the free tier has gotten thinner, the paid plans have gotten pricier, and plenty of market farmers have started wondering whether there's something better out there — especially if you're running a small operation on tight margins.

If you've been searching for a FarmLogs alternative that won't eat into your seed budget, you're not alone. Whether you're frustrated by features locked behind a paywall, tired of needing cell service in the field, or just want something simpler, there are solid options available. Here are five worth considering.

Why People Switch From FarmLogs

FarmLogs (now part of the Bushel ecosystem) pioneered a lot of what we expect from farm management software. But that doesn't mean it's the right fit for every grower. Here are the most common reasons market farmers start looking elsewhere:

  • Shrinking free tier. Features that used to be included for free have gradually moved behind paid plans. For small-scale growers, the free version often feels too limited to be useful.
  • Designed for commodity crops. FarmLogs was built with large-scale corn and soybean operations in mind. If you're growing 30 varieties of tomatoes and rotating through succession plantings of salad mix, the interface can feel like it's fighting you instead of helping.
  • Requires internet connectivity. Many fields don't have reliable cell service. If you can't log data while you're actually standing in the field, you end up doing double entry later — or just not logging at all.
  • Account and data concerns. Some farmers prefer not to hand over field-level data to a platform connected to a grain marketing company. That's a reasonable concern, and it's worth thinking about who has access to your operational data.
  • Complexity for small operations. If you're farming under 20 acres and selling at farmers markets, you don't need satellite imagery and commodity price tracking. You need a simple way to plan, plant, and track what's growing.

1. CropsBook (Free)

CropsBook was built specifically for vegetable growers and market farmers — the people FarmLogs wasn't really designed for. It's a focused crop tracking app that handles planning, planting logs, harvest records, and field notes without any of the overhead that comes with enterprise farm management platforms.

What makes it stand out:

  • 100% offline. Every feature works without an internet connection. Log plantings, record harvests, and take field notes from anywhere on your property. No cell signal required.
  • No account needed. Open the app and start using it. There's no sign-up form, no email verification, and no password to remember. Your data stays on your device.
  • Actually free. Not freemium, not a 14-day trial, not "free with ads." The full app is free to download and use.
  • Designed for diverse plantings. If you're growing dozens of crop varieties across multiple beds and succession planting every two weeks, CropsBook can handle that without making you fight a system built for 500-acre monocultures.
  • Simple and fast. The interface is clean enough that you can log a planting in under 30 seconds. When you're juggling transplants and irrigation and a farmers market prep list, speed matters.

The main limitation is that CropsBook is currently iOS only, so you'll need an iPhone or iPad. But if you're in the Apple ecosystem, it's hard to beat for market farm crop tracking.

Best for: Market farmers, vegetable growers, and small-scale diversified operations that want straightforward crop tracking without subscriptions or connectivity requirements.

Try CropsBook free today. Download CropsBook on the App Store — no subscription, no account, works 100% offline.

2. Bushel Farm (Free)

Bushel Farm is essentially the next generation of FarmLogs. After Bushel acquired FarmLogs, they rolled many of the same features into the Bushel Farm platform. If you liked what FarmLogs offered but wanted a refreshed interface, this might feel familiar.

Pros:

  • Free to use with a solid set of features for field mapping and activity tracking
  • Satellite imagery for monitoring crop health across fields
  • Rainfall and weather data integrated into the field view
  • Profit and loss tracking to help you understand per-field economics

Cons:

  • Still oriented toward row crops and commodity farming — vegetable growers may find the interface awkward for their workflow
  • Requires an account and internet connection to sync data
  • Part of the Bushel grain marketing ecosystem, which means your farm data lives on their servers
  • Feature set may shift over time as the platform evolves, just as it did with FarmLogs

Best for: Grain and row crop farmers who want a free replacement that closely mirrors the original FarmLogs experience.

3. Seedsheet (Garden Planning Kits, $30–$100 per Kit)

Seedsheet takes a completely different approach. Instead of giving you software to plan and track your garden, they sell pre-designed garden kits with seeds embedded in a biodegradable mat. You lay down the mat, water it, and follow their growing guides.

Pros:

  • Extremely beginner-friendly — removes almost all decision-making from the planning process
  • Includes seeds, spacing, and companion planting built into the physical product
  • Companion app provides growing tips and reminders
  • Good option for home gardeners who want a hands-off start

Cons:

  • Not free — kits range from $30 to over $100 depending on size
  • Not practical for market farming or any operation selling produce commercially
  • Limited variety selection compared to choosing your own seeds
  • No real crop tracking or harvest logging — it's more of a planting system than a management tool

Best for: Home gardeners and beginners who want a turnkey planting experience. Not a realistic option for market farmers, but worth mentioning since it shows up in searches alongside farm management tools.

