Pet ownership is no walk in the park. Your pet can also go missing no matter how close an eye you keep on them. Moreover, dogs and cats can become overweight just like humans, especially when they are older. It’s our duty to keep them happy, healthy, and safe, so if you’re searching for technology to help you care for your furbaby, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve been reviewing pet tech for over a decade to help you select the best pet tracker for your furry friend. The Fi Series 3 Smart Dog Collar is our top pick for its durability, long battery life, and speedy location updates if your pet goes missing. Whether you want to track your pet’s location, activity, or health trends like scratching, licking, and sleep changes, you’re sure to find the right pet tracker in our list below.
Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
Most Durable
Fi Smart Dog Collar Series 3
Pros & Cons
Smaller than the Series 2
More frequent location updates in Lost Dog Mode
Stainless steel case for improved strength
Cellular subscription includes hardware
Long battery life
Seamless setup process
Slower Escape Alerts than the last generation in testing
Why We Picked It
The Fi Smart Dog Collar makes it easy to track your dog’s location, activity, and sleep from your phone, and the third-generation model introduces major changes inside and out. Its smaller, lighter tracking module can accommodate tiny dogs, its more durable build fares better against chewers and leash pullers, and its improved waterproofing means you can keep a closer digital eye on adventurous pups. Escape alerts took longer to arrive in testing than with the previous model, but the Series 3’s overhauled GPS and cellular radios deliver quicker location updates in the crucial Lost Dog Mode without killing the battery. As for the tracker’s style, you can now choose between patterned and solid designs in blue, gray, pink, or yellow, as well as from a selection of compatible third-party bands. Current Fi users who want to upgrade from an older model to the Series 3 can do so within the Fi app or by contacting the company’s customer service team.
Who It’s For
The Fi Series 3 is the best GPS tracker for most dogs thanks to its durable build, long battery life, and reliable Lost Dog Mode. The new extra-small size (for necks measuring 9.5 to 11 inches in circumference) is suitable for breeds like miniature dachshunds, maltese, pomeranians, toy poodles, and Yorkshire terriers, while the extra-large option (for necks between 20 and 30.5 inches in circumference) should suit breeds like great danes, bloodhounds, and mastiffs. For those whose main priority is escape alert speed, the Tractive tracker might be a better choice.
Specs & Configurations
Learn More
Fi Smart Dog Collar Series 3 Review
Fastest Escape Alerts
Tractive GPS Dog LTE Tracker
Pros & Cons
Fast escape alerts
Attaches to your pet’s existing collar
Tracks activity, sleep, and calories
In-app activity leaderboards
Minimal social features
Doesn’t track steps or sleep interruptions
Why We Picked It
The Tractive GPS Dog LTE Tracker, which conveniently and securely attaches to your dog’s existing collar with a rubber clip, offers the fastest escape alerts of any tracker we’ve reviewed. In testing, it typically took about one minute to send me an escape alert when my dog Bradley exited and entered a Safe Zone. That’s at least a full minute faster than the Fi Series 3. Although its battery life could be longer and we’d like to see more health and social features, the Tractive still offers top-notch GPS tracking for a reasonable price.
Who It’s For
Tractive sells two versions of its GPS and LTE pet tracker, one for dogs and one for cats. The canine version is meant for dogs that weigh at least 8.8 pounds. If your dog likes to roughhouse, the Fi Series 3 is a more durable option because the tracker is built into the collar.
Specs & Configurations
Learn More
Tractive GPS Dog LTE Tracker Review
Best for Small Cats and Dogs
Whistle GO Explore
Pros & Cons
Excellent battery life.
No base station required.
Multiple safe zones.
Night light for visual tracking.
Works for cats and dogs.
Lag for initial notification when pet is out of safe zone.
No web interface.
Why We Picked It
The Whistle Go Explore makes it easy to track your pet’s whereabouts and health stats like calories burned, distance traversed, and hours at rest each day. In testing, it usually took 4.5 minutes to send a notification (text and push) when a pet left the safe zone. The Tractive delivered faster escape alerts, but the Whistle Go Explore lasts longer on a charge.
Who It’s For
Weighing just 1.3 ounces, the Whistle Go Explore is the best dedicated pet tracker for smaller dogs and even cats. It attaches to any collar, unlike the Fi, which requires one that is specifically compatible with it.
Specs & Configurations
Learn More
Whistle GO Explore Review
Best for iPhone Owners
Apple AirTag
Pros & Cons
Accurate and reliable
Gives directional cues
Can send location from a distance
Replaceable battery
No Android compatibility
No way to ping a phone from the tag
No hole for a lanyard or keyring
Anti-stalking tools are limited
Why We Picked It
Apple’s AirTag tells your other Apple devices exactly where to find your lost objects (or pets), even if they’re miles away. To find the AirTag via your iPhone or iPad, you can instruct it to make a little piping sound or play a game of hot-and-cold with distance. If AirTags are more than 30 feet from your phone, they leverage Bluetooth connections with strangers’ iPhones to tell you where they are. That said, Apple doesn’t recommend using it for pets.
