Cloudbase RTK Resource Center
Everything you need to decide if Cloudbase Cellular RTK is right for your operation — the honest comparison, the real math, and answers to the questions farmers actually ask us. Can't find your answer? Call or text 765-490-1824. A farmer answers, not a phone tree.
Prefer paper? Download the Cloudbase vs Radio vs SF-RTK Comparison Guide (PDF) ↓ — the same comparison and the 5-year math, printable for the kitchen table.
Compare your three RTK options
Every RTK system needs a correction signal sent to your cab. The only real difference between your options is how that signal gets there — and what it costs you.
| Radio RTK | John Deere SF-RTK™ | Cloudbase Cellular RTK | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How the signal reaches you | Broadcast from a radio tower — like an FM station | Beamed down from the satellite | Over the same 4G network your phone already uses |
| What causes interference | Trees, hills, and distance — radio needs a straight shot to the tower | Very little — until you stop paying. Then it's gone. | Only a true cell dead zone — no line-of-sight needed |
| What you pay | A radio on every machine, plus a dealer network fee — commonly around $2,000/yr in our area | $1,500 per receiver, per year, forever. Run 4 receivers? $6,000 every year. | $2,000 per machine, plus a $699/yr Cloudbase RTK Correction Subscription per receiver (corrections from the Cloudbase Network, your monitoring portal, 24/7 network monitoring, our support). Not covered yet? Host a base station on your farm — $0 for the base. |
| Who owns it | You own the radios — the dealer owns the tower | Nobody — you're renting a signal | You own the modem. The network's base stations are supplied and warrantied by Cloudbase — nothing to buy, nothing to replace. |
| Runs other colors | Sometimes — depends on the dealer's network | John Deere equipment only | Yes — Deere, Case IH, Trimble, Raven, Ag Leader, all of it |
| 5 years of subscription | ~$10,000 in network fees, and you still need the tower | $7,500 per receiver — own nothing | About $3,900 per machine on the Cloudbase Network (subscription + SIM) |
| One-time hardware | A radio on every machine | About $4,300 for a new StarFire receiver if you run a 3000 or 6000 — SF-RTK only runs on a 7000 or 7500 | $2,000 modem, yours to keep — runs on the StarFire 3000, 6000, 7000 or 7500 you already own |
Our pick: own your modem and subscribe to the Cloudbase Network
Between the three, Cloudbase is the one where you own the hardware. The modem is yours, and the subscription is $699 a year per receiver with no contract. You subscribe to the Cloudbase Network, not to a single base: it automatically puts each machine on the closest base station, with a fix in about 7 seconds and lines that repeat year after year. The free State CORS Network is a great way in if coverage is good where you farm and you're comfortable on your own. Not inside network coverage yet? Cloudbase supplies base stations at no hardware cost; we survey, install, and monitor them. Ask about hosting one on your ground.
The math, straight up
Run 1–2 machines? Put a Cloudbase modem on each one. On the Cloudbase Network, five years of subscription costs about $3,900 per machine ($699/yr subscription + $79/yr SIM) against $7,500 renting SF-RTK. Hardware is separate and one time: the $2,000 modem runs on the StarFire 3000, 6000, 7000 or 7500 you already own, while SF-RTK only runs on a 7000 or 7500 — so if you run a 3000 or 6000, you are also buying a new receiver at about $4,300. Farm in free State CORS Network coverage? The modem can run on that without the subscription; we'll tell you if that fits your ground.
Run 3 or more? The gap widens with every receiver. On a 4-receiver fleet the subscriptions and SIMs run about $3,100 a year against $6,000 every year renting SF-RTK. Five years of subscription: about $15,600 against $30,000, and every year you keep roughly $2,900. Hardware is one time: $8,000 for four modems, against about $17,200 for four new receivers if your fleet runs StarFire 3000s or 6000s. Not inside network coverage yet? Ask about hosting a base station: the base is $0.
See it working
Frequently asked questions
Does this work with my StarFire 6000?
Yes — if it's an RTK-ready model. The Cloudbase modem plugs into StarFire 3000, 6000, 7000, and 7500 receivers with RTK activation. Some models also need a John Deere mRTK license — we check your exact receiver for free before you order.
Do I need my own base station?
