Comparison

HiveSense vs ApiaryOS

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

HiveSense

This app is a comprehensive beekeeping management tool designed for field use. It allows users to log hive inspections offline, monitor Bluetooth sensors for colony health, and record voice notes hands-free. Organize apiaries, track colony details, and set task reminders, all with a privacy-first approach.

Highlights
  • Offline hive inspections
  • Bluetooth sensor monitoring
  • Hands-free voice notes
  • Colony and queen tracking
  • Apiary management
  • Task reminders and calendar
  • Multi-device cloud sync
Features
Read full description

THE SMART BEEKEEPING APP — BUILT FOR THE FIELD HiveSense is the all-in-one hive tracker and apiary manager for hobbyist and commercial beekeepers. Log inspections offline, connect Bluetooth hive sensors, and record voice notes hands-free — all without internet. OFFLINE-FIRST HIVE INSPECTIONS - Log inspections anywhere — no internet required - Quick checks and full detailed inspections - All data stored securely on your device - Optional cloud sync for multi-device access - Free for up to 15 hives BLUETOOTH HIVE SENSOR MONITORING - Connect BroodMinder and BEEP sensors via Bluetooth - Monitor temperature, humidity, and hive weight in real time - Track colony health trends across seasons - Automatic sensor detection and pairing HANDS-FREE VOICE NOTES - Record inspection notes with on-device speech recognition - Perfect for use with beekeeping gloves in the field - Transcribed locally — no internet or cloud processing - Powered by Whisper AI running entirely on your device COLONY & QUEEN TRACKING - Track queen age, color marking, genetics, and status - Monitor colony strength, temperament, and health - Record varroa treatments, feedings, and honey harvests - Photo documentation for hives, frames, and colonies SMART APIARY MANAGEMENT - Organize hives across multiple apiaries - Local weather and pollen data for each apiary - Map view with GPS coordinates - Share apiaries with your beekeeping team - Role-based access for team collaboration TASK REMINDERS & CALENDAR - Schedule inspection reminders and treatment follow-ups - Recurring tasks for seasonal management - Calendar view of upcoming hive checks - Assign tasks to team members PRIVACY-FIRST DESIGN - Works fully offline — your records are stored on your device first - Cloud sync is optional; when it's on, your records, photos and voice notes stay in sync across your devices - Voice notes are transcribed on your device — audio is never sent to a speech-to-text service - Anonymous usage analytics can be turned off anytime in Settings - Local-Only Mode keeps everything on your device MULTILINGUAL - Available in English, German, Spanish, French, and Polish Whether you manage 2 hives or 200, HiveSense helps you track colony health, log inspections, monitor sensors, and stay on top of your beekeeping — even without cell service. Free for up to 15 hives. No subscription required to get started. Privacy Policy: https://tryhivesense.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.tryhivesense.com/terms

About

ApiaryOS

Features
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**B-HyveOS is a beekeeping app for people who actually keep bees.** Every serious tool, in one elegant iPhone and iPad app. Built for beginners finding their way through a first season and for longtime keepers tracking a hundred inspections a year. **Your apiary, organized.** Group hives into named yards — "North Yard", "Backfield", wherever your bees live — each with its own location. Weather and bloom predictions come from exactly the right spot. Add hives one tap at a time or pin a whole apiary at once. **Inspections done right.** A guided inspection form walks you through what to check and why — queen spotted, eggs/larvae/capped brood, honey and pollen stores, temperament, pests, disease signs — with short educational notes so you're learning as you log. Temperature auto-fills from the weather at your hive's location. **Live weather and forage predictions.** Apple WeatherKit drives current conditions and a 5-day forecast for every hive. Growing degree days (GDD50) accumulate from your biofix date and power a built-in library of 25+ North American nectar and pollen plants. You see what's blooming now, what's starting soon, and what finished weeks ago. **Serious Varroa tracking.** Log mite counts by method (alcohol wash, sugar roll, sticky board), sample size, and mites counted. Watch the 3% economic threshold color-coded across the app — green below 2%, orange 2–3%, red above. The Varroa story, properly told. **Honey, treatments, feedings.** Track every harvest by frames pulled and weight. Log treatments by product — Apivar, oxalic acid, Formic Pro, Apiguard. Record sugar syrup feedings by ratio and amount. See lifetime totals on each hive. **Voice notes with on-device transcription.** Narrate what you see while you're at the hive. B-HyveOS records audio and transcribes with Apple's on-device speech recognition — your voice never leaves your phone. Attach notes to a specific hive, inspection, harvest, or leave them loose in the Journal. **Checklists for every season.** Eight curated templates — pre-inspection prep, spring opening, summer maintenance, fall prep, winter prep, swarm capture kit, extraction day, quick routine check. Check off items as you work. **Learn as you go.** Beekeeping glossary, seasonal calendar, first-year checklist, and links to the best free resources — Honey Bee Health Coalition's Varroa tools, Bee Informed Partnership, Cooperative Extension, American Beekeeping Federation. **Privacy by design.** Your data lives in your own iCloud — there are no servers because B-HyveOS doesn't need any. Voice recordings stay on your device. Sign in with your iCloud account and it just works across iPhone and iPad. **For the curious beekeeper.** For beginners: the explanations, the first-year checklist, the threshold colors that tell you when something's wrong. For experts: per-hive phenology, GDD correlation, a clean interface that gets out of your way during a 20-minute inspection in full suit. **Requires iOS 17 or later. Free. No subscription, no in-app purchases.**

Screenshots

HiveSense4 screens
ApiaryOS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ApiaryOS at none against HiveSense's 6. ApiaryOS also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). HiveSense's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. HiveSense sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. ApiaryOS asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HiveSense ships an update every 3 weeks, ApiaryOS every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
HiveSense versus ApiaryOS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHiveSenseApiaryOS
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (5 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size109 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJan RowinskiJW McCullough

In-app purchases

6 purchases

HiveSense

Subscriptions6
  • Hobbyist Monthly$3.991 Month
  • HiveSense Pro — Founding$5.991 Month
  • Pro Monthly$8.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Hobbyist Annual$34.991 Year
  • HiveSense Pro — Founding14 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • HiveSense Pro$74.991 Year
None

ApiaryOS

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HiveSense free?
HiveSense is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ApiaryOS free?
ApiaryOS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do HiveSense or ApiaryOS have ads?
HiveSense shows ads; ApiaryOS does not.
Which is updated more often, HiveSense or ApiaryOS?
HiveSense ships an update every 3 weeks, and ApiaryOS every 4 days. Most recently, HiveSense was updated on October 20, 2026 and ApiaryOS on October 19, 2026.

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