Best Cheap GPS Vehicle Tracking Systems for Fleets in the US

Looking for a reliable and cost-effective way to keep track and manage your fleet? Our latest round of independent research reveals that Motive is the best cheap GPS vehicle tracker in the US. It offers users flexible monthly subscriptions and fast location data updates.

However, when it comes to GPS fleet management, quality should always come before cost. We’ve compared and ranked the top five cheap providers in the US based on their value for money, unique selling points, and their strengths and weaknesses.

Motive: Best Value for Money

Motive is our top pick for cheap GPS vehicle tracking in the US because it combines mid-range pricing with genuinely high-end safety, fuel and compliance tools. With one-to-three second GPS refresh rates, advanced AI dash cams and a powerful fuel-savings card, it undercuts premium rivals like Verizon and Samsara on cost while still delivering a lot of their headline features.

Motive pricing and contracts

Motive doesn’t publish standard list prices, but recent independent testing puts its GPS tracking plans starting at around $25 per vehicle, per month, with its electronic logging device (ELD) hardware typically priced at about $150 per unit, according to our own research. Motive itself suggests prices can often get to around $35 per vehicle, per month, however, depending on add-ons.

That puts it above rock-bottom options like RAM, but still comfortably below many “enterprise” platforms.

Contract-wise, Motive is more flexible than providers that push three-year terms as standard. Current reviews indicate a minimum contract length of around 12 months, rather than the three to five-year lock-ins you’ll often see elsewhere.

There’s no true free trial at the moment — you’ll get guided demos instead — but the hardware is plug-and-play via OBD-II, so onboarding is relatively quick and low-friction.

A couple of other cost-related points worth highlighting:

• Five-year hardware warranty on Motive’s devices, which is generous at this price point and reduces long-term replacement risk.
• Straightforward self-installation and scalable licensing, so you’re not paying for on-site engineers just to get started.

For fleets that want to trial a system without committing to a three-year deal, that 12-month minimum contract, plus plug-and-play hardware, is a meaningful saving in both money and hassle, even if it’s not “month-to-month cheap.”

Key Motive features for budget-conscious fleets

What makes Motive interesting for drivers looking for cheap solutions is that it gives you a lot of big-ticket functionality normally associated with more expensive platforms:

• Very fast GPS refresh: Vehicle and asset locations update every one to three seconds, giving dispatchers near-live visibility that rivals Samsara.
• AI dash cams + Omnicam: HD (up to 1440p) AI cameras detect risky behavior (tailgating, harsh braking, drowsiness, unsafe lane changes) and send only the most important clips to managers, backed by a team of human reviewers. The optional AI Omnicam can monitor sides, rear and cargo for theft and false claims — a feature you don’t usually see in this price bracket.

• Strong safety and driver coaching: Motive’s DRIVE risk scoring model compares drivers against hundreds of thousands of peers, surfaces high-risk behavior and automates coaching via in-app video assignments. That’s serious safety infrastructure for a cheap system.
• Maintenance and vehicle health: Real-time fault-code alerts, customizable inspection forms and maintenance scheduling by miles, time or engine hours help you keep older vehicles on the road for longer.
• Large integration marketplace: Roughly 240+ third-party integrations for insurance, maintenance, safety, accounting and more, which is unusually broad for a mid-price provider.

Is Motive good value for money?

For pure headline price, Motive is not the cheapest system on this page — RAM’s publicly listed plans come in lower per vehicle. But when you factor in everything you get, it’s one of the strongest “bang for buck” options:

• Compared with RAM, you’re paying more per vehicle, but gaining much faster GPS refresh, more advanced AI dash cams, richer maintenance tools, and a serious fuel-savings card and spend-management platform.
• Compared with Samsara or Verizon Connect, Motive is typically cheaper per vehicle while getting surprisingly close on safety, compliance and maintenance, especially if you’re prepared to lean into the AI cameras, fuel analytics, and integrations.

RAM Tracking: Best Help and Support Channels

RAM Tracking is a strong option if you want low monthly prices, simple software, and plenty of hand-holding.

The most recent US pricing we saw was listed for $15.99 per vehicle, per month on multi-year contracts (albeit, it now uses private pricing), making it one of the cheapest systems in this guide while still including professional installation and a lifetime hardware warranty on trackers.

It’s built for smaller fleets that want real-time visibility, straightforward reporting, and responsive support rather than a complex “do everything” telematics platform.