No. You subscribe to the Cloudbase Network, not to a single base station, and the network automatically moves each machine onto the closest base as it works. If your fields are inside network coverage, all you need is a modem and the subscription. Not covered yet? Host a base station: Cloudbase supplies it at no hardware cost, we survey, install, and monitor it, and your farm gets the shortest baseline on the network — sub-¼″ repeatability and a fix in about 7 seconds. Your machines run at the same $699/yr per receiver as everyone else. Tell us about your farm.
How is this different from radio RTK?
Radio RTK needs line-of-sight to a tower — trees, hills, and distance cause dropouts, you're tied to that one tower, and you're typically paying a dealer around $2,000/yr for network access. Cloudbase sends corrections over the same 4G network your phone uses, and you subscribe to a network rather than a single base. No line-of-sight, no tower fees, and it works anywhere you have cell service inside network coverage.
How is this different from John Deere SF-RTK?
SF-RTK is excellent — we sell receivers that run it. But it's $1,500 per receiver, per year, forever, it only runs green equipment, and it only runs on a StarFire 7000 or 7500 — so a StarFire 3000 or 6000 owner is buying a new receiver first, about $4,300. Cloudbase is $2,000 per machine on the StarFire you already own, then $699/yr per receiver for the RTK correction subscription — less than half — and runs any color. If you'll farm the same ground more than a couple years, owning is cheaper.
What does it cost per year?
The modem is $2,000. Then pick the correction source that fits your farm: the free State CORS Network or your own provider subscription (about $400/yr), or the Cloudbase RTK Correction Subscription at $699/yr per receiver — corrections from the managed Cloudbase Network, your own monitoring portal, 24/7 network monitoring, and our support. Add our data SIM for $79/yr (250 MB a month, installed before it ships) or run your own. Host a base station and the base itself is $0. Call us and we'll spell out exactly what your annual cost looks like for your setup.
What if my farm has weak cell coverage?
Call or text us — we do a free coverage check on your actual ground before you buy anything. That's the first thing we look at.
How accurate is it, really?
Better than a quarter inch, verified through six months of testing on working farms in central Indiana before we put our name on it. Repeatable year over year — your lines this fall are your lines in five years.
Will it run my Case IH / Trimble / Ag Leader equipment?
Yes. The Universal modem works with Trimble, Raven, Ag Leader, Case IH, and any RTK-ready receiver. Mixed fleets run on the same Cloudbase Network subscription, every color.
How hard is the install?
The modem is plug-and-play on RTK-ready receivers. If you host a base station, it mounts at your shop — antennas, power, and an Ethernet cable to your router — and we install and commission it for you as part of hosting. We're local to central Indiana and do on-farm installs.
How far does the network reach?
Each base station reaches up to 30 miles — enough to cover distant fields that radio RTK towers can't reach reliably — and the network automatically switches each machine to the closest base as it moves. Because corrections travel over cellular, terrain between you and the base doesn't matter.
What's the warranty and return policy?
Everything we sell is backed by a 60-day money-back guarantee, and every unit is tested on our own farm before it ships. See our Refund Policy.
Can I try it before committing?
That's what the 60-day money-back guarantee is for. Put it on a machine, run it in your conditions, and if it doesn't perform, send it back.
Our honest advice
We sell all three kinds of RTK. We stock StarFire 7500 receivers that run SF-RTK, and it's a genuinely good system if you don't mind renting. But if you plan to farm the same ground for more than a couple of years, owning your modem and paying $699 a year for corrections on the Cloudbase Network is simply cheaper than renting a signal at $1,500 — and it runs any color. Not inside network coverage yet? Ask about hosting a base station: $0 for the hardware, and the shortest baseline on the network at your own farm. Tell us your acres and how many receivers you run, and we'll tell you which setup pencils out.
Free coverage check on your ground: call or text 765-490-1824 · Frankfort, Indiana · Shop Cloudbase RTK · Host a base station
The Comparison Guide, the Complete Farmer FAQ, install guides and the modem operator's manual are all free to download on Guides & Downloads.
Ag Innovation LLC is an independent dealer, not affiliated with Deere & Company. John Deere, StarFire, and SF-RTK are trademarks of Deere & Company. Radio RTK network fees vary by dealer; SF-RTK pricing per John Deere published rates at time of writing. Coverage depends on local cellular service. Pricing current as of November 2026.
