The best fleet GPS tracking and device systems in 2023

Vehicles parked

There have never been more options for GPS fleet tracking services than there are today. And while that means unparalleled opportunities for businesses to take advantage of location technology, it also means that there’s a lot of information about fleet management solutions to comb through.

That’s why we’ve researched and assessed the solutions on the market today to come up with a list of the best GPS fleet tracking systems available in 2023.

The best GPS fleet tracking systems

Starting price:Best used for:Installation:
Force Fleet Tracking$20 per vehicle per monthSmall businessPlug-and-play
Verizon Connect~$20 per vehicle per monthEnterprisesPlug-and-play or Hardwired
Samsara~$40 per vehicle per monthELD compliancePlug-and-play
Azuga$25 per vehicle per monthRoute optimizationPlug-and-play
SpireonUndisclosedFast updatesPlug-and-play or Hardwired
Teletrac Navman~$30 per vehicle per monthManaging driversHardwired
RAM~$15 per vehicle per monthAffordabilityPlug-and-play

At a glance, the best GPS fleet tracking software providers are:

What is the best software for fleet tracking?

Overall, the best GPS fleet tracking systems are the ones that are easy-to-use, have accurate and consistent vehicle tracking, improve driver safety, help you take control of vehicle maintenance and fuel costs, and provide GPS hardware that doesn’t take a rocket scientist to install.  

Beyond that, it depends on your business’ needs. What’s best for an international trucking company with more than a hundred heavy trucks won’t work well for a local HVAC service provider.

The best GPS fleet tracking solution for small business – Force Fleet Tracking

PricingHardware OptionsProsCons
$20 per vehicle per monthOBDII – Plug and Play
  • 30-day money back guarantee
  • Free GPS devices
  • No contracts
  • No hidden fees
  • Free 2-day shipping
  • 10 second location refresh
  • Automated maintenance alerts
  • Driver behavior monitoring
  • Vehicle health monitoring
  • User-friendly interface
  • Fast and reliable support
Not suited for large fleets of 30+ vehicles

Force Fleet Tracking is easily the best GPS fleet tracking solution for small businesses because of its unbeatable affordability, ease-of-use, scalability, and small business-focused features.

Force is also one of the most affordable options, offering a 30-day money back guarantee. Force costs $20 per vehicle per month, with no contracts or hidden fees or costly add-ons. That flexibility and approachable entry point means small businesses can adapt as their business needs change or shift.

The software is straightforward and provides powerful features without the clutter of enterprise-focused software, or the need for a dedicated fleet manager. With idling reports, vehicle health and maintenance alerts, and vehicle diagnostics, Force empowers businesses to make smarter decisions around preventative maintenance and driver training, in real time.

Force also integrates easily into small businesses’ existing workflows using Mojio’s full partner ecosystem of location-based and telematics service integrations. A key differentiator that makes Force the smart choice for small businesses is the direct integration with Housecall Pro, which automatically sends an SMS text message to your customers with a link that will let them track your service vehicles en route to a job in real-time.

The best GPS fleet tracking for enterprise – Verizon Connect

PricingHardware OptionsProsCons
~$20-$40 per vehicle per monthOBDII plug-and-play

Wired-in trackers
  • Wide range of apps and API integrations
  • International coverage
  • Dynamic routing
  • Unauthorized break or detour tracking
  • Automated maintenance alerts
  • Long contract periods
  • Steep learning curve
  • Expensive compared to similar services

Verizon Connect is a GPS fleet tracking software that was built for large enterprises. If you have a large fleet with a dedicated fleet manager and operations analysts, they’ll love Verizon Connect’s extensive data collection. 

Beyond the standard fleet tracking solutions like real-time tracking and speeding alerts, Verizon Connect offers intense analytics, asset tracking, and route optimization add ons with extra apps for drivers and fleet managers. 

Verizon Connect has long contracts and higher fleet tracking pricing than many other solutions. But enterprises which have already deployed Verizon Connect are often locked into long-term contracts, or have a high switching cost. This is especially the case when the GPS is integrated with a field service management application, as the development cost and effort can be substantial.

The best GPS fleet tracking for ELD – Samsara

PricingHardware OptionsProsCons
~$40 per vehicle per month, plus hardware costsOBDII plug-and-play

Additional dash cams
  • Very fast refresh rates
  • Smart AI-powered dashcam
  • 24/7 customer supports
  • Automated maintenance alerts
  • Asset tracking and construction-site visibility
  • In-depth vehicle diagnostics
  • Heat map of routes taken
  • Real-time vehicle diagnostics dashboard
  • ELD compliance
  • Requires a 36-month contract with no trial before you’re locked in
  • Pay for hardware

Samsara is a comprehensive tracking platform for large-scale fleets, and their sweet spot is helping maintain compliance with the FMCSA’s rules about electronic logging devices (ELD) for drivers who are required to log their hours for the Department of Transport.

Samsara’s GPS tracker is an FMCSA-registered ELD that connects directly to a vehicle’s engine through the vehicle’s OBD II port. Live data is transmitted to the ELD so there’s an accurate log of when the engine’s on and how fast the vehicle is traveling. Drivers then record their hours manually, and together, the engine data and the driver’s records of duty status form a complete picture of compliance.

Samsara also provides fleet managers with GPS fleet tracking, fuel usage and maintenance data, equipment monitoring, as well as a wide variety of hardware add-ons including dash cameras, environmental monitors, temperature probes, and asset trackers to support industrial use cases. 

This solution also refreshes every second to provide hyper-accurate real-time data. But that refresh rate comes with a steep price tag. Any service that refreshes the data within 10 seconds is providing live location data, so paying a premium for by-the-second data doesn’t really make a lot of sense for businesses.

The best GPS fleet tracking for route optimization – Azuga

PricingHardware OptionsProsCons
BasicFleet: $25 per vehicle per month

SafeFleet $30 per vehicle per month

CompleteFleet: $35 per vehicle per month
OBDII plug-and-play

Dashcam (additional $29.99 per month with 36 month contract)
  • Advanced smart routing system add-on
  • In-cab driver safety alerts
  • Driver-specific coaching
  • Custom geofences
  • Vehicle tracking
  • Vehicle health and maintenance alerts
  • 3 year service contract
  • More expensive than other solutions with similar offerings

Azuga is a GPS fleet tracking solution that enables organizations to monitor driver behaviors, set custom geofences, provide in-cab safety alerts, and driver specific coaching. Where Azuga really excels is with Azuga Routes—an add-on that lets you schedule routes with integrated telematics data, accounting for commercial routing restrictions, time windows, volume and weight constraints, predictive weather constraints and more. It also sends customer alerts and notifications, making it great for larger fleets of delivery vehicles.

They have a few pricing tiers, and contracts start at 3-year terms. Their most basic offering is $25 per vehicle per month and doesn’t include standard fleet tracking features like vehicle diagnostics, maintenance alerts, or trip logs, which is a significant departure from other solutions.

The best GPS fleet tracking for fast updates – Spireon

PricingHardware OptionsProsCons
Only available after sales demo.OBDII plug-and-play

Wired-in trackers
  • Vehicle maintenance
  • ELD compliance
  • Geofences
  • Breadcrumb trails
  • Real-time tracking
  • Automated reports
  • Driver apps
  • Unsafe driving alerts
  • 3 year service contract

Spireon is a GPS fleet tracking service with an array of options for data refresh rates–15, 30, and 60 seconds. Each has a different price.

From vehicle tracking to ELD compliance, Spireon’s platform provides data in as close to real-time as you can get. Their modular GPS tracking device supports light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles, and provides the full range of features you would expect from a fleet tracking system: geofencing, vehicle tracking, and unsafe driving alerts for speeding, harsh braking, and idling.

The best GPS fleet tracking for managing drivers – Teletrac Navman

PricingHardware OptionsProsCons
~$30-$100 per month depending on fleet detailsWired-in tracker
  • 24/7 customer support
  • ELD compliance
  • Driver management
  • 3-year service contracts
  • Slow data refresh – five minute intervals
  • Doesn’t monitor engine temperature
  • Vague pricing structure
  • Reports not as visual as competitors’
  • Difficult setup

Teletrac Navman has an exceptional dedicated driver management system. Their TN360 driver data management allows users to schedule and set reminders for important driver compliance events including license renewals, health checks, and training dates. You can also save driver documentation like licenses within the application. 

Being able to digitally store driver data in a single location and create your events based on business requirements make this the best GPS fleet tracking solution for driver management.

Teletrac keeps their pricing quiet, but they have noted that the average price range of the tool is between $30 and $100 per vehicle per month depending on the customer’s fleet size.

The best GPS fleet tracking for affordability – RAM

PricingHardware OptionsProsCons
Lite: ~$15 per vehicle per month

Core

Plus
OBDII plug-and-play

Hardwired dash cam add-ons
  • Affordable option with minimal features
  • ELD compliance options
  • Asset tracking
  • Trailer tracking
  • No fuel management
  • Contracts between 12 and 60 months

When you’re pinching pennies, and all you need to know is your vehicles’ live location, RAM offers a fleet tracking option for manually managing vehicle tracking at ‘50 cents per day.’

Their Core offering comes at a higher price, and includes a mobile app, detailed vehicle reports, mileage reporting, driver behavior monitoring, and scheduled and automated alerts. The next step up, Plus, adds breakdown alerts, accident alerts, and proof-of-attendance features. Once you move beyond the Lite pricing to get those features though, you’ll be paying more than you would with another service.

Unlike the others, this company began in the U.K., expanded into Canada, and only recently entered the U.S. Without a history of coverage in the U.S. it remains to be seen whether RAM can rapidly build its compatibility with the full range of U.S. makes and whether it will be compatible with older years.

What is the most accurate GPS tracking device?

GPS technology needs to be two things in order to be useful: accurate and consistent. The GPS vehicle tracking devices that meet that requirement most effectively take advantage of multiple communications channels to ensure that the tracked vehicle is geolocated correctly and connection to the application isn’t interrupted.

The best GPS trackers send and receive location information from satellites, then use a cellular network to transmit that information back to you. Today, 4G LTE is the gold standard for transmitting information from GPS trackers to applications. 

That’s why Force Fleet Tracking uses 4G LTE GPS trackers. These GPS devices are plug-and-play devices that connect to the vehicle’s OBD II port to transmit diagnostic data in real-time, refreshing the live location every 10 seconds.

GPS fleet tracking solutions that rely on Bluetooth, WiFi or cellular networks alone can run into issues with spotty coverage, lack of connectivity, or inaccuracy in areas like parking garages or remote areas. They also don’t serve real-time data, so they’re not effective for dispatching and tracking vehicles.

GPS tracking takes the guesswork out of running your business. Leverage location data for your fleet.

How much does GPS fleet tracking cost?

GPS fleet tracking costs range from as low as $20 per vehicle per month to $100+ per vehicle per month depending on the service provider. Some providers also have hidden fees for extras or charge separately for hardware.

With Force, there aren’t any hidden fees or expensive add-ons, and the hardware is provided free of charge for Force customers. 

Calculate your costs without any nasty surprises. Try our instant quote calculator.

What are the benefits of GPS fleet tracking?

With the right GPS fleet tracking system in place, businesses can take control of the costs associated with one of their biggest expenses–their fleet.

Fleet tracking technology can help save on fuel costs by identifying bad driver behaviors like idling, speeding, and taking the scenic route. This also helps businesses mitigate the costs associated with vehicle maintenance, wasted fuel, and costly accidents.

Are there GPS trackers that don’t require a subscription or monthly fees?

Technically, GPS trackers that don’t require a subscription or monthly fees exist, but they tend to be ineffective, or are misleading about their pricing.

Popular GPS trackers that claim they don’t require a subscription are free for the first year, then you need to pay a fee to ‘recharge’ the SIM card for the next year. Vyncs and Trakkit are two examples of GPS solutions that advertise themselves as not having monthly fees. However Vyncs can cost as much as $109-$119.99 per vehicle per year and the Trakkit GPS tracker transitions into a monthly subscription for a basic Wi-Fi based solution.

With Force, you know exactly what you’re getting–free hardware and reliable software with no contract or hidden fees.

Bluetooth trackers

There are also Bluetooth trackers, which often don’t require a subscription plan. They only send data when there’s a Bluetooth device like your phone nearby. That means that their range is limited to about 250-400ft, making them great for finding misplaced items around your house, but not an effective tool for running a business. 

Cellular network-based trackers

Another option is to buy a GPS tracker without a SIM card. They don’t come with a connected subscription plan, but you can purchase your own SIM card and choose your own plan and network. However, relying on cellular means you may lose coverage in certain areas where the coverage is spotty.

Use the best technology, pay the best price

When it comes to GPS fleet tracking platforms for small businesses, nothing beats Force’s full range of cost-saving technology, driver safety and fleet maintenance features, and straight-forward pricing.

Feel the full force of fleet tracking technology. Get Started.

Published May 18, 2023