RAM pricing and contracts

RAM keeps headline costs low, but it does so by leaning on longer commitments:

• Software pricing: Industry benchmarks and our latest research suggest RAM’s US plans start at roughly $15.99 per vehicle, per month, with exact quotes varying by fleet size, contract length and add-ons, like dash cams or vehicle health trackers.
• Contracts: RAM typically works on multi-year contracts, often around three years, though packages between one and five years are available. You’ll also need to watch for auto-renewal terms, which are clearly flagged in its contracts.
• Trial and cooling-off: RAM is unusually generous for a budget provider, offering a 30-day free trial plus a 14-day cooling-off period, letting you test the platform with live vehicles before you’re locked in.
• Hardware and installation: Professional installation and a lifetime hardware warranty on trackers are normally included in the price, which significantly reduces upfront risk compared with DIY systems.

Compared with Motive’s month-to-month subscriptions, RAM asks for more commitment, but it can work out cheaper per vehicle if you’re comfortable signing a longer deal.

Key RAM features for budget-conscious fleets

RAM has quietly grown from a basic tracker into a more rounded fleet platform, while still keeping things intentionally simple:

• Real-time GPS tracking: Map-based dashboards update roughly every 30 seconds, with live status, speed and trip history for each vehicle.
• Driver behavior and safety: You can monitor harsh braking, rapid acceleration, speeding, idling and after-hours use, with alerts and scorecards to flag risky drivers. New AI-enabled dash cams and multi-camera systems are available as add-ons for deeper safety coaching and incident evidence.
• RAM Assist driver app: Drivers can complete daily vehicle checks, log expenses and submit accident or breakdown reports from the field, feeding data straight into the back-office dashboard.

• Maintenance and vehicle health: 2026 updates include automated maintenance reminders and new vehicle health trackers that plug into the OBD port to surface fault codes, battery voltage, fuel levels and other health metrics, helping you move from reactive to preventative maintenance.
• Job management (new): RAM now offers a Job Management module, with drag-and-drop scheduling, live job tracking and mobile job sheets, which tightens day-to-day control without the complexity of a full dispatch suite.
• Reporting and compliance support: You get automated journey history, time-on-site and financial/CO₂ reports, which help with customer billing and cost tracking, plus documented vehicle checks and accident logs for audit trails.

Crucially, RAM still doesn’t try to be everything. It offers only basic route planning and lacks the advanced multi-stop optimization and deep analytics you’ll get from Samsara, Azuga or Verizon Connect.

Is RAM good value for money?

For smaller fleets on tight budgets, RAM offers a lot of practical functionality for a relatively low monthly outlay. Starting prices around $16 per vehicle, per month, are among the lowest we’ve seen for a full, professionally-installed GPS tracking system, especially once you factor in:

• Included installation and lifetime warranties (which reduce up-front and replacement costs over a long contract)
• Genuinely useful support tools like RAM Assist, accident management and automated maintenance/vehicle health alerts, which many cheap rivals still don’t provide
• Strong support reputation, with consistently high scores for customer service across review platforms, which backs up its “best help and support channels” badge

You do pay for that value through contract length. If your biggest priority is flexibility — for example, if you’re trialing GPS tracking for the first time or running a highly seasonal fleet — Motive’s month-to-month plans will usually suit you better.

If you know you’ll be tracking vehicles for several years and want a low per-vehicle cost plus responsive human support, though, RAM is one of the most compelling “cheap but capable” options on this page.

Samsara: Best for Managing Vehicles

Samsara is the “not exactly cheap, but extremely capable” option on this page. It’s usually one of the more expensive systems in our rankings, but you’re paying for a serious vehicle-management stack: fast GPS tracking, deep diagnostics, AI video safety and strong compliance tools in a single, polished platform.

For fleets that rack up long highway miles or run mixed assets (trucks, trailers, equipment), Samsara gives you more control over vehicle health than most rivals.

Samsara pricing and contracts

Samsara keeps official pricing behind a quote form, but recent independent benchmarks are fairly consistent:

• Software: Most fleets report around $27-$33 per vehicle, per month, for core GPS + ELD packages, with heavier use of AI video or advanced analytics pushing real-world costs higher.
• Hardware: Vehicle gateways and cameras are typically a one-off $99–$148 per vehicle, depending on whether you choose basic trackers or AI dash cams.

Where Samsara really stops feeling “cheap” is the commitment:

• Minimum contract: Small US fleets are usually asked to sign a three-year contract, with the software license (including hardware, connectivity and updates) paid upfront for the full term.
• Payment model: Once you’re in, that license covers hardware, cloud software, firmware updates and cellular data for the gateways — good for predictability, less good for cash flow.
• Trial and warranty: Samsara offsets that commitment with a 30-day trial/return window and five-year warranties on key devices, like gateways and cameras, which is stronger than most rivals.

On a pure monthly cash basis, Samsara is noticeably pricier than Motive or RAM. On a total-cost-over-three-years basis, it’s more of a “pay more upfront, get a lot included” model.

Key Samsara features for budget-conscious fleets

For a page about cheap trackers, Samsara earns its place by how much it helps you get value out of every vehicle.

