How to shop for the perfect GPS car tracker

Shopping for a good GPS car tracker can be tricky–especially if you’re buying online. Do you just click on the first ad you come across, and buy from whoever screams at you the loudest (figuratively speaking)? Or do you spend hours browsing through Amazon listings for whatever seems the best deal at the time?

The answer is neither. Cars are expensive, and if you need a GPS locator and tracker, you can’t afford to make a casual purchase. After all, it could mean the difference in recovering your vehicle should the unthinkable happen. 

In this blog post, we’ll cover:

• Why you need a GPS system for your car

• How much you can expect to pay

• What makes a car GPS tracker good

• Best practices for owning and using a vehicle tracker

Let’s start with the elephant in the room:

Why do you need a car tracker?

I’m not trying to be contrary–it’s an honest question. We sometimes encounter people who want to buy a tracker because a friend told them to, but don’t actually know what they want to do with it. 

What you plan to do with the tracker determines which tracker you should buy. If you want to buy a car locator device to protect against theft, you need something small and discreet. A portable device with a magnetic case would make an excellent hidden GPS tracker that thieves will easily miss. 

On the other hand, if you want to monitor driver performance like a teen driver or a fleet of company vehicles, an OBD tracker might be a more suitable solution.

How long you need it for also matters. If you only need a tracker for a short time, like if you’re tracking a car being shipped overseas, then there are some great single-use disposable trackers available online. Anything longer would require a rechargeable or hardwired GPS tracker.

How much does a car GPS tracker cost?

Individual car GPS trackers can cost as low as $15 to over $100. It depends on the:

• tracker’s brand, 

• power source (internal or external), 

• update speed, 

• market (commercial or consumer)

Most brands offer volume discounts for buying two or more of the same tracker at the same time, so that can be a good way to save on costs. Many tracker GPS companies also hold regular sales, with some even participating in Prime Day, if you’re open to shopping on Amazon.

As you’re comparing price tags for GPS tracking devices, remember to factor in the subscription fee.

Wait, there’s a subscription fee?

Yes, all GPS tracking devices require a subscription fee to work.

Why is there a subscription fee?

A large part of the subscription fee is due to the nature of how GPS trackers work.

All modern GPS trackers use cellphone signals to communicate. Each is equipped with a SIM card that uses 4G or 4G LTE technology (although there are devices that are still compatible with older networks like 2G or 3G). That connectivity comes with a material cost, which is factored into the subscription fee that users pay. 

In addition to the cellphone signal, tracker manufacturers also provide subscribers with companion apps that receive, interpret, and process the GPS data in different ways (more on that later). Without these apps, you'd have no way of accessing or using the data the GPS tracker generates.

The companion apps are also regularly maintained for peak performance and updated with new features and capabilities so that users like yourself can benefit from a better app experience and more ways to use electronic tracking information.

How are GPS trackers different from Apple AirTag?

The Apple AirTag is a Bluetooth tracker, not a GPS tracker. That means it uses Bluetooth to communicate with other Apple devices–not just other AirTags, but iPhones and MacBooks too. These other devices detect the AirTag’s signal and send the location information to iCloud, which then relays the information to the AirTag’s owner.

Despite being relayed by other devices, the actual location information is encrypted, which means only the owner can see the location of their AirTag. However, unscrupulous users have been using AirTags to stalk and track other people without their permission or knowledge. Apple had to add features to discourage misuse, like sending an alert to iPhones if there’s an unknown AirTag nearby. 

Another potential limitation is the fact that the AirTag needs nearby Apple devices to function. If there are no Apple devices nearby, or if they don’t have Bluetooth activated, then the tracker won’t work.

Also, you can’t share an AirTag’s location with others, even if Family Sharing is enabled. This is a feature that the best GPS trackers can do thanks to their companion apps.

How do I choose the car tracking device that’s right for me?

There are three ways to evaluate potential trackers: their hardware, their software, and their price structure.

Evaluating GPS tracker hardware

Each brand of GPS tracker will have different form factors for their vehicle locators, which will vary based on purpose and capability. Match these up based on your own requirements.

Tracker Size

The physical dimensions of your ideal tracker will be influenced by why you want to buy one. If you need a discreet anti-theft device that serves as a hidden GPS for cars, trucks, and other vehicles, then small portable trackers will be a good option. These can be taped to the underside of a car or attached with magnets. 

Our own Spytec GPS Mini comes with a magnetic weatherproof case for this exact purpose.

If you’re hardwiring the tracker to a vehicle, then size won’t be as important, but still matters. The tracker still has to be able to fit comfortably within the car’s engine block, for instance. 