4. Pen and Paper (Free)

This might sound like a joke entry, but it's genuinely what a large number of market farmers use — and for good reason. A well-organized field notebook with dated entries, planting maps drawn by hand, and harvest tallies in a spreadsheet has worked for generations of growers.

Pros:

  • Zero learning curve and completely free
  • Works in any weather, any location, with no battery to worry about
  • Fully customizable to your exact workflow
  • No data privacy concerns whatsoever

Cons:

  • Difficult to search through past records when you need to look up what you planted three seasons ago
  • Notebooks get lost, damaged, or left in the truck when you need them in the field
  • No automatic calculations for yield tracking or succession timing
  • Hard to share records with a business partner or farm crew

Best for: Growers who are already organized and disciplined about record-keeping and prefer a fully analog system. Many farmers use a notebook alongside a digital app — quick notes in the field, then logged properly later.

5. Spreadsheets — Google Sheets or Excel (Free)

A custom spreadsheet is probably the most common digital tool that market farmers actually use day to day. You can build templates for planting schedules, harvest logs, seed inventory, and market sales tracking. If you're comfortable with formulas, you can create a surprisingly powerful system.

Pros:

  • Completely free with Google Sheets or included with most computers via Excel
  • Infinitely customizable — you can track exactly what matters to your operation
  • Easy to share with partners, employees, or your accountant
  • Formulas can automate calculations for yield per bed, revenue per crop, and succession timing

Cons:

  • Requires significant setup time to build useful templates from scratch
  • Clunky to use on a phone in the field — small screens and spreadsheets don't mix well
  • Google Sheets needs internet access; offline spreadsheets require syncing later
  • Easy to break with an accidental formula edit or misplaced entry

Best for: Growers who want maximum flexibility and are comfortable building their own tracking systems. Works well as a back-office tool paired with a simpler field app.

What to Look for in a FarmLogs Alternative

Every farm is different, but here are the key factors worth weighing as you evaluate your options:

  • Crop type fit. A tool built for tracking 1,000-acre corn fields won't serve you well if you're growing 40 varieties of vegetables across raised beds and hoop houses. Make sure the app can handle diversified plantings.
  • Offline capability. If your fields don't have reliable cell service — and most don't — you need an app that works without a connection. Otherwise, you'll end up logging everything from memory at the kitchen table.
  • True cost. "Free" means different things to different companies. Some apps are genuinely free. Others offer a limited free tier designed to push you toward a subscription. Read the fine print before you invest time setting up your data.
  • Data ownership. Where does your data live? Can you export it? Is the company using your field-level data for other purposes? These are fair questions, especially when platforms are connected to commodity trading businesses.
  • Simplicity. The best farm management tool is the one you'll actually use. If an app takes 20 minutes to log a planting, you'll stop using it by week three. Look for something fast enough to use between tasks.

If your operation extends beyond crops, consider how your tools work together. Farmers who also raise livestock might pair their crop tracker with a dedicated tool like Barnsbook for managing animals, feed schedules, and veterinary records. And if you keep bees for pollination or honey production, HiveBook handles hive inspections and colony tracking. Using purpose-built apps for each part of your farm tends to work better than trying to force everything into one platform.

Making the Switch

Switching from FarmLogs to a new tool doesn't have to be painful. Here's a practical approach:

Start with the current season. Don't try to migrate years of historical data. Begin fresh with your current plantings and build your records forward. You can always refer back to FarmLogs exports or old notebooks for historical reference.

Export what you can. Before you leave FarmLogs, download any reports or data exports the platform offers. Even if you never import them into a new tool, having a backup of your field boundaries, planting histories, and yield data is worthwhile.

Run both tools in parallel for a few weeks. Don't delete your FarmLogs account on day one. Use your new tool as your primary system but keep the old one accessible until you're confident the new workflow fits.

Focus on what you actually track. Most market farmers need three things recorded consistently: what they planted, when they planted it, and how much they harvested. If your new tool handles those three things well, everything else is a bonus. Don't get caught up configuring features you won't use.

Ask your crew. If you have employees or volunteers, their buy-in matters. A tool that only the farm owner understands won't get used consistently. Pick something simple enough that anyone on your team can log a planting or record a harvest without training.

The good news is that the market for farm management tools has never been better. Whether you go with a purpose-built app like CropsBook, a flexible spreadsheet system, or even a well-organized notebook, the important thing is finding a workflow that you'll stick with through the whole season. The best data is the data that actually gets recorded.