Core telematics and routing

• Fast GPS and rich maps: Frequent location updates, live traffic, weather and hazard layers, and AI-assisted route building (with multi-stop routing) make it ideal for long routes and dense urban runs alike.
• Vehicle Gateway: A single plug-in device pulls GPS, engine data, fuel, fault codes, and more, feeding into Samsara’s Connected Operations® cloud for real-time dashboards and automated alerts.

Vehicle health and maintenance

• Live diagnostics and fault codes: You can see check-engine lights, DTC codes, battery voltage, fuel levels and odometer data in one place, then trigger work orders or maintenance schedules from those events.
• Maintenance scheduling: Schedules by time, mileage or engine hours, plus service histories and reminders, help extend vehicle life and reduce unplanned downtime.

AI safety and cameras

• AI dash cams and coaching: Dual-facing AI cameras, automated in-cab alerts and post-trip coaching have been shown (in Samsara’s own data) to cut crash rates by around 70%-75% over 30 months when fleets adopt the full AI safety stack.
• AI Multicam (new): A 360° multi-camera system with real-time AI detection around the vehicle, helping drivers avoid blind-spot collisions and giving safety teams HD video and audio context for incidents.
• Drowsiness detection and wearables: AI-powered drowsiness detection and a new connected wearable extend safety beyond the cab, giving earlier warnings of fatigue and unsafe behavior.

Is Samsara good value for money?

Against the rest of these low-cost solutions, Samsara sits in a slightly different category:

• Not the cheapest: Starting prices around $27+ per vehicle, per month, plus a three-year upfront commitment mean it will never win a lowest-monthly-cost comparison versus RAM or a more flexible option like Motive.
• Very strong ROI for heavy-use fleets: If you’re running high-mileage trucks, mixed assets or safety-critical operations, Samsara’s AI video, maintenance automation and compliance tools can pay for themselves through fewer crashes, less downtime, and better fuel and route efficiency.
• Overkill for very small fleets: If you just need occasional location checks and simple alerts at the lowest possible cost, Samsara is likely to be too big and too committed for what you need — Motive or RAM will usually be a better “cheap” fit.

So, on a page about cheap vehicle trackers, Samsara isn’t the budget superstar — that’s RAM and, to an extent, Motive. But for US fleets that can stomach the three-year commitment and higher per-vehicle price, Samsara offers some of the best long-term value here in terms of vehicle health, safety outcomes and operational control.

Azuga: Best for Efficient Routes

Azuga earns its spot on a cheap GPS trackers list, not by being the absolute lowest price but by offering strong route optimisation at a mid-market cost.

Its BasicFleet plan sits in the same ballpark as Motive, but you’re getting very capable routing tools, driver-behavior scoring, and a growing AI safety camera stack that can meaningfully reduce wasted miles and crash risk.

Overall, it’s a good fit for delivery, service and multi-stop fleets that care more about shaving minutes off each route than they do about rock-bottom subscription fees.

Azuga pricing and contracts

The nice thing about Azuga is that (for once in this space) it actually publishes clear headline pricing:

• BasicFleet: $25 per vehicle, per month — GPS tracking, geofencing, alerts, driver scores, driver rewards and core reports
• SafeFleet: $30 per vehicle, per month — adds more safety tools like distracted-driving alerts, panic buttons and scheduled maintenance tracking
• CompleteFleet: $35 per vehicle, per month — higher-frequency tracking, custom reporting and more hands-on support for larger fleets
• AI SafetyCam: Dual-facing AI cameras from $49.99 per vehicle, per month

On the contract side, Azuga is not the most flexible option on this page:

• Typical terms run 12 to 60 months, with three-year contracts very common and automatic 12-month renewals if you don’t cancel in time.
• Some contracts (judging by customer and review-site examples) include a 60-day cancellation window around renewal, but otherwise early termination can trigger extra fees and hardware charges.

Azuga generally offers demos rather than true free trials, so you should assume you’ll be committing based on a demo environment and references, not a month of live use.

Key Azuga features for budget-conscious fleets

Azuga is on this page because it helps fleets squeeze real value out of every mile, especially via routing and behavior change.

Core tracking and routing

• GPS refresh: Standard refresh is around 30 seconds, which is fine for most road fleets. Some packages let you upgrade to 15-second refresh for a higher fee.
• Machine-learning route optimisation: Azuga Routes uses algorithms, GPS and live traffic data to build and rebalance routes with multiple stops, time windows, volume constraints and more, designed specifically for delivery and field-service fleets.
• Fuel-savings focus: Azuga’s own guides lean heavily on cutting fuel through better routes and less idling; that’s where a lot of the ROI comes from for cost-sensitive fleets.

