Comparison

ColonyIQ vs Hivewire Mobile

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

Head to head
About

ColonyIQ

Features
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ColonyIQ is the most comprehensive beekeeping management app built specifically for queen breeders, serious hobbyists, and commercial operations. Whether you're running a small apiary or managing hundreds of colonies across multiple locations, ColonyIQ gives you the tools to track, analyze, and improve every aspect of your operation from egg to laying queen. Colony and Queen Management Keep detailed records for every colony and queen in your operation. Log inspections with hive health scores, varroa mite counts, brood pattern ratings, temperament, honey stores, and more. Attach photos directly to colonies, queens, inspections, and calendar events so you always know exactly which hive is which even when you're suited up in the field. Track each queen's lineage, genetics, emergence date, instrumental insemination records, and performance history. Replace queens and automatically maintain bidirectional links between colonies and their queens. Queen Rearing Calendar ColonyIQ's built-in queen rearing timeline calculator automatically generates a step-by-step schedule from your graft date including capping dates, emergence, mating flights, and the first day queens can be instrumentally inseminated, accurately set to Day 7-10, the real-world window used by professional II breeders. Set custom reminders for key milestones and never miss a critical rearing step again. Instrumental Insemination Tracking Designed by beekeepers for II breeders, ColonyIQ tracks every insemination event with donor drone batch data, date, semen source, techniques used, and outcomes. BLUP genetic scoring lets you quantify performance traits across generations and identify your best breeding stock. The pedigree viewer visualizes multi-generation lineage at a glance. Mite Management and Treatment Records Log alcohol wash and sugar roll mite counts with colony-level trending over time. Record every treatment including oxalic acid vaporization, ApiLife VAR, MAQS, Apistan, and any custom method with dosage, application dates, and efficacy notes. The beekeeping calendar includes pre-built treatment regiment templates with automatic follow-up reminders. NFC Smart Tags Tap any NFC sticker to instantly open the colony, queen, or apiary record it's linked to with no searching and no scrolling. Write new tags directly from within the app, reassign them in seconds, and manage your entire tag inventory from the NFC Manager dashboard. NFC scanning works even when the app is fully closed on both iOS and Android. Apiaries and Locations Organize your colonies by apiary with custom location names, GPS coordinates, and notes. Move colonies between locations and maintain a full movement history. Attach photos to apiary locations for easy identification in the field. Harvests and Production Tracking Record honey, wax, pollen, and propolis harvests with weights, grades, and notes. Track production per colony over time to identify your most productive genetics. Beekeeping Calendar and Reminders A full-featured beekeeping calendar lets you schedule inspections, treatments, queen rearing cycles, drone production batches, swarm prevention checks, and custom events. Set reminder notifications so nothing falls through the cracks during your busiest season. Vaccination and Biocontrol Records Track American Foulbrood vaccination events, Oxalic Acid Extended Release treatments using the Randy Oliver and Aluen Cap method, and any other biocontrol treatments with complete records for each colony. Offline Ready ColonyIQ is designed to work in remote apiaries with no cell service. Records sync automatically when you return to connectivity so you never lose data from a day in the field. Free and Pro Plans Get started free with core colony and queen tracking. Upgrade to ColonyIQ Pro for unlimited colonies, advanced genetics scoring, NFC tag support, full calendar features, and priority support. Subscribe directly through the app or at colonyiq.app.

About

Hivewire Mobile

Features
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Hivewire โ€” Smart Beekeeping & Remote Hive Monitoring Keep your finger on the pulse of every hive โ€” from the yard or from anywhere. Hivewire pairs real-time sensor monitoring with a complete, offline-first record-keeping system, so you always know what's happening inside your colonies and never lose a note in the field. Know before you go: Hivewire's battery-powered sensors stream live data over a long-range mesh network to the cloud and straight to your phone: hive weight, brood-nest temperature and humidity, acoustic activity, and battery and solar status. Watch trends over time, get alerts when something's off, and decide which hives actually need a visit โ€” before you open a single lid. A full beekeeping record, built for the field: Log inspections, treatments, feedings, and harvests in seconds. Track what's in every box and every frame โ€” brood, pollen, and honey โ€” and photograph frames as you work. Everything is offline-first: write it all down with no signal in the apiary, and it syncs the moment you're back in range. Photos, AI, and a second opinion: Attach photos to hives, visits, records, and individual frames. AI automatically identifies what's in your frame photos โ€” capped brood, queen cells, and more. Not sure what you're looking at? Submit any photo for a consult and get a second opinion from a peer or an expert. Manage colonies, queens, and genetics: Follow each colony's story separately from its equipment โ€” splits, combines, requeening, and dead-outs. Keep queen records with tenure and year codes, and use per-line trait scoring and a live selection index to breed from your best stock. Your hardware, your data: Set up and update your hubs, gateways, and sensors right from the app, with over-the-air firmware and direct device management. Solar-ready and cellular-capable for remote yards with no Wi-Fi. More that makes a difference: Multi-hive voice logging โ€” one recording, filed automatically to each hive Hivewire AI assistant for beekeeping questions, grounded in a real knowledge base Shareable apiaries for clubs, mentors, and partners Home screen widgets and push alerts that keep you informed at a glance Whether you run two hives or two hundred, Hivewire helps you spend less time guessing and more time keeping bees.

Screenshots

ColonyIQ4 screens
Hivewire Mobile4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Hivewire Mobile at every 3 days against ColonyIQ's fortnightly. ColonyIQ's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ColonyIQ ships an update fortnightly, Hivewire Mobile every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
ColonyIQ versus Hivewire Mobile: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterColonyIQHivewire Mobile
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 3 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 โ€” better26.2
Further details โ€” not scored
Size39 MB29 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJASON ALLEN BRAGGHivewire Technologies, LLC

In-app purchases

None

ColonyIQ

No in-app purchases

None

Hivewire Mobile

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ColonyIQ free?
ColonyIQ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Hivewire Mobile free?
Hivewire Mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do ColonyIQ or Hivewire Mobile have ads?
Neither ColonyIQ nor Hivewire Mobile shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ColonyIQ or Hivewire Mobile?
ColonyIQ ships an update fortnightly, and Hivewire Mobile every 3 days. Most recently, ColonyIQ was updated on October 14, 2026 and Hivewire Mobile on October 24, 2026.

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