It may seem like the province of 007, but the use of GPS vehicle tracking devices is actually a much more common practice than you might think. In fact, if you run a fleet of commercial motor vehicles – whether they’re motorcycles or heavy duty trucks – vehicle tracking devices are nothing short of essential.
Enabling you to see the live locations and speeds of your vehicles, vehicle tracking devices provide the visibility you need to run your fleet efficiently and productively. And when used as part of a full fleet management system, they can gather a dazzling array of data from your vehicles – from driver safety insights to fuel consumption levels, and much more.
But if you’ve spent any time at all looking for a vehicle tracking system for your fleet, you’ll know that there’s an overwhelming variety of options out there. Sifting through those options is undoubtedly hard work – and that’s why we’ve done it for you. We’ve scoured the US market to find the best vehicle tracking devices on offer to businesses, examining what makes them great, and who they’re best suited to. All that’s left is for you to read on and compare the very best choices for your fleet.
What to Look for Before Buying a Vehicle Tracker
Before you get onto our list of the best vehicle tracking devices, it’s worth narrowing down your options by deciding on what exactly you’re looking for. To help, we’ve set out a range of the factors you’ll want to consider before you embark on your comparison:
Battery Life
For business fleets, we always recommend hardwired or OBD-powered vehicle tracking devices. They get a constant supply of power from the vehicle itself and so never need to be recharged or fit with new batteries, meaning you don’t have to put up with the downtime.
However, if you are looking for basic, battery-operated trackers, you’ll need to make sure they have a decent battery life. Work out how often you’ll be able to take your trackers out to recharge them, and go for a tracker that’ll last for as long as you need (most battery-operated tracker suppliers will tell you how long you can expect them to last). Or, for the convenience of never having to worry about it, just go for a hardwired or OBD tracking device.
Update Frequency
Vehicle tracking devices send GPS location updates to your tracking portal (whether that’s on your cell phone, your desktop, or something else) at regular intervals. In terms of frequency, the devices on the market vary hugely – some can send updates every few seconds, getting you as close to real-time tracking as possible, while others send updates every few minutes.
What you plump for will depend on the level of visibility you’d like to have over your fleet. You should be wary, though, that the more frequent the updates, the more expensive the tracking system is likely to be. Some providers can offer a choice between different update frequencies, but again, you’ll be charged more for the faster packages.
Fleet Management Features
Yes, you can get vehicle tracking devices that track your vehicles’ locations, their speeds, and nothing more. But when you manage a fleet of vehicles, you’ll need a little more insight than that to really optimize your operations.
Vehicle trackers, when part of a full fleet management system, can provide you with a variety of data and functionality. This includes:
- Driver behavior monitoring
- Fuel management
- Route planning
- Driver dispatching
- Vehicle maintenance management
- Route history and mileage reports
- Accident and risk review tools
- Vehicle theft prevention features
Different systems offer these features to different degrees of sophistication, so think about what’s important to you and your fleet – what’ll really help you to run the most efficient and productive business you can? With this knowledge in mind, you can better seek out the systems that fit the bill.
Price
As with any new tool for your business, price has to be a deciding factor. When it comes to vehicle tracking, you’ll usually pay an upfront sum for the vehicle tracking devices themselves, and then a monthly subscription fee for your continued use of the tracking and fleet management software. That said, some suppliers bundle the cost of the trackers in with your monthly fee – although in those cases, you’ll simply be leasing the trackers, and won’t own them outright.
So, what sort of prices will you have to contend with? To shed some light on that, we’ve explored how much each of our favorite vehicle tracking devices cost. Read on to start comparing…
The 7 Best Vehicle Tracking Devices in 2020
We’ve conducted extensive research into the US fleet management market to reveal the top-performing vehicle tracking devices available for business fleets. These are our top picks:
- Samsara VG34: Best all-rounder
- Quartix Hardwired Tracking Device: Best value
- Azuga Tracker OBDII: Best for insurance
- Spytec GL300: Best for battery life
- Verizon Connect Tracking Device: Best for large fleets
- GPS Insight GPSI-3900: Best for small fleets
- LandAirSea SYNC: Best real-time tracker
Samsara VG34: Best All-Rounder
When it comes to sleek, sophisticated vehicle tracking, you can’t really go wrong with Samsara. While it may be a relative newcomer to the world of fleet management (it launched in 2015), this company’s tracking system is feature-rich, and excellent value – while not the cheapest out there, it gives you a lot of bang for your buck.
Samsara’s vehicle tracking device – the VG34 Vehicle IoT Gateway – enables GPS location tracking that updates every 30 to 60 seconds. It can also monitor your vehicles’ mechanical performance with on-board diagnostics data, while acting as a wifi hotspot so you never lose signal. On your Samsara portal, you won’t just be able to see your vehicles’ locations and routes laid out on a live map – you can also use the ‘route timeliness’ feature to see your stops color-coded according to whether your driver is on time, running late, or skipping the stop altogether.
Beyond its vehicle tracking, we also love Samsara’s ability to automatically plot the most efficient routes and checkpoints with the click of a button, monitor your drivers’ harsh driving events, and score each driver on a gamified leaderboard that incentivizes safe driving.
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How Much Does Samsara Cost?
Like we said, Samsara isn’t cheap, per se – but it’s incredibly reasonable for the quality of tracking and fleet management features you’ll get. Its vehicle tracking devices cost, on average, $99 to $148 each depending on how long a contract you opt for, with the cheapest prices available to those who go for a lengthy five-year term.
Samsara’s subscription fees also vary based on a number of factors, but its most popular plans range from $27 to $33 per month.
Quartix Hardwired Tracking Device: Best Value Vehicle Tracking Device
At a tiny $14.90 per month, Quartix’s starting price is one of the cheapest we’ve seen on the US market. And with free vehicle tracker installation on offer, plus a four-week free trial available to those who want to try before they buy, Quartix’s vehicle trackers are an excellent option for businesses on a budget.
Of course, the level of fleet management sophistication you’ll get will depend on which of Quartix’s three pricing packages you opt for. Infopoint – the cheapest – provides all you’ll need to track your vehicles and driver timesheets effectively, with updates sent to you every two minutes.
But if you’d like to monitor your drivers’ behavior, assess vehicle performance and utilization, get geofence alerts, and more, you’ll need to upgrade to one of Quartix’s more expensive plans (these also come with a speedier update frequency: every 60 seconds). Don’t panic, though – topping just $22.90 per vehicle, per month, these pricier offerings aren’t exactly going to break the bank either.
As well as hardwired vehicle tracking devices, Quartix also offers two self-install options: Connect & Track, which requires a two-wire installation, and Plug & Track, which can be plugged into a vehicle’s OBD port. We like the hardwired option best – it’s much more difficult to tamper with, and enables added benefits like driver ID reading and tailgate lift warnings. Plus, with free engineer installation on offer from Quartix, you’ve got nothing to lose.
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How Much Does Quartix Cost?
Rather than charge you to purchase its trackers and fleet management software, Quartix will rent them to you on a monthly basis. While this does make for an affordable solution, it also means you won’t own anything outright.
Here’s how much Quartix’s three pricing plans cost:
- Infopoint: $14.90 per vehicle, per month
- Infoplus: $18.90 per vehicle, per month
- Infofleet: $22.90 per vehicle, per month
Azuga Tracker OBDII: Best Vehicle Tracking Device for Insurance
How are vehicle tracking and fleet insurance linked? Vehicle tracking systems come with features that reduce the risk of vehicle loss and damage, and driver injury. In theory, using almost any commercial vehicle tracking device could help you reduce – and even earn a discount on – your fleet vehicle insurance premium.
One thing insurers agree on is that, in order to prevent accidents (and earn a discounted premium), you’ll need to utilize the driver monitoring and safety features that your system comes with. By sharing real-life feedback with your drivers at least quarterly, you’ll help them driver better and safer.
So, why Azuga’s device? Well, in keeping your drivers safe, Azuga stands out from the crowd with a variety of safety-focused add-ons. Its Drivesafe add-on enables you to block messaging and apps on your drivers’ smartphones while their vehicle is in motion, while its AzugaCoach add-on can send personalized video coaching to each driver, based on their individual performances.
Azuga also offers a one-click rewards system, helping you to incentivize safe driving quickly and easily. You can also add Azuga’s SafetyCam dash cams to your system, to really keep your eye on road behavior.
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How much does Azuga cost?
Azuga’s prices, while not the cheapest, do sit closer to the affordable end of the spectrum. You can choose whether you want to pay for your vehicle tracking devices upfront, separately to the tracking software, or bundle them together in a single monthly cost:
- Bundle plan: $27.99 monthly license for the software and hardware
- Flex plan: $22 monthly software license, $99.99 upfront tracker cost
Did You Know? There’s a handful of insurance companies that offer premium discounts to fleets that use vehicle tracking systems, including: USAA Insurance – up to 33%; Mercury Insurance – up to 30%; Liberty Mutual – up to 25%; AAA Insurance – up to 18%; Allstate Insurance (available in CA, TX, NY, FL) – up to 18%; AIG Insurance – up to 15%; Farmers Insurance – up to 15%; Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance – up to 15%; Progressive Insurance – up to 15%; 21st Century Insurance – up to 15%; ALFA Insurance (available in AL) – up to 10%; Geico – up to 10%; Nationwide Insurance (available in CA) – up to 10%; Safeco Insurance – up to 10%; Fireman's Fund – up to 5%
Spytec GL300: Best Vehicle Tracking Device for Battery Life
Designed specifically for fleets, all the other vehicle tracking devices on this list are OBD or hardwired units: they’re installed by plugging them into the vehicle’s on-board diagnostics port, or by hardwiring them to the engine. What this means is that they have a constant supply of power from the vehicle itself, and so their “battery life” is pretty much infinite.
Battery-operated vehicle trackers, on the other hand, are powered by batteries that need to be recharged or replaced at regular intervals. This tends to be how private vehicle trackers work – that is, those used by individuals to track personal cars. But that doesn’t mean you can’t fit a small fleet with these simple battery-operated trackers – and if you’re looking for one with real longevity, the Spytec GL300 has to be our top pick.
Of course, its battery life depends on how often you’ll want to be updated on the live locations of your vehicles. Choose rapidfire updates every five seconds, and your device will last 3.6 days. Choose updates every 60 seconds, and it’ll go for an impressive 20 days before it needs to be recharged.
The GL300 is compact and durable, and can provide location and speed updates on a live map, as well as geofence alerts. But if you’re looking for more sophisticated fleet management features – think driver behavior or fuel monitoring – you’ll need a full vehicle tracking system that’s been designed with fleets in mind.
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How Much Does the Spytec GL300 Cost?
The GL300 usually sells for $69.95 per unit, though you can currently find it on offer at $39.95 on Spytec’s website. As well as the per-unit cost, you’ll also have to pay for a monthly subscription, the cost of which we’ve detailed below (but there are no activation or cancellation fees):
- Basic Tracking: 20-day battery life with 60-second updates – $24.95 per month
- Premium Tracking: 14.1-day battery life with 30-second updates – $34.95 per month
- Elite Tracking: 3.6-day battery life with five-second updates – $44.95 per month
Verizon Connect Tracking Device: Best Vehicle Tracking Device for Large Fleets
If you’re looking for super accurate, super sophisticated vehicle monitoring, it doesn’t get much better than Verizon Connect. And with Verizon’s fleet solutions operating on what it calls “the most reliable 4G LTE network in America”, you’ll be future-proof and 5G-ready as we approach the 3G network sunset, expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
But what makes Verizon’s vehicle tracking device such a good pick for large fleets in particular? Well, it can collect an impressive variety of data – and large businesses with good data handling capability will be well placed to make the most of that. But don’t think you’ll be drowning in irrelevant insights – Verizon Connect also enables you to customize your reporting and create your own dashboard, tailoring the system to show you the data you need to keep the wheels turning.
Verizon Connect’s tracking devices can send fresh location updates every 90 seconds, while its intuitive, color-coded live map makes tracking multiple vehicles at once a much simpler feat. A rare feature on the fleet management market, Verizon Connect can also inform you of road closures and show traffic updates.
But perhaps the best thing about Verizon Connect is its vast and customizable alerting system. From arrivals and departures to speed limit violations and vehicle diagnostics, you can set up real-time notifications for anything that you want to be informed of right away.
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How Much Does Verizon Connect Cost?
Verizon doesn’t share its prices publicly – mostly because it’ll instead tailor a bespoke package to your specific needs, and the size of your fleet. You can request a quote via Verizon Connect’s website.
GPS Insight GPSI-3900: Best Vehicle Tracking Device for Small Fleets
GPS Insight’s flagship tracking device – the GPSI-3900 – is such a good option for small businesses because the GPS Insight system as a whole is so easy to use. The tracking portal is user-friendly and intuitive, with vehicle data, landmark configuration, maintenance management, reports, alerts, and messaging all easily accessible from the main dashboard. Doing what you need to do in as few clicks as possible is a big plus in our book.
When it comes to vehicle tracking itself, GPS Insight makes that pretty simple, too. For one, its tracking map is color-coded to show the speeds of traffic in different areas, helping route planners to divert away from heavy traffic and choose more efficient routes in real-time.
For businesses that are just starting up, GPS Insight’s very shallow learning curve might save a lot of time, which would otherwise be spent learning the ins and outs of a more complicated system. Plus, the customer service provided by GPS Insight is some of the best on the market – that’s nothing to be sniffed at when you’re new to the fleet management game.
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How Much Does GPS Insight Cost?
For its software, GPS Insight offers four pricing plans: Basic, Standard, Pro, and Enterprise. These start at $14.95 per vehicle, per month – that’s one of the cheapest starting prices on the market, and a boon for small businesses – and reach a top price of $28.95 per vehicle, per month.
The GPSI-3900 itself costs up to $255 each, depending on the plan and contract you choose. Alternatively, you can rent them out for $5 to $10 each, per month.
Of course, one of the greatest things about GPS Insight is the fact that it won’t tie you into a contract – instead, you can opt for a pay-as-you-go contract wherein you simply pay each month you use the product, and can cancel any time.
LandAirSea SYNC: Best Real-Time Vehicle Tracking Device
The first thing to say here is that no fleet vehicle tracker is truly, 100% real-time. That’s because vehicle tracking devices work by sending location updates to your portal at regular intervals, whether that’s every few seconds or just a couple of times a day. So if you’re harboring visions of watching your vehicles slide along a virtual map in an exact mirror of their movements in reality, you might want to adjust those daydreams.
While it’s not quite the same, watching your vehicles progress across a virtual map every three seconds is pretty close. That’s what you can get with LandAirSea SYNC, a vehicle tracking system that can send you fresh GPS location data every three seconds – which is the fastest we’ve seen on the US market (though Spytec’s devices are a close second, with updates every five seconds).
While popular with business fleets, LandAirSea SYNC isn’t dedicated solely to commercial tracking, selling also to individuals who want to track their personal vehicles. Owing to this somewhat diluted focus, SYNC won’t provide you with the same dazzling array of fleet management features offered by the likes of Samsara, Verizon Connect, and others on this list. That said, it does come with handy functions including historical route playback, geofence alerts, arrival and departure notifications, and speed alerts.
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How Much Does LandAirSea SYNC Cost?
LandAirSea’s subscription fees are charged annually, and are based on the frequency of your updates. For the three-second updates we’ve talked about, you’ll pay $284.40 per yearly renewal (that equates to $23.70 per month, if you wanted to compare it to the options above). You can also pay $209.45 for add-ons such as enhanced reporting and software features.
LandAirSea’s cheapest (and slowest) SYNC plan is for 60-second updates – which, by industry standards, is still pretty speedy. Yearly renewal here will cost you $104.40.
It’s worth being aware that, if you’re feeling committed (and thrifty), you can pay for your next two years in one go and get 25% off the overall cost.
Our Methodology
We understand how important it is that you pick the right vehicle tracking device for your business – not just in terms of price, but also in terms of fleet management features, installation options, ease of use, update frequency… the list goes on.
That’s why we’ve worked hard to curate this list, narrowing down the best vehicle tracking devices on the US market so that you don’t have to. Our researchers collated a list of top fleet management suppliers, before comparing and rating their products on hundreds of different factors – from customer support to software add-ons, and everything in between.
Armed with this extensive knowledge, we’re able to bring you transparent, insightful vehicle tracker reviews that highlight each solution’s key strengths and advise on who they’re best for.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Benefits of Vehicle Tracker Installation?
There are so many reasons to fit your fleet with vehicle tracking devices, especially if you opt for a proper fleet management system (which will provide GPS vehicle tracking alongside a variety of other management features).
We talk more about these benefits in our guide to fleet management, but as a snapshot, here’s what you can expect if you utilize your system properly:
- Increased productivity and efficiency, with easier route planning and faster dispatching
- Reduced fuel waste and savings on fuel costs
- Visibility over your drivers’ behavior, empowering you to cut out bad habits and reward safe driving
- The ability to provide accurate, automated ETAs and progress updates to your customers and clients
- Better security, with the ability to easily track down any vehicles that are stolen, and know straight away when a vehicle is taken somewhere it shouldn’t be
- Easier vehicle maintenance, with diagnostics pulled straight from the vehicle and automated service scheduling
Easier DOT compliance, with ELDs and eDVIRs included with many (but not all) fleet management systems
What are the Different Types of Vehicle Tracking Devices?
There are plenty of different ways to compare the myriad of vehicle tracking device types to be found on the fleet management market. But we find it easiest to separate them in three different ways: how they work, how they’re installed, and what they’re used for. Let’s take a closer look at these comparisons:
How They Work: Passive vs. Active
While active vehicle tracking devices automatically send location updates and fresh data straight to you at regular intervals, passive vehicle tracking devices do not do this. Instead, they gather up location information and data as they go, storing it for you to look through at a later time. It’s then up to you to remove the tracker from the vehicle, connect it to your desktop, and upload the data you want to see.
Passive vehicle tracking devices may be cheaper, but they provide very limited benefits. For one, they won’t send real-time alerts when something’s amiss. You also won’t be able to check your drivers’ progress as they go, make changes to routes and jobs on the fly, or send real-time progress updates and ETAs to your clients and customers. That’s why all of the devices we’ve listed on this page are active trackers.
How They’re Installed: OBD vs. Hardwired vs. Battery-Powered
Tracking devices come in three main iterations based on how they’re installed:
- An OBD vehicle tracking device, also known as a plug-and-play device, can simply be plugged into the vehicle’s OBD port, and voilà – it’s ready to go.
- A hardwired vehicle tracking device needs to be hardwired into the vehicle’s engine in order to work. Unless you have mechanical experience, we’d recommend having an engineer do this. The installation may be slower and more complicated, but these devices are about as secure and discreet and you can get.
- A battery-powered vehicle tracking device doesn’t need to be installed as such – more secured into place. Rather than being powered by the vehicle itself, these devices are powered by their own internal battery, which will need to be replaced or recharged at regular intervals. While very popular for personal use, we don’t recommend these devices to business fleets. Which leads us on to…
How They’re Used: Commercial vs. Private
Private vehicle tracking devices tend to be battery-operated, and are used by individuals to track their own personal vehicles – whether as an anti-theft precaution, to keep an eye on an inexperienced teenage driver, or to catch someone doing something they shouldn’t be doing (Spytec proudly says its devices are great for “discovering infidelity”, though we’d never condone tracking someone without their consent!).
Meanwhile, commercial vehicle tracking devices are usually OBD or hardwired units, and are intended for business fleet vehicles. They enable fleet managers to see the locations of their vehicles at all times, while also gaining valuable data insights that can help boost productivity and efficiency.
While there can be some crossover (some of Spytec and LandAirSea’s devices, for instance, are used by businesses and individuals alike), we recommend that businesses use devices which are intended for commercial use – that’s why every tracking device listed on this page fits that bill.
How Does a Vehicle Tracking Device Work?
The short answer: using GPS satellite technology. The slightly longer answer: vehicle tracking devices work by transmitting a signal to orbiting satellites, which then transmit the location, speed, and elevation information signalled by each device back to your tracking portal. This process of reporting on these three metrics is called trilateration.
In order to work, a vehicle tracking and fleet management system must consist of GPS tracking devices, fleet tracking and management software, and a user interface through which you can see or interact with the data gathered by your tracking devices. This’ll usually take the form of a set of dashboards, each displaying a particular set of reporting (driver behavior, fuel consumption, etc. etc.), and a digital map on which you can check your vehicles’ locations and routes.
How Much is a Vehicle Tracking Device?
You’ll usually pay a single upfront cost for each vehicle tracking device, plus a monthly subscription fee that covers the cost of the tracking software that accompanies them. Alternatively, some vehicle tracking suppliers will lease you both the tracking devices and the software on a monthly basis, negating the need for a hefty upfront cost. Either way, most suppliers will pin you to a fixed contract term (with your subscription either being renewed or cancelled at the end of that term), though some can bill you on a more flexible pay-as-you-go basis.
In terms of the prices themselves, monthly subscription fees can range from $14 per vehicle, per month, to over $200 per vehicle, per month, depending on the supplier that you choose. The vehicle tracking devices themselves – if you’re required to pay for them in this way – can cost between $100 and $450 each upfront from a fleet management supplier, though most will sit around the $100 to $200 mark. That said, you can buy basic, battery-powered vehicle tracking devices for as little as $30 each, but we believe it’s worth paying more for the benefits and ROI (return on investment) you’ll get from a full fleet management system.
