A $79 GPS tracker that needs a plan for three years costs more than it looks — and a $189 collar ends up costing $164 more than that tracker over the same three years. Total Pet Cost adds up the device, the subscription, the plan renewals, and the consumables — then ranks by the number you'd actually pay.
| GPS dog tracker | Sticker price | Subscription over 3 years | True 3-year cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tractive DOG 6Clip-on tracker, Basic plan $108/yr billed annually | $79 | $324 | $403 | Lowest 3-year cost |
| Fi Series 3+Collar + membership; first year included, then $189/yr | $189 | $378 | $567 | +$164 vs Tractive |
| Halo Collar 5GPS fence + training collar; Pack Membership from $9.99/mo, required | $524 | ~$360 | ~$884 | Highest by far |
Ranked by sticker price, the Fi looks mid-pack. Ranked by what leaves your bank account over three years, it costs $164 more than the Tractive — and the Halo costs more than both before its second year is out. Read the full comparison →
Price update, Oct 19, 2026: prices re-checked Oct 19, 2026 — Tractive raised its device and plan pricing since our first check, and this page now reflects that.
Start with the guides
Every guide on this site is research-based — built from manufacturer specifications, published subscription terms, and owner reporting. We say plainly what that means on our How We Compare page.
The cheapest tracker to buy is not the cheapest tracker to own. The full subscription math on the three biggest names in GPS dog tracking.
Read the comparison →
For a 7-pound dog, grams matter more than features. Weight-first picks, plus the honest cutoffs where a manufacturer says "not for your dog."
Read the guide →
The Litter-Robot 4, measured in days between drawer emptying per cat — plus a safety warning about cheap automatic boxes we will never recommend.
Read the guide →Two clusters, one rule
Every cellular tracker is a phone plan for your dog. Device prices range from $79 to $524 — but the three-year totals reorder the field completely. We track plan prices, renewal traps (first year "included"), and which features actually require the paid tier.
Start with Fi vs Tractive vs Halo →No subscription here — the running costs are liners, filters, and litter, and the real question is capacity: how many days of waste per cat before you're emptying a drawer anyway. Plus the safety screen every automatic box has to pass before we'll list it.
Start with multi-cat homes →How this site works
Every comparison table sorts by multi-year cost of ownership — device, subscription, renewals, and consumables — with the date we last checked each price printed next to it.
We don't claim hands-on testing we haven't done. Comparisons are built from manufacturer specs, published pricing and plan terms, and owner reporting — and labeled that way on every page.
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Every guide on the site