CricketOps Free Trial: What to Test in Your First 14 Days
Starting a free trial without a plan is how you end up at day 14 having barely touched the platform and still not knowing whether it's worth paying for. That's a waste of 14 days.
Here's a fact that should motivate you to use the trial deliberately: users who set up 3 or more bins in their CricketOps trial convert to paid plans at a rate of 78%. That's not because the platform traps people, it's because using the software with real production data is what reveals the value. Passive evaluation doesn't.
This guide gives you a day-by-day framework for the CricketOps free trial so you reach that clarity before the 14 days are up.
TL;DR
- Starting a free trial without a plan is how you end up at day 14 having barely touched the platform and still not knowing whether it's worth paying for
- Here's a fact that should motivate you to use the trial deliberately: users who set up 3 or more bins in their CricketOps trial convert to paid plans at a rate of 78%
- This guide gives you a day-by-day framework for the CricketOps free trial so you reach that clarity before the 14 days are up
- By day 6, you should have enough data to see FCR taking shape in your bin records
- Spend days 10-11 fully exploring that skeptical feature
- The CricketOps free trial gives you full access to Professional plan features for 14 days
- At that point, you choose a paid plan or your account is paused (data is retained for 30 days so you can reactivate)
The Day-by-Day Trial Plan
Days 1-2: Get Set Up Completely
Don't browse the features.
- Get the real data in.
Days 3-5: Run Your Normal Farm Routine Through CricketOps
Feed your bins.
- Keep a rough mental note of time spent.
Days 6-7: Review Your FCR Data
By day 6, you should have enough data to see FCR taking shape in your bin records.
- Spend days 10-11 fully exploring that skeptical feature.
What's Available in the Free Trial
The CricketOps free trial gives you full access to Professional plan features for 14 days. No credit card required to start. No feature restrictions. You get:
- Unlimited bin tracking during the trial period
- Automated sensor integration (if you have compatible sensors)
- FCR tracking and analytics
- Food safety compliance templates
- Mobile app access
- QuickBooks and e-commerce integrations
The trial ends at day 14. At that point, you choose a paid plan or your account is paused (data is retained for 30 days so you can reactivate). You can cancel at any time before day 14 with no charge.
The Day-by-Day Trial Plan
Days 1-2: Get Set Up Completely
Don't browse the features. Don't read documentation. Set up your account as if you're going to use it permanently.
Enter all your active bins with accurate data. Configure your temperature and humidity alert thresholds. Download the mobile app and enable push notifications. If you use QuickBooks, connect it. If you use temperature sensors, connect them.
This two-day setup phase is what separates useful trials from wasted ones. You can't evaluate a management platform with an empty account. Get the real data in.
Days 3-5: Run Your Normal Farm Routine Through CricketOps
Feed your bins. Log it in CricketOps. Check temperatures. Log them manually or let your sensors do it. Go through your normal daily farm tasks but record everything in CricketOps rather than your current system.
This is the comparison period. You're not just learning how CricketOps works, you're measuring how long things take versus your current approach. Keep a rough mental note of time spent.
Days 6-7: Review Your FCR Data
By day 6, you should have enough data to see FCR taking shape in your bin records. Navigate to the FCR dashboard and look at what you have.
A few questions to ask: Are any bins clearly outperforming others? Do you know why? With your old system, could you even see this comparison? FCR data that reveals outliers is one of the most common "aha moments" for new CricketOps users.
Days 8-9: Test the Alert System
Deliberately trigger a temperature alert by temporarily adjusting your threshold below your current room temperature. Confirm the push notification arrives on your phone, in what form, and how quickly.
This isn't just a feature test, it's confirmation that the alert system works before you're relying on it for real. You don't want to discover a notification delivery problem at 3am during an actual temperature crash.
Days 10-11: Explore the Feature You Were Most Skeptical About
Every farmer evaluating CricketOps has one feature they're unsure about. Maybe it's the compliance templates (do I actually need those?). Maybe it's the QuickBooks sync (will it really reduce my bookkeeping time?). Maybe it's the production planning tools.
Spend days 10-11 fully exploring that skeptical feature. Use the compliance templates to create a partial food safety document. Generate a production forecast. Run the cost-per-pound calculation.
The goal is to stop evaluating the feature conceptually and evaluate it with your actual data.
Days 12-13: Calculate Your Own ROI
The question you need to answer by day 13: does CricketOps pay for itself in your specific situation?
Add up the time you've saved over the trial period. Estimate the annual feed cost savings you'd expect from catching FCR outliers you identified in the data. Add the value of alerts that could prevent overnight losses.
Compare that total to the plan cost. This isn't a theoretical exercise, you've been using the platform for nearly two weeks with your real data. You have enough to make a real calculation.
Day 14: Make the Decision
Don't drift into a decision. On day 14, make an active choice: subscribe, or pause the account.
If you set up 3+ bins and used CricketOps for at least 5 days of your normal farm routine, you'll have enough data to decide. If you're still unsure, you probably didn't use the trial actively enough to evaluate it properly. Contact CricketOps support, they can extend the trial by 7 days for users who haven't had adequate time to evaluate.
What to Compare Against Your Current System
Whatever you're using now, spreadsheets, notebooks, or another platform, make the comparison explicit during the trial.
Time per feeding log: How long does it take to log a feeding in CricketOps vs your current method?
FCR visibility: Can you see bin-level FCR in your current system? If not, what's the value of knowing it?
Alert capability: Does your current system alert you to temperature problems? If not, how did you handle the last overnight temperature event?
Compliance readiness: If a buyer asked for production documentation today, how would you respond with your current system? With CricketOps?
FAQ
Is there a free trial for CricketOps?
Yes. CricketOps offers a 14-day free trial with full Professional plan features, no credit card required. You can set up bins, connect sensors, test integrations, and evaluate the complete platform before committing to a paid plan.
What features are available in the CricketOps free trial?
The free trial includes all Professional plan features: unlimited bin tracking, automated sensor integration, FCR analytics, food safety compliance templates, mobile app access, and QuickBooks and e-commerce integrations. No features are restricted during the trial period. The cricket farm management guide explains how each feature fits into daily farm operations.
How do I cancel CricketOps if I decide not to subscribe?
You can cancel at any time before day 14 through your account settings under Billing > Cancel Trial. No charge is applied until you actively select a paid plan. If you take no action at day 14, your account is paused (not charged) and your data is retained for 30 days in case you want to reactivate. See the full CricketOps review for a breakdown of plan options if you decide to subscribe.
How does CricketOps help track the metrics described in this article?
CricketOps provides bin-level logging for the variables that drive production outcomes -- feed inputs, environmental conditions, mortality events, and harvest results. Rather than maintaining these records in separate spreadsheets, you can view performance trends across bins and over time to identify which operational variables correlate with better outcomes in your specific facility.
Where can I find industry benchmarks to compare my operation's performance?
The North American Coalition for Insect Agriculture (NACIA) publishes periodic industry reports with production benchmarks. University extension programs in agricultural states, including the University of Georgia and University of Florida IFAS, occasionally publish insect farming production data. Industry conferences hosted by the Entomological Society of America and the Insects to Feed the World symposium series are additional sources of peer benchmarking data.
What is the biggest operational mistake cricket farmers make in their first year?
Expanding bin count before achieving consistent FCR and mortality targets in existing bins is the most common and costly first-year mistake. At 5-10 bins, problems are manageable. At 30-50 bins, the same proportional problems represent much larger financial losses. Most experienced cricket farmers recommend holding expansion until you have three consecutive production cycles hitting your FCR and mortality targets.
Sources
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) -- Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security
- North American Coalition for Insect Agriculture (NACIA)
- Entomological Society of America
- University of Georgia Cooperative Extension
- Journal of Insects as Food and Feed (Wageningen Academic Publishers)
The Bottom Line
A 14-day free trial is enough time to know definitively whether CricketOps is worth paying for, but only if you use it with real data from day one.
The farms that convert at 78% after setting up 3+ bins aren't doing so because they got pressured into it. They're doing so because they can see the difference between managing their farm in a dedicated system versus what they were doing before. That realization only happens when you actually use the platform.
Set up your bins on day one. Run your normal farm routine through CricketOps for a week. The decision will be easy by day 14.
Get Started with CricketOps
The practices covered in this article are easier to apply consistently when they are supported by organized production data. CricketOps gives cricket farmers the tools to track what matters -- by bin, by batch, and over time. Start your next production cycle in CricketOps and see how organized data changes the way you manage your operation.