Driver behavior, safety and AI

• Driver scores and rewards: Even on BasicFleet, you get driver scoring, gamification and rewards, built to nudge drivers toward smoother, safer driving and lower fuel use. External data points to sizeable reductions in citations, accidents, and wear and tear when fleets lean into these tools.
• AI SafetyCam: Azuga’s dual-facing AI SafetyCam and newer SafetyCam Pro/Plus lines use cloud AI to detect unsafe behaviors (tailgating, phone use, harsh events), push in-cab alerts and send actionable clips to managers. ADAS-style alerts (forward-collision, lane departure) are supported once the camera is calibrated.
• Real-time coaching: Azuga Coach combines camera data with in-vehicle notifications and personalised training videos, helping reduce the need for expensive classroom training while keeping coaching continuous.

Vehicle management and compliance

• Maintenance tracking: Mid-tier plans add scheduled maintenance tracking and reminders, with service histories to help extend vehicle life — useful if you’re holding onto older vans or trucks.
• Diagnostics and ELD (higher tiers): Higher plans unlock vehicle diagnostics, Driver Vehicle Inspection Report (DVIR) tools, and ELD/HOS support, so you can roll tracking, compliance and maintenance into a single platform, rather than juggling separate systems.

Azuga still isn’t trying to compete with Verizon or Samsara on deep, enterprise-grade analytics across every asset type. Instead, its sweet spot is “enough sophistication to materially cut miles and crashes,” without forcing you into a sprawling IoT ecosystem.

Is Azuga good value for money?

On this page, Azuga sits between the ultra-budget world of RAM and the heavyweight complexity of Verizon and Samsara:

• Cheaper than the big guns: At $25-$35 per vehicle, per month, Azuga typically undercuts Samsara and sits close to Verizon’s mid-tier pricing while still giving you solid routing, safety and maintenance tools.
• More expensive — but smarter — than bare-bones systems: RAM will usually beat Azuga on raw monthly price, especially for simple “dots on a map” tracking, but Azuga’s machine learning route optimisation, driver gamification and AI cameras are designed to claw that difference back in fuel, time and risk savings.
• Contract risk is the main downside: The three-year norm and auto-renewal terms mean Azuga is best for fleets that are very confident they want to stick with the platform. If you’re still experimenting with GPS tracking, you might find Motive’s shorter terms or RAM’s more forgiving cancellation policies a better starting point.

Verizon Connect: Best Vehicle Tracking Features

Verizon Connect is the powerhouse on this list. It’s rarely the cheapest option month-to-month, but its Reveal platform offers some of the most advanced tracking, routing, AI video and vehicle-management tools available — especially for larger fleets that care about detailed reporting and safety outcomes more than rock-bottom subscription fees.

Verizon Connect pricing and contracts

Verizon keeps official pricing behind a quote form, but 2026 benchmarks and review data give a fairly clear picture:

• Reveal Starter (basic tracking): Market data suggests roughly $20-$25 per vehicle, per month, for simple live maps, speed/location data, and route replay.
• Full Reveal with integrated video: Most sources put full-fat Reveal with richer analytics, maintenance tools, and integrated video in the $40-$45+ per vehicle, per month range, with some comparisons quoting $25 for GPS and basic camera and $60+ for GPS plus AI dash cam, depending on the package and discounts.

Contract-wise, Verizon is firmly not the most flexible option on this page, either:

• Standard term: Typical contracts run to 36 months for Reveal, with early-termination fees if you cancel before the term ends.
• Auto-renewal: Support docs note that contracts auto-renew 60 to 90 days before the end date, unless you contact Verizon to stop renewal, so the cancellation window matters.
• Upfront and add-ons: You’ll usually see activation fees and possibly bundled hardware costs baked into the overall deal, especially if you’re adding AI dash cams or extended view cameras.

Compared to this page’s genuinely “cheap” tools (like RAM or a bare-bones Motive setup), Verizon Connect is a mid- to high-priced option with long commitments — which is why it tends to make most sense for fleets large enough to exploit all the extras.

Key Verizon Connect features for budget-conscious fleets

For a “best cheap GPS trackers” guide, Verizon earns its place because of how much control and risk reduction you can get for that higher price.

Core tracking, routing and analytics

• Near real-time GPS: Reveal’s “near real-time” tracking updates roughly every 30 seconds, surfacing location, driver behavior, fuel consumption and vehicle health in one dashboard.
• High-resolution maps and geofencing: Detailed mapping with geofences around yards, depots and customer sites, plus time-on-site and route replay to help verify jobs and spot inefficiencies.
• Advanced reporting: Customizable dashboards and performance analytics let you drill into idle time, speeding, fuel waste and driver performance — and export data for finance or operations teams.

AI dash cams and safety

• