Gatekeeper alternatives: the problems users raise, and what to move to
Guide

Gatekeeper alternatives: the problems users raise, and what to move to

Telus is moving Gatekeeper users onto Telus Crop Management. The problems Gatekeeper users raise most - support, dated software, cost and the migration - and how Soil Benchmark answers each one.

Gatekeeper has been the standard farm records system in the UK for twenty-odd years, and for good reason: for a long time nothing else did as much. But Telus, which now owns it, plans to move every Gatekeeper user onto its new Telus Crop Management platform. In the meantime, users on The Farming Forum and the farmers and agronomists we speak to say it is slow and complicated to use, support has got much harder to reach, the software itself has stopped moving, and some of the farms already moved have had migrations fail or lose records.

If you are being asked to move anyway, it is a good moment to choose rather than accept the default. This page sets out the problems Gatekeeper users raise most often, how Soil Benchmark answers each one, and where Gatekeeper is still stronger. We make Soil Benchmark, so we have tried to be straight about both.

The problems Gatekeeper users raise most

The problemWhat Gatekeeper users sayHow Soil Benchmark answers it
Support is hard to get hold of"Gatekeeper support never answer the phone nowadays. It's always leave a message and get a call back half a day later."
Gatekeeper user, The Farming Forum, March 2026		No sales team or call centre. Ring, WhatsApp or live chat and you reach the people who build it.
Slow, clunky and dated"Gatekeeper does look like a Dos programme from the 90's."
Gatekeeper user, The Farming Forum, January 2025		Runs in a browser on any computer or tablet, built around a map. A farm goes in from its SBI number in seconds.
Too complicated, too many clicks"Overcomplicated for what its NEEDS to do."
Former Gatekeeper user, The Farming Forum, December 2022		Built from farmer and agronomist feedback to get a plan out in as few steps as possible. The Farmers Weekly reviewer rated our usability "top notch".
Paying for support on software that isn't moving"I begrudge the support fees they charge for an antiquated piece of software they haven't spent money on for years."
Long-term Gatekeeper user, The Farming Forum, June 2026		New features most weeks. Nutrient Nerd was rebuilt in June 2026 and SFI Shepherd launched in August.
The cost stacks upAbout £3,000 to buy plus £1,000 a year in support at 400ha (Farmers Weekly, April 2026)£475 +VAT per farm per year for everything, whatever the farm size. Planning is free.
Being moved to Telus Crop Management anyway"Unless you are a very basic user of GK then the Telus doesn't have the functionality yet."
Gatekeeper user, The Farming Forum, June 2026		If you have to move, you can choose where. We help you bring your fields and history across.
Migrations going wrongFarms that have already been moved tell us about migrations that failed or records that went missingYour fields come straight in from your SBI number, and we check your history across with you rather than leaving you to find the gaps.

Quotes are from public threads on The Farming Forum. For all eight main systems side by side, see our full UK farm management software comparison.

How Soil Benchmark answers them

You speak to the people who build it

We deliberately don't have a sales team. Apart from our two co-founders, everyone on the team is a developer, so there are no reps, resellers or call centre between you and the people writing the software. Ring, WhatsApp or use the live chat and you speak to the team who build it, who can usually fix a problem the same week.

We also help you get your farms set up, and run free webinars and training throughout the year.

Modern, map-based and quick to set up

Soil Benchmark runs in a web browser, so there is nothing to install, no back-ups to manage, and your agronomist can work on the same farm at the same time. Everything is built around the farm map. Add a farm from its SBI number (or a shapefile in Scotland and Wales) and the field boundaries, soils, risk layers and designations are already in place. The Farmers Weekly reviewer rated our usability "top notch".

Software that keeps moving

Soil Benchmark went live in November 2023 and is now used on 1.4 million hectares, over 15% of England's farmland. Almost everything since has been built from what farmers and agronomists have asked for:

  • Soil Sage - soil management plans, including the soil plan Red Tractor audits ask for
  • Nutrient Nerd (rebuilt June 2026) - RB209 nutrient plans for arable and grassland, spreading maps, and NVZ, N max and Farming Rules for Water checks as you plan
  • Crop Rex - spray plans checked against the Fera Liaison data, with job sheets and product ordering
  • SFI Shepherd (August 2026) - SFI26 planning with clash checks against existing SFI and Countryside Stewardship agreements
Help moving across

Switching after years on one system is a real job, and the biggest worry we hear is losing your history. If you are moving from Gatekeeper, we will help you bring your fields and history across.

