1. Vyncs GPS Tracker: Best for Long-Term Tracking
BEST OVERALL
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The Vyncs GPS tracks location, unsafe driving practices, engine diagnostics, battery life, maintenance needs, recall notices, and fuel levels.
It evaluates your driving to give you a Tip Performance Index (TPI) score that can help you save money on car insurance. Its free companion app, VyncsMiles, is compatible with Amazon Alexa and can track mileage and categorize it by personal and business use.
Vyncs uses one-year plans instead of month-to-month deals. This kind pricing can save you cash if you’re committed to tracking your vehicle’s location for awhile.
You can also check out Vync’s Basic, Premium, and Pro plans that sweeten the deal with services like roadside assistance. Vyncs also has a Fleet service for commercial customers who might want to monitor their employees during deliveries or routes.
The OBD plug-in GPS device costs around $75 and comes with a one-year basic plan subscription (and a one-time activation fee of $30). Yearly renewal costs are about the same, which works out to around $6 a month, making it the least expensive GPS on our list.
We don’t like that the default refresh time is three minutes—the fastest refresh time (15 seconds) is available only for an added fee. The user interface is also a little tricky to manage.
Pros
- Engine alerts
- Low yearly fee
- Driver scoring system
- Mileage tracker app
- Roadside assistance
Cons
- Long-term commitment
- Delayed location updates
- Activation fee
2. MOTOsafety GPS Tracker: Best for New Drivers
BEST FOR NEW DRIVERS
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With a driving education course for teens, Google Maps route replay, geofencing, and customizable location alerts, the easy-to-install MOTOsafety GPS Tracker earned our top spot for new teen drivers.
This tracking device costs around only $20 with a monthly fee of $19.99. You won’t have to sign a contract or pay a cancellation fee, but you will have to call the company if you want to cancel.
We like the included driver training program, with access to educational content and practice quizzes to help your teen prep for their driving test.
We also like the daily driving report card on the mobile app, but metrics can be confusing. Speed limits aren’t always accurate on Google Maps, so MOTOsafety might say you’re speeding even when you’re not.
Likewise, normal rapid acceleration—like when you’re merging onto a busy highway—can also count against you. We recommend taking it out for a test drive and checking the sensitivity before taking away your teen’s car keys for a bad grade on their MOTOsafety driving report.
Check out our full review on MOTOsafety to learn more about this vehicle GPS tracker.
Pros
- Google Maps route replay
- Geofencing
- Curfew
- Teen driving course
Cons
- Sensitivity to acceleration
- Inaccurate speed limits
3. Bouncie: Best for Vehicle Maintenance
BEST MONTH-TO-MONTH
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Bouncie is to the GPS tracking game, but it has all the best parts of other popular trackers. So we expect to see it rising to the top.
Bouncie plugs into your car’s OBD port and offers standard geofencing and real-time alerts for speed, hard braking, and acceleration. It also helps you keep tabs on gas levels, vehicle maintenance, and routine car-related tasks, like annual emissions inspections.
We like that you can use your Amazon Echo to check the gas in your car or ask when your registration is due.
The device also tracks your mileage and stores the data, which is a great feature if you need to track mileage for business purposes.
Bouncie charges only $8 a month for its tracking services, so it’s a close second to Vyncs when it comes to pricing, but without the long-term commitment. If you want to track three vehicles, you’ll get a special discounted rate of $20 per month for all three.
The only downsides to this device were the green flashing light that never seems to go off (black electrical tape to the rescue) and some occasional glitches with the Alexa commands.
Pros
- Vehicle maintenance alerts
- Geofencing
- Mileage tracking
- Low monthly subscription fee
- Real-time vehicle operation alerts
Cons
- Flashing light
- Alexa command glitches
BEST PORTABLE TRACKER
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4. SpyTec STI GL300 GPS Tracker
The two-inch SpyTec STI GL300 GPS Tracker is small enough to be tucked into a pocket or attached to the undercarriage of your vehicle. This tracking device is battery-powered, so you’ll need to charge it periodically. The manufacturer claims a two-week battery life, but it’s more like eight to ten days.
Monitoring will cost you around $25 a month, and you’ll get location updates only every 60 seconds unless you pay more for faster tracking. There are no contracts or cancellation fees, and we like that SpyTec offers a 30-day, no-hassle cancellation policy.
HONORABLE MENTION
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5. Optimus 2.0 GPS Tracker
The Optimus 2.0 GPS Tracker is a close cousin to the SpyTec. Both are small, battery-operated vehicle tracking devices, but the Optimus is slightly bigger. The Optimus has better battery life, and the monthly fees are $20 a month.
Unlike SpyTec’s website-only tracking, the Optimus uses both a website and an app.
We found the location tracking to be more of a connect-the-dots experience rather than the fluid turn-by-turn that you see from other apps, but it depends on the type of monthly plan you buy. Upgrading to updates every five seconds could smooth it out.