VarroaVault Pricing: Hobby vs Professional Plans Explained
A single lost colony costs an average beekeeper $300 in replacement stock. VarroaVault Hobby at $29/month pays for itself by saving one hive in about 10 months. If threshold alerts and PHI tracking help you save even one colony per year that you would otherwise have lost to a missed mite problem, the subscription is covered.
That's the short version of the ROI case. Here's the full breakdown of what each plan includes and which one is right for your operation.
TL;DR
- VarroaVault's pricing is designed specifically for varroa mite tracking and PHI compliance
- Setup takes under 30 minutes for most beekeeping operations
- All data is securely stored and exportable as formatted PDF for state inspections
- Free trial available with no credit card required
- Mobile app access works offline at remote apiaries without cell service
- Efficacy scoring and resistance trend flagging are built-in features unavailable in general beekeeping apps
VarroaVault Hobby: $29/Month
Hobby is designed for backyard and small hobbyist beekeepers managing up to 10 hives. It includes every core varroa management feature:
Mite count logging and threshold alerts. Log alcohol wash, sugar roll, or sticky board counts for every colony. Threshold alerts fire when any count crosses 2% (or your custom threshold setting). You see the alert before you've closed the app.
Treatment tracking with PHI countdown. Log any EPA-registered varroa treatment. PHI countdowns start automatically from the application date based on the specific product. Your harvest safety status is always visible.
Treatment efficacy scoring. Pre- and post-treatment count pairs automatically calculate efficacy percentage. You always know whether your treatment worked.
Post-treatment monitoring reminders. 30-day follow-up count reminders schedule automatically after every logged treatment.
Mite count trend graphs. Visual count history for each colony so you can see the trajectory, not just the latest number.
State inspection compliance export. One-click PDF export of treatment records in state-formatted compliance document.
treatment rotation tracking. Active ingredient history per colony with alerts when the same class is used in back-to-back cycles.
Mobile app with offline mode. Full iOS and Android app with offline capability for field logging.
Up to 10 hives and 1 apiary location are covered under Hobby.
VarroaVault Professional: $59/Month
Professional adds the features that sideliner and commercial operations need, starting with unlimited hive and apiary capacity.
Everything in Hobby, plus:
Unlimited hives and apiaries. No cap. Whether you're managing 15 hives across 3 locations or 300 hives across 20 sites, Professional covers it all.
Crew assignment for treatment events. Log which employee or helper applied each treatment. This creates an accurate accountability trail for compliance purposes and operational management.
Multi-user access. Up to 5 user accounts under one Professional plan, so crew members can log treatments in the field from their own devices without sharing login credentials.
Batch treatment logging. Apply a treatment to 50 hives at once with a single log entry, then individually confirm application per hive. Far faster than individual-hive logging for commercial-scale treatments.
Advanced compliance reporting. State inspection-ready and certifier-formatted compliance exports covering any date range or apiary subset.
GPS hive mapping. Map hive locations within each apiary for layout documentation and drift-risk identification.
Priority support. Direct email support with 24-hour response time versus 72-hour standard support.
API integrations. Connect supported mite-counting apps for automatic count import directly into your VarroaVault records.
Which Plan Is Right for You?
If you're managing 10 or fewer hives in a single location, Hobby is the right starting point. You get every core varroa management feature at a price point that makes sense for a hobby operation.
If you're managing more than 10 hives, operating multiple apiaries, employing anyone to help with treatments, or need multi-user access for a family or business operation, Professional is the right plan. The unlimited hive capacity and crew assignment features alone justify the additional cost at scale.
The ROI Calculation
VarroaVault's ROI calculator shows breakeven analysis for your specific operation. The inputs are your hive count, average colony replacement cost, and historical loss rate.
For a 10-hive hobbyist replacing 2 colonies per year at $300 each: $600 annual loss. If better varroa management prevents even 1 of those 2 losses, the saved $300 covers Hobby plan costs for 10 months. Most beekeepers who engage seriously with threshold monitoring report colony loss rates that drop by 40-60% in the first year.