Who It’s For
The AirTag is compatible with any iPhone or iPad running iOS or iPadOS 14.5 or later. It’s important to note the limits of the AirTag: It’s not a true GPS tracker, as it relies on being within 30 feet of someone’s iPhone to deliver its location to the network. This works well in dense cities full of iPhone users, but it’s much less useful in rural areas.
Specs & Configurations
Learn More
Apple AirTag Review
Best for Samsung Phone Users
Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 2
Pros & Cons
Compact design
Rugged IP67 rating
Long battery life
Replaceable battery
Easier to attach to objects than previous model
Works with Samsung Galaxy devices only
Alert could be louder
Why We Picked It
The Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 2 easily clips to your pet’s collar via a larger, metal-reinforced cutout and uses Bluetooth Low Energy and ultra-wideband tech to help you locate them. Its durable IP67 rating (an improvement from the original SmartTag’s IP53) makes it a good fit as a pet tracker.
Who It’s For
This tracker is meant solely for Samsung users because it only works with Galaxy devices and Samsung’s SmartThings Find network. If you’re in that camp, the SmartTag 2 is a solid option for tracking your pet.
Specs & Configurations
Learn More
Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 2 Review
Buying Guide: The Best Pet Trackers and GPS Dog Collars for 2024
How Pet Trackers ConnectAll the trackers we’ve tested use apps for Android and/or iOS devices that give you a quick read on the data they collect. Some also provide a web interface. Certain models use a base station to establish a line of communication between the tracker and your phone. These base stations come in lots of shapes and sizes, and sometimes double as battery chargers. Trackers typically use Bluetooth to talk to your smartphone and their base station/charger—as long as it’s within range of either, it’s likely that your pet is in a safe zone. It isn’t until your pet wanders out of range that the alerts arrive. Just keep in mind that if you have a large house, you might need multiple base stations to provide coverage.The Whistle Go Explore doesn’t come with a separate base station; it has a built-in Wi-Fi radio and uses your home router to create its own base station. The third-generation Fi comes with a Bluetooth-enabled charging base and also supports Wi-Fi, with the ability to connect to up to six networks at a time. As a lower-tech option, home security camera maker Ring offers a $10 QR code pet tag that will bring up information about your pet when scanned. Can You Track Your Pet’s Activity?The very first pet trackers were all about activity like fitness trackers—we viewed them as “Fitbits for pets,” and that description still largely stands. Most of the trackers we test quantify activity to varying degrees. Some generate fitness reports, showing various movement levels from resting to high activity, plus pulse and respiration. A few of these devices try to track more than just activity and location. Temperature comes up a lot because hot cars are killers. Don’t leave your dog or cat inside a car, even with the windows down! That said, we’ve found temperature readings to be fairly inaccurate, be it from dogs sitting close to wood-fired stoves on a cold day, laying in the sun by the window, or just folding the tracker up into their neck while they sleep. It might not be a bad feature to have, but the warnings sometimes take on a kid-who-cried-wolf aspect.How to Find Your Pet Via GPSGPS location is a primary reason for getting a tracker. Note that you should use trackers in conjunction with microchips in a pet, not as a substitute. Most vets charge less than $50 to put the rice-sized permanent chip inside a pet and practically all shelters and vet clinics have scanners. It’s nearly a foolproof way to ensure you can reunite with a pet if they ever go missing.If you’re in an area with coverage, the tracker sends your pet’s whereabouts to its companion app. It’s not always instantaneous—there might be a slight delay before the device realizes your pet is out of the safe zone. That’s enough time for a fast pet to make a getaway, but that’s still better than not knowing at all that Fido jumped the fence. Note that GPS tracking typically involves monthly or annual fees; we break them down in each of our reviews.Do Pet Trackers Work for Cats?Many of the devices available in the market are a bit too big to effectively work on cats, or their algorithms just don’t take the slinky movements of felines into account the way they do dopey, lumbering canines. We’ve highlighted which devices work for cats in the chart below. Be sure to consider the size and weight of the tracker for different breeds.
Recommended by Our Editors
Can You Use Bluetooth Trackers for Pets?Bluetooth trackers from Apple, Samsung, and Tile are becoming popular ways to find lost keys, phones, remotes, wallets, and anything else that’s easy to lose. And in some cases, that applies to pets.As mentioned above, Apple says AirTags aren’t meant for pets. That statement ultimately seems like it’s for liability reasons more than anything else, as many people still use them for this purpose. Tile, on the other hand, encourages pet owners to attach the Mate and Pro to their creatures. “Many people have had great success using Tile as a Bluetooth pet tracker to help them locate dogs, cats, bunnies, and even tortoises!” Tile says. A general-purpose Bluetooth tracker is definitely a good way to test the waters before diving into a pet-specific model, so we’ve included our favorites here.Finally, for more on taking care of your furry little friends, check out our picks for the best dog NDA testing kits.
