The VarroaVault Alternative for the Whole Hive
Mite counts matter, but they are one line of an inspection. HiveSense keeps the whole record (brood, stores, queen, temperament, varroa, treatments and harvests) in a phone app that works with no signal and takes your notes by voice.
Free for up to 15 hives. Works offline. No credit card.
VarroaVault goes deep on mites. HiveSense covers the whole logbook.
VarroaVault is a focused, serious product. Its ten free web tools (a treatment calendar builder, efficacy calculator, rotation planner, yard-visit planner and more) are genuinely useful and need no signup. Its paid workflow adds threshold alerts, pre-harvest interval tracking and a dated compliance PDF for state inspectors. If you are a US beekeeper whose main headache is varroa paperwork, it was built for you.
HiveSense starts from a different place: the paper notebook you carry to the hive. It is a native iOS and Android app with an on-device database, so a full inspection saves in an out-yard with no bars and syncs when you are back in range. You can say what you see (“queen seen, six frames of brood, counted 8 varroa”) and the app transcribes it on the phone and fills in the fields for you to check. Mite counts sit on the same timeline as everything else you logged for that hive.
What HiveSense does not do: it does not generate a treatment calendar, track pre-harvest intervals inside the app, or produce compliance documents. We would rather say so here than have you find out after you install.
Feature comparison
| Feature | HiveSense | VarroaVault |
|---|---|---|
| Native iOS + Android apps | Yes | Web-based; its site describes mobile field logging |
| Log inspections with no signal | Yes | Its site describes offline sync for field logging |
| Mite-count logging | Yes | Yes |
| Personalised 12-month varroa treatment calendar | No | Yes |
| Free no-signup web calculators | 5 calculators | 10 tools |
| State-inspection / compliance PDF | No | Yes |
| Full inspection records (brood, stores, queen, temperament) | Yes | Colony records |
| Voice notes transcribed on the phone | Yes | Not listed |
| Bluetooth hive sensors | Pro — BroodMinder, BEEP, BLE weight scales | Not listed |
| Data export | CSV + PDF (Pro) | CSV + PDF |
| Multi-user crew access | Up to 25 members (Pro) | Professional plan |
| App languages | English, German, Spanish, French, Polish | English (US-focused) |
| Free tier | 15 hives, 5 apiaries | Free tools; 14-day trial of the app |
Based on varroavault.com (home, pricing, free-trial and spreadsheet-alternative pages) as published on 22 September 2026. “Not listed” means we could not find it on their site, not that it is missing. Their product may have changed since.
Using both is reasonable
VarroaVault's free calendar builder and HiveSense are not either/or. Plenty of beekeepers plan the season with one tool and keep the day-to-day record in another. If that is you, HiveSense is the logbook side: every wash result, every treatment and every inspection in one place, readable with no signal. For the numbers, our free varroa calculator and the September checklist cover thresholds and the post-treatment verification wash.
Further reading
Varroa tracker app
How mite counts and treatments live in HiveSense.
Beekeeping calendar, month by month
The beekeeping year for both hemispheres, including when mite checks matter most.
Replacing your beekeeping spreadsheet
What HiveSense exports, and how to move over.
Compare HiveSense to other beekeeping apps
Side-by-side comparisons across the market.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main difference between VarroaVault and HiveSense?
VarroaVault is built around varroa management for US beekeepers: free planning tools, a personalised 12-month treatment calendar, threshold alerts, pre-harvest interval tracking and compliance paperwork. HiveSense is a general hive-records app that works offline: inspections, mite counts, queens, harvests, voice notes and Bluetooth sensors, all on one timeline per hive. If varroa planning and US compliance documents are what you need most, VarroaVault goes deeper there. If you want one offline logbook for everything you see in the hive, that is what HiveSense is for.
How much does VarroaVault cost compared to HiveSense?
VarroaVault prices its products in more than one way. On 22 September 2026 its pricing page listed a $29 one-time Varroa Treatment Plan with an optional Hive Care Calendar at $4.99/month or $24/year, and its free-trial page listed a Hobby plan at $29/month for up to 10 hives and a Professional plan at $59/month for unlimited hives and crew access. Check varroavault.com for current terms. HiveSense is free for up to 15 hives; Pro is $5.99/month or $59.99/year for unlimited hives, treatment logging, sensors, export and team members.
Does HiveSense build a varroa treatment calendar for me?
No, not as a generated plan. HiveSense records the mite counts and treatments you log and lets you set recurring tasks and reminders. For the planning side, our free varroa calculator and the September checklist cover thresholds and the verification wash, and VarroaVault’s calendar builder is a good free tool if you want a generated schedule.
I am not in the US. Does that matter?
It can. VarroaVault’s compliance features and state pages are written for US beekeepers. HiveSense is not tied to any country’s regulations, and the app and its voice dictation run in English, German, Spanish, French and Polish.
Can I bring my VarroaVault records into HiveSense?
VarroaVault exports CSV. HiveSense has no one-click importer yet, so email support@tryhivesense.com with the file and we will help you bring the records across.
Not ready to install? Grab the free guide.
Get our 2026 Beginner Beekeeping Starter Guide (PDF) — no app required. One email, then decide in your own time.
One logbook for the whole hive
Free for up to 15 hives. Works with zero bars. Pro is $5.99/mo.
See the full 2026 app comparison