For a 50-hive sideliner replacing 10 colonies per year at $350 each: $3,500 annual loss. Professional at $59/month costs $708 annually. Preventing 3 of those 10 losses saves $1,050, paying for Professional more than once over.
The break-even is usually reached within the first season.
Annual vs. Monthly Billing
VarroaVault offers both monthly and annual billing. Annual billing provides 2 months free on both plans:
- Hobby monthly: $29/month
- Hobby annual: $290/year (equivalent to $24.17/month)
- Professional monthly: $59/month
- Professional annual: $590/year (equivalent to $49.17/month)
Annual billing makes sense for beekeepers who plan to use the platform year-round. Monthly billing offers flexibility if you want to start with a trial period before committing.
Compare VarroaVault's features against the competition at varroa mite treatment software, and see the head-to-head comparison at VarroaVault vs ApiaryBook.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is included in VarroaVault Hobby at $29/mo?
VarroaVault Hobby includes: mite count logging for up to 10 hives with threshold alerts, treatment tracking for all EPA-registered products with automatic PHI countdowns, treatment efficacy scoring from pre/post count pairs, post-treatment monitoring reminders, mite count trend graphs, state inspection compliance PDF exports, treatment rotation tracking with resistance alerts, and the full iOS and Android mobile app with offline mode. Hobby covers up to 10 hives and 1 apiary location.
What extra features come with Professional at $59/mo?
Professional adds: unlimited hives and apiary locations, crew assignment for treatment event logging, up to 5 user accounts for multi-employee operations, batch treatment logging for commercial-scale entries, advanced multi-format compliance reporting, GPS hive mapping, API integrations with supported mite-counting apps, and priority 24-hour support. Professional is designed for sideliner and commercial operations that have outgrown Hobby's 10-hive cap or need multi-user access.
Is there a free trial for VarroaVault?
Yes. VarroaVault offers a 14-day free trial with full Professional-tier feature access, no credit card required. The trial includes all Professional features so you experience the maximum capability of the platform before choosing a plan. Beekeepers who complete the 14-day onboarding checklist during the trial have a 92% conversion rate to paid plans, reflecting that the full-feature trial effectively demonstrates value. After the trial, you choose Hobby or Professional, or you cancel with no charge.
How do I know if my varroa treatment is working?
Run a mite count 2-4 weeks after the treatment ends and compare it to your pre-treatment count. The efficacy formula is: ((pre-count - post-count) / pre-count) x 100. A result above 90% indicates effective treatment. Results below 80% should trigger investigation for possible resistance, application error, or reinfestation. Log both counts in VarroaVault to track efficacy trends across treatment cycles.
How often should I check mite levels in my hives?
At minimum, once per month (every 3-4 weeks) during the active season. Increase to every 2 weeks when counts are near threshold or after a treatment to verify it worked. In fall, monitoring frequency matters most because the window to treat before winter bees are raised is narrow. VarroaVault's monitoring reminders can be set to your preferred interval for each apiary.
What records should I keep for varroa management?
Each record should include: date of count or treatment, hive identifier, monitoring method used, number of bees sampled, mites counted, infestation percentage, treatment product name and EPA registration number, dose applied, treatment start and end dates, and PHI end date. State apiarists typically expect this level of detail during inspections. VarroaVault captures all of these fields in a single log entry.
Sources
- American Beekeeping Federation (ABF)
- USDA ARS Bee Research Laboratory
- Honey Bee Health Coalition
- Penn State Extension Apiculture Program
- Project Apis m.
Get Started with VarroaVault
The information in this guide is most useful when you have your own mite count data to apply it to. VarroaVault stores every count, flags threshold crossings automatically, and builds the treatment history you need for state inspections and effective management decisions. Start your free trial at varroavault.com.