Update speed

A GPS tracker’s “update speed” is how often the device sends an update to its companion app. Most consumer GPS tracking devices update once every 5 to 30 seconds. This may appear slow when compared to Google Maps’ live map, but that’s because Google Maps relies on internet connectivity to stay up-to-date. GPS trackers don’t need the internet–they have satellite waves. Some trackers, like our own OBD GPS tracker, can update as fast as once every second. 

Some customers have questioned the “real-time" label on GPS trackers since the updates come in intervals, but the devices do track location in real-time. Every update sent to your app is 100% accurate at the time it goes out. There's just an interval before the next one is sent. 

Note: Update speed also affects battery life on rechargeable GPS trackers. The faster the update speed, the quicker your battery will drain. 

It’s possible to change the tracker’s update speed to conserve battery life, but most of the time you can only do it by contacting customer service and having their technicians do it remotely. 

Spytec GPS lets you adjust your own tracker’s speed from within the companion app. It’s an incredibly convenient feature that allows users to change their tracker update speed to match whatever their use case is, whether they are putting the vehicle on standby for a while or need it for active use. 

You don’t have to worry about battery life with car GPS trackers that connect directly into the vehicle’s electrical system, because they won’t be affected. Speaking of which…

Power source

Your objectives for the device will determine what power source your tracker will use and how you install the GPS in the vehicle. Light, portable devices will use a rechargeable battery. To save power, you can change your update speed settings like we described above. 

If you would rather plug your GPS tracker into the vehicle’s electrical system, you can either connect to the battery directly using leads (usually provided with the device), or you can plug it directly into the vehicle’s OBD port. 

Desired car data

Most of the time, the only information you would get from a GPS car tracker device would be location and speed. This will be true for most portable and even some hardwired trackers, and is sufficient for most applications. 

Some GPS trackers take this a step further and have either light or motion sensors that can notify you whenever the tracker is moved, thus acting as a sort of anti-tampering alert for your car.

An OBD GPS tracker connects directly into a vehicle’s On-Board Diagnostics port and can give you access to even more information, like fuel efficiency, vehicle health, and even ignition alerts as a further anti-theft measure. 

Evaluating GPS tracker software

At the end of the day, how useful your live tracker will be depends almost entirely on the software you’re using to monitor it. To conduct proper GPS surveillance for cars that you own, you need an app that can give you the right information you need at the right time. 

Here are some core features to look for whenever you’re evaluating GPS tracking software:

Real-time GPS Live Map

This is the bread and butter of any GPS tracking software. No matter which GPS tracker solution you buy, you should be able to log into your phone or desktop app and see a live feed of where your tracker is at that very moment. 

Some extra considerations include:

• GPS tracker info. See if the Live View is displaying the tracker info you want to see. Things like speed, current address or nearby landmarks, and direction of travel. OBD GPS trackers can even give odometer and ignition status. 

• Managing multiple trackers. If you have multiple trackers, how easy is it to switch between them? Can you filter and search for them?

• Switching display modes. Do you prefer light mode, dark mode, or satellite view? Having options to choose from will increase your comfort level with the tracker app.

GPS tracker location history

Knowing where a tracker has been is almost as important as knowing where it is. That’s why a good GPS tracker brand will always provide you with a detailed history of your tracker’s location and route history.

At Spytec GPS, we call this the Time Machine. It’s one of our most popular features, and both businesses and individuals have used this to track recent car movements and review driver performance. Once active, a Spytec GPS tracker will automatically save its movements for later review, no user action required.

The Spytec Hapn app breaks tracker movements down into Stops and Trips. 

A Stop is any time a tracker has been motionless for a minimum amount of time. In the Hapn app, this is set to 15 minutes by default, but can be adjusted to whatever you want. 

A Trip is any journey a tracker takes in between Stops. If a tracker stops moving for a short period of time (shorter than the defined Stop period), it doesn’t trigger a new trip but just continues the existing one. Each trip generates its own timeline which can be played in the main screen and manipulated using the Ping Feed on the left and the timeline on the bottom. 

Using Trips and Stops helps you keep accurate records of your tracker’s movements.

Geofencing/Boundary notifications 

A geofence is a digital boundary drawn around a real-life location. Whenever a GPS tracker crosses into or out of this region, it triggers a notification that is sent to the user’s device or app.

Geofencing can be used in multiple ways:

• Parents can be notified if a teen driver has exited the neighborhood or is speeding

• Caregivers can know when an elderly relative has left their house

• Businesses can monitor which vehicles have left or entered the depot

You can easily set up digital boundaries using a companion app like Hapn. You can customize their color, size, and even their shape for better control and usefulness.

Custom notifications and alerts

Alerts are an essential part of any car tracker system. After all, you can’t sit at your screen staring at the tracker map 24/7, can you? Notifications allow you to stay abreast of any important events that happen with your tracker. The best tracker brands allow for a variety of notification types, up to and including: 

• Movement notifications

• Ignition alerts

• Speeding alerts

• Boundary entry/exit

• Battery status

• Trip distance/duration

Some portable trackers like the Spytec Micro and Mini also feature an SOS button that sends an immediate location ping to the user, which can be very valuable in emergencies.

You can also check whether you can choose where alerts can be sent: whether it’s text, email, or mobile app alert.

Live links

Sometimes you’re not the only one who needs to know where a tracker is. In these cases, it would be good to have the ability to share your vehicle tracker’s information with someone else. 

As an example, one of our team members is in charge of shuttling her kid’s soccer team to and from practice. Her minivan is equipped with an OBD tracker, and shares the live link with other parents during practice so that they know when their children are about to be picked up, and when they’re about to arrive back home. 

If you’re concerned about privacy, you can set to live link to only be active for a limited amount of time (which you can customize) and choose whether or not to display a short-term history of the tracker’s whereabouts. 

Tracker customization

If you have multiple trackers (or if you just want to personalize your tracker to your heart’s content), you can change your tracker’s profile in the app settings. Here, you can create icons that best represent the vehicle your tracker is attached to–or just make it as visually distinctive as possible.

But the customizations are more than just cosmetic. In the Hapn Tracker Settings menu you can also change the tracker’s update speed (which we discussed earlier), your stop threshold for trips, and even update the vehicle odometer so you know when it should be taken in for service.

If you’re going to use the tracker overseas (which you can, since Spytec GPS trackers can be used globally), you can change your tracker’s current region to something else.

How do I use my GPS tracker responsibly?

So let’s say you’ve gone ahead and purchased a GPS tracker for your vehicle and set it up. Congratulations! What are you going to do now? How can you get the most out of your tracker and, more importantly, how do you make sure you use this powerful device in a responsible way?

Comply with local employer laws and regulations

If you’re a business using the vehicle tracker to monitor the movements of employees, then make sure you look up local regulations about employee monitoring. Generally speaking, the following best practices should be observed:

• Be familiar with regulations that apply to privacy expectations and using GPS to track company assets.

• Only monitor employees in a way that is justified to the business. Frivolous or excessive monitoring may violate employee privacy and result in a lawsuit.

• Have the GPS tracking policy in writing and make this policy available for employees to read.

• Be responsible. Limit your tracking to work hours and only track for the purposes of a definite business objective. Also ensure that any GPS-related data is properly secured.

Always obtain consent

If you’re using the auto tracking device on a vehicle that other people use, like a family car, make sure the rest of the family knows that their movements are being tracked. If they’re uncomfortable being tracked, give them the option to have the tracker removed or disabled and don’t force them into it.

Teen drivers might object to being monitored, but instead of playing the ‘parent card’ and coercing them into it, try telling them that it’s for their own safety since they’re new drivers and might need assistance.

Do you have any GPS car tracker recommendations?

As it so happens, yes. :) 

Spytec GPS has multiple GPS models, each with their own pros and cons, but these are ones that we recommend the most if you need a GPS system for a car:

1. OBD GPS Tracker

The OBD GPS tracker plugs directly into your car’s OBD II port and runs off the car’s electrical system. That means no recharging necessary and can be installed in moments. Just find the vehicle’s OBD II port, pop off the cover, and plug the tracker in. 

With a 1-second update speed, the OBD tracker is the fastest tracker in our catalog and can also give additional alerts such as ignition and unsafe driving.

2. SWIFT Wired GPS Tracker

Our SWIFT Wired GPS tracker connects directly to the vehicle’s battery. Since it resides out of immediate view in the engine compartment, it can serve as an excellent hidden gps tracker for car security and safety. And in the event car thieves do find it, you can set up an alert that notifies you when the tracker is disconnected from the power source.

Installation is easy too, and doesn’t require a mechanic or technician. Simply connect the leads to the battery and you’re ready to go.

3. Mini GPS Tracker

The Spytec Mini is our best-selling GPS tracker. It’s a portable tracker, which means it has a limited battery life and has to be recharged every so often (depending on the update speed). But its small size means it can function as a hidden tracking device for cars, trucks, RVs, and other vehicles to prevent theft and aid in recovery.

The best way to utilize it as a hidden GPS is to get the magnetic weatherproof case (we also sell them as a bundle). Powerful magnets can attach to the exterior of any vehicle, like under the chassis or within the trunk. We also have cases that extend the Mini GPS’ battery life or connect it directly to the car battery.

Let Spytec help you

Do you have any other questions or concerns about getting a GPS tracker for your car? Contact our team of experts and let us answer your questions!