What it costs

Published prices from Farmers Weekly (April 2026), with our current price.

Software100ha400ha1,000ha
Gatekeeper£1,700 one-off + £305/yr~£3,000 one-off + £1,000/yr~£3,000 one-off + £1,000/yr
Telus Crop Management (Advanced)£550/yr£620/yr£1,050/yr
Soil Benchmark (SB Farm, all four products)£475/yr£475/yr£475/yr
  • Soil Benchmark is priced per farm, not per hectare. SB Farm is £475 +VAT per farm per cropping year for all four products. Any single product is £200.
  • Agronomists pay once. SB Agronomist is £500 a year and covers every farm you advise.
  • Most of it is free. Add farms, build plans and run compliance checks without paying. You pay when you export a report or send a plan out.

Where Gatekeeper is still stronger

Gatekeeper still does some things we don't yet, and if you rely on them every day it is worth knowing before you switch.

  • Stock and costings. Gatekeeper's stock keeping is still the thing its users praise most. Our stock module and costings reports are due before Christmas.
  • Depth of records. After decades of development it covers a very wide range of record keeping. We cover the plans and records most farms have to produce, and add more most weeks.
  • Machinery. We don't yet send work to machinery. Two-way machinery integration is planned for summer 2027.
What is still to come
  • Before Christmas: stock module, costings reports, and variable rate for nutrients
  • This winter: phone app for recording applications in the field, and variable rate for sprays
  • Spring 2027: more SFI compliance, with a field diary and photo evidence for each action
  • Summer 2027: two-way machinery integration

We will keep this page and our full comparison updated as each of these goes live.

Before you switch

Whichever system you move to, these are the things worth checking first:

  • Can you bring your field history and spray records across, and in what format?
  • Does it handle your grassland as well as your arable for NVZ purposes?
  • How do you get hold of support, and can they fix a problem or just log it?
  • What will it cost at your farm size, including extra users, contractors and your agronomist?
  • Who owns it, and what happens to your data?
Moving to Soil Benchmark

Set up a free account, add your farms from their SBI numbers, and get in touch so we can help bring your history across. You can build plans and run compliance checks straight away, and only pay when you send a plan out. We also run free webinars for new users through the year.

Where Soil Benchmark fits

If you want a modern, map-based system that is independent of any input supplier, quick to pick up, and backed by a team you can actually get hold of, we think it is worth a look. If machinery integration matters most to you today, Omnia, xFarm or Cropwise may suit you better.

Common questions

Is Gatekeeper being replaced?

Telus plans to move Gatekeeper and Telus Farm Management users onto Telus Crop Management. Its published plan had the most complex businesses moving by mid-2026, but many farms are only now being moved, and Telus Crop Management is still working towards matching Gatekeeper's features.

What is the best alternative to Gatekeeper?

It depends on what you need most. Omnia is strong on compliance and machinery but is the most expensive and owned by Hutchinsons. Soil Benchmark is independent, quick to use and £475 per farm per year whatever the size. Geofolia, Cropwise and xFarm are also options. Our full comparison sets out all eight.

Can I bring my Gatekeeper data to Soil Benchmark?

Yes. Your fields come in from your SBI number in seconds, and we will help you bring your field history across from Gatekeeper.

How much does Soil Benchmark cost compared with Gatekeeper?

Farmers Weekly put Gatekeeper at about £3,000 to buy plus £1,000 a year at 400ha. Soil Benchmark is £475 +VAT per farm per year for all four products, whatever the farm size, and planning is free.

Is Soil Benchmark just for soil?

No. It started with soil management plans, but now covers RB209 nutrient planning, spray plans, input ordering and SFI applications, with compliance checks for NVZ, Farming Rules for Water and Red Tractor as you plan.

Sources

Writing spray recommendations

Plan sprays against the label, and keep the records with them

Crop Rex builds spray plans against the label conditions, so the total dose position for each crop is worked out as you plan rather than discovered afterwards. It produces linked job sheets for whoever's spraying, captures the record at the point of application, and exports the season as a document you can show inspectors or the supply chain.
See Crop Rex

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