HiveFlow Free Plan: 8 Hives, Offline Map, No Credit Card
Disclosure: This page is published by HiveFlow. We compare our free plan with HiveTracks and Apiary Book and link to their sites. Store limits change; verify before you commit.
The HiveFlow free plan covers up to 8 hives: inspections, an offline GPS map, a calendar, and harvest charts, on Android, iOS, and the web. No credit card. If you want the ranked comparison, use the best free beekeeping app page. The product pages for the searches that page does not cover are the beekeeping app, Canada, UK hive records, and iPhone. This page is only the unpaid plan.
HiveFlow keeps a backyard and, on PRO or Team, a commercial house on that same login. Below is what you get before you pay, next to HiveTracks and Apiary Book.
Free plan comparison (2026)
| What you can do unpaid | HiveFlow | HiveTracks | Apiary Book |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes — up to 8 colonies and 8 bait boxes | Yes (mobile; Pro is paid) | Yes (1 apiary, 9 hives) |
| Swarm traps / bait hives | First-class inventory | Partial / notes | Partial |
| Offline inspections | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Offline map regions | Yes (download on device) | Yard mapping (check listing) | Yard view |
| Management calendar | Inspections, feeding, treatments | Tasks / reminders | Tasks |
| Honey production charts | Harvests in lb, kg, oz | Harvest logs | Harvest logs |
| GPS pins for hives and traps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| iOS + Android + web | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Caps and feature flags move. Recheck Google Play and each vendor’s pricing page.
What “free” should include for real fieldwork
If a free beekeeping app drops any of these, you will be back on paper by mid-season:
- Offline logging when the outyard has no signal
- A map of hives and bait boxes, including tiles you can cache
- A calendar for overdue inspections and treatment follow-ups
- Room to run traps and production colonies in the same account
HiveFlow was built around that list. The commercial house (honey lots, customers, pollination invoices, a ledger, and a 25-seat team) is the same login once you pass the free cap. See commercial beekeeping software. HiveTracks is the longer US commercial brand if you already live in web Pro dashboards ($6.99/month on their current site). Apiary Book is stronger if you want the global default with 19 languages and can stay inside nine hives on the unpaid plan.
Who the HiveFlow free tier is for
- Hobbyists with a handful of Langstroth, top-bar, or stingless-bee hives
- Sideliners who also run swarm traps in spring
- Keepers who will outgrow 8 colonies and want lots, invoices, and a crew in the same app
- Anyone comparing a HiveTracks alternative without paying first
- Keepers who need EN, PT, or ES on the same login
Who should look elsewhere
- Yards that already run on HiveTracks Pro dashboards and do not want to move the book
- Beekeepers who want 19 UI languages (Apiary Book)
- Apple-only users who want HiveBook’s on-device AI inspections (HiveBook has no Android app; unpaid plan is five hives)
How to test in one yard visit
Install HiveFlow and one other app. Log the same inspection with airplane mode on. Drop a pin for a bait box. Add a feeding reminder on the calendar. The app you open on the drive home is the one to keep.
Start here: HiveFlow free on the web · Google Play · App Store
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
- What does the HiveFlow free plan include?
- Inspections, an offline GPS map, QR labels, a calendar, and harvest charts, for up to 8 colonies and 8 bait boxes. No credit card. The comparison with HiveTracks and Apiary Book is on the best free beekeeping app page.
- Is HiveFlow really free?
- Yes. You can create an account and use inspections, maps, QR labels, calendar reminders, and harvest charts at no charge. Premium is for larger apiaries. No credit card is required to start.
- Which free beekeeping app works offline?
- HiveFlow logs inspections and trap visits with no signal and can download map regions for remote yards. HiveTracks and Apiary Book also log offline. Confirm current limits on each store listing before you rely on a trip.
- Is there a free HiveTracks alternative?
- HiveFlow’s free plan covers up to 8 colonies and 8 bait boxes, with traps, a map, and a calendar. Honey lots, pollination invoices, and the ledger are in the same account. PRO goes up to 100 colonies and 100 bait boxes. Team has no cap and adds 25 seats. HiveTracks remains the longer US commercial brand; its free tier is a trial of that product, and Pro is the paid desktop.