The HiveBloom Alternative That Scales with You
Same offline iOS experience. 7.5× the free tier (15 hives vs 2). Plus BLE sensor integration, on-device voice transcription, queen lineage, treatment scheduling, and team collaboration. Free for iOS.
Free for up to 15 hives. Works offline. No credit card.
HiveBloom is good. HiveSense is the upgrade when your apiary grows.
HiveBloom built a clean, polished iOS journal that beekeepers like. The “free forever for 2 hives” tier is honest and generous if you only run a couple of colonies.
The friction points show up when you grow. The 2-hive free cap forces a paid subscription once you split or add a third colony. There is no Bluetooth sensor support, no voice notes, no team access, and the interface is English-only.
HiveSense is built to scale with the apiary. The free tier extends to 15 hives. BroodMinder and BEEP sensor reads pin alongside inspections. On-device Whisper handles voice notes. Team seats unlock on the Pro plan. The interface ships in 6 languages. Same offline iOS experience — more headroom.
Feature comparison
| Feature | HiveSense | HiveBloom |
|---|---|---|
| Works fully offline | Yes | Yes |
| Free tier | Up to 15 hives | Up to 2 hives |
| Voice-to-text inspections | Yes | No |
| On-device voice AI (no cloud) | Yes | No |
| BLE sensor support (BroodMinder, BEEP) | Yes | No |
| Hive weight tracking | Live BLE scale | Manual entry |
| iOS app | Yes | Yes |
| Android app | Coming soon | No |
| Team collaboration | Pro plan | No |
| Queen lineage tracking | Yes | Basic |
| Treatment scheduling | Built in | Basic |
| Multi-language | 6 languages | English only |
Comparison based on publicly available product information as of May 2026. HiveBloom feature set may have changed since.
Further reading
Frequently asked questions
Why would I switch from HiveBloom?
HiveBloom is a polished iOS journaling app with a generous "free forever for 2 hives" tier. If you have one or two hives and only need clean inspection logging, it does that well. The reasons to add or switch to HiveSense are: a bigger free tier (15 hives vs 2), BLE sensor integration with BroodMinder and BEEP, on-device voice transcription, treatment scheduling with PHI tracking, queen lineage history, and team collaboration on the Pro plan.
Is HiveSense really free?
Yes. The free tier covers up to 15 hives with no time limit and no credit card — including offline mode, voice notes, BLE sensors, queen tracking, and treatment schedules. HiveBloom's free tier caps at 2 hives; their paid plan is $17.99/year for unlimited.
What does HiveBloom not have that HiveSense does?
Bluetooth Low Energy sensor integration is the biggest gap — HiveBloom does not read BroodMinder, BEEP, or other hive sensors directly. Voice notes are second — there is no on-device transcription. Team seats are third — HiveBloom is single-user. And HiveSense ships in 6 languages versus English-only.
Can I import my HiveBloom data?
HiveBloom supports CSV export. HiveSense does not currently have a one-click importer, but reach out to support@tryhivesense.com and we will help bring structured records over. Most fields map cleanly between the two apps.
I am on Android — does HiveSense work?
HiveSense is iOS-only today with Android in active development. HiveBloom is also iOS-only, so neither app currently solves Android. Sign up at tryhivesense.com to be notified when HiveSense Android launches.
Is the offline experience the same?
Both apps work offline. HiveBloom stores records locally and is reliable in the field. HiveSense matches that and adds one capability HiveBloom does not have: voice transcription that runs entirely on-device, so dictating an inspection works without any signal.
Outgrow the 2-hive cap
Free for up to 15 hives. BLE sensors built in. Works offline.
See the full 2026 app comparison