Beeledger vs Beentry: dictate each hive, or record the whole apiary?

Beeledger and Beentry both use AI to turn what you say at the hive into inspection records. The difference is how you talk to them: Beentry is built around dictating one inspection record at a time, Beeledger around one recording for a whole apiary walk. I build Beeledger, so read this with that in mind. I have tried to be fair, and every fact about Beentry links to its source.

Short answer

• Choose Beentry if you want an AI advisor you can ask questions, a disease map with nearby alerts, a ChatGPT and Claude connection, or an app in one of eight languages.
• Choose Beentry if price comes first: $39.99 a year on its English site and US$19.99 on its Spanish site, against $49 for Beeledger’s voice plan.
• Choose Beeledger if you want to press record at the first hive, keep the phone in your pocket, walk the row talking, and get one record per hive at the end.
• Choose Beeledger if your apiaries have no signal and you need voice to record anyway, or you want splits, merges, moves and tasks to come out of what you say.
• Choose Beeledger if you want a free plan that keeps working after the trial, or voice at a flat price with no credits to watch.

At a glance

	Beentry	Beeledger
Price	$3.99/month or $39.99/year (English site); US$1.99/month or US$19.99/year (Spanish site)	$6.99/month or $49/year, taxes included
Free plan	None listed; 30-day free trial	Free forever for manual logging, unlimited hives; 30 days of the paid features for new accounts
AI usage limits	100 AI credits every 7 days, shared by dictation, the advisor and other AI features; extra credits sold separately	Unlimited voice inspections (fair use); no credits
How voice works	Dictate into one inspection record; AI fills in the tags	One recording for the apiary walk, split into one record per hive
Voice with no signal	Its site says dictation works offline; in my August 2026 test it refused to record without a connection	Records with no signal; processed when back in range
Colony changes from speech	Not mentioned on its pages	Splits, combines, moves, captured swarms, dead colonies
Tasks	Tasks and reminders; the ChatGPT and Claude connector can create and complete them	Created from speech; a later recording can mark them done
AI beyond records	AI advisor you can chat with; ChatGPT and Claude connection	Summaries per hive, per apiary and for the whole operation
Disease map	Yes, with nearby alerts	No
Languages	8	3: English, Spanish, French (app and voice)
People on one account	Not stated on its pages	Up to 3 on the paid plan
Export	CSV and PDF	Everything, on both plans

Checked on 17 October 2026. Prices may have changed.

One hive at a time, or the whole apiary in one take

Beentry’s dictation starts from an inspection record. Its own article puts it simply: “When creating an inspection record, tap the microphone icon and start speaking.” The app turns your speech into text, the AI picks the matching tags (strong colony, brood on five frames, queen seen) and you check them before saving. The same article suggests dictating as you move through the apiary, and its Google Play listing mentions bulk entries for several hives at once.

When I tested it in August 2026, it handled a single hive well. I said I had seen the queen and the “queen spotted” box was ticked, with the transcript kept as a note. But when I recorded at apiary level, the text stayed as one block on the apiary instead of being split per hive. That may have changed since.

Beeledger is built the other way around. You press record at the first hive and put the phone in your pocket. Gloves on, smoker in one hand, you say each hive’s name as you reach it: “Alpha 3, saw the queen, seven frames of brood, she needs a super.” Each apiary gets a letter and each hive a number, written on the lid with a marker, so there are no QR codes or tags to scan. When you are done, Beeledger splits the recording into one record per hive. You can correct yourself (“scratch that”), go back to an earlier hive or think out loud, and it does not record an observation you did not confirm.

On a row of three hives the difference is small: stop, tap, talk, three times. On a row of twenty it is twenty stops with sticky gloves, against one press. If you want to judge for yourself, the film is a 10-minute inspection, unedited, with its transcript.

Voice with no signal

Beentry’s features page says records, notes and photos are saved on the device and synced when you are back in coverage. Its July 2026 article goes further: dictation “works completely offline”, with speech recognition on the phone and the AI tag analysis running once you reconnect.

That is not what I saw. When I tested it in August 2026 with no connection, the app would not start the voice recording and told me I could not record a voice message. Speech recognition on the phone can depend on the device, and the app may have changed since. If your apiary sits behind a hill with no bars, try Beentry’s dictation in airplane mode during the trial before you count on it.

Beeledger records voice, photos and typed notes with no connection at all. Everything is saved on the phone, then synced and processed when you are back in range. I keep bees in Chile, where plenty of apiaries have no signal, so for me this was never optional.

What happens after you speak

Beentry’s AI turns speech into tags on the record: colony strength, brood, stores, queen, mood, health and interventions, including tags you create yourself. Its pages also list tasks and reminders. In my test, dictation filled in tags and notes; I did not see it turn a spoken follow-up into a task.

Beeledger tries to pull more out of the same sentence. “Come back in two weeks and treat this one for varroa” becomes a dated task. A later recording can mark that task as done when you say you did it, and when the match is uncertain it shows a suggestion to confirm, never a silent tick. Colony changes come from speech too: a split (the new hive is created), a captured swarm or a bought nuc, two colonies combined, a hive moved to another apiary, a dead colony, a new colony in an empty box. They are applied when it is clear they were done; “I’ll split this one next week” is recorded as a plan, not executed. I found nothing about recording splits or merges by voice on Beentry’s pages.

Where Beentry is better

• An AI advisor. Beentry’s advisor knows your colonies, their inspection history, the season and the local weather, and answers questions from treatment timing to queen management. Beeledger writes summaries of what needs action, but you cannot chat with it.
• ChatGPT and Claude. Since October 2026 you can connect Beentry to ChatGPT or Claude, ask about your hives and harvests, and let the assistant log inspections or tasks after it checks the details with you. Its example logs five hives from one message, handy on the drive home. The connection is included in the subscription.
• A disease map, with alerts when outbreaks are reported near your hives. Check the coverage where you keep bees: its connector page lists outbreak data for the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
• More languages. Eight, including Spanish and French, against three for Beeledger.
• A mature record set. Queen lineage and age with colour marking by year, harvests with honey type and moisture, wax, propolis, pollen, royal jelly and venom, income and expense charts, weather added to inspections automatically. Its makers started on it in 2020, and its site says more than 5,900 beekeepers use it. Beeledger went public in October 2026.
• Price. It is cheaper on paper, by a lot on its Spanish site.

Pricing

Beentry lists no free plan: a 30-day free trial with all features, then a subscription. The price depends on which version of its site you read:

Beentry site	Monthly	Yearly
English	$3.99	$39.99
Spanish	US$1.99	US$19.99
French	€2.99	€29.99

Both plans include the same features. AI runs on credits: “The subscription includes 100 AI credits every 7 days (30 without a subscription). Dictation, the AI advisor and other AI features share this allowance; usage depends on the request and model.” Unused credits do not carry over. When they run out, you wait for the renewal or buy extra credits on its website “for an additional charge”. Manual records use no credits. I could not find how many dictations 100 credits cover, or what extra credits cost.

Beeledger, taxes included: a free plan with no time limit for manual logging, unlimited hives and apiaries, photos and export, no card. The voice plan is $49 a year or $6.99 a month: unlimited voice inspections under fair use, AI summaries, video, phone and web, up to three people on the account. No credits and no per-hive price. Every new account gets 30 days of the paid features without a card. Details on the pricing page.

Checked on 17 October 2026. Prices may have changed.

So Beentry costs less: about $9 a year less on its English site and about $29 less on its Spanish site. Beeledger costs more and, in return, does not meter voice. A day with forty hives costs the same as a day with four.

Who should pick which

• A few hives, signal at the apiary, and you want advice and a disease map: Beentry fits and costs less.
• You work in Czech, German, Polish, Slovak or Portuguese: Beentry. Beeledger does not speak those.
• You want to ask ChatGPT or Claude about your hives today: Beentry.
• You work rows of hives with gloves on and want one press per apiary: Beeledger.
• Your apiaries have no signal: Beeledger records anyway. Test Beentry in airplane mode before deciding.
• You want to keep logging for free after the trial: Beeledger’s free plan has no hive limit.

If you are weighing more than two apps, I compared the main ones in the best beekeeping apps, and also wrote Beeledger vs HiveTracks and Beeledger vs HiveBloom.

How I compared them

I read Beentry’s site in English, Spanish and French on 17 October 2026: pricing, features, its article on voice records, its ChatGPT and Claude page, and its Google Play listing. Each fact above links to the page it comes from. I tested Beentry hands-on in August 2026, with and without a connection, at hive level and at apiary level. I did not subscribe, buy credits, or try the ChatGPT and Claude connection or the disease map, and I have not re-tested voice with no signal since August. The Beeledger facts come from the app and its pricing page on the same date.

FAQ

Is Beentry cheaper than Beeledger?

Yes. On 17 October 2026 Beentry cost $39.99 a year on its English site and US$19.99 on its Spanish site, against $49 for Beeledger’s voice plan. Beentry’s AI features run on a weekly credit allowance, with extra credits sold separately, while Beeledger’s voice is unlimited under fair use. Beeledger also has a free plan for manual logging; Beentry lists none.

Does Beentry’s voice dictation work without internet?

Beentry says it does, with speech recognition on the phone and the AI analysis once you reconnect. When I tested it in August 2026, it refused to record a voice message without a connection. It may depend on the phone or have changed since, so test it in airplane mode during the trial.

Can I record a whole apiary in one go?

Beeledger is built for that: one recording for the walk, split into one record per hive by the names you say. In my August 2026 test, a Beentry recording made at apiary level stayed as one block of text on the apiary. Beentry’s ChatGPT and Claude connection can log several hives from one message, but that needs a connection.

What are Beentry’s AI credits?

A weekly allowance: 100 credits every seven days with a subscription, 30 without. Dictation, the AI advisor and the other AI features share it, and how much each use costs depends on the request and the model. Extra credits can be bought on its website for an additional charge; I could not find their price.

Can I try both for free?

Yes. Beentry offers a 30-day free trial with every feature, and Beeledger gives every new account 30 days of the paid features. Neither asks for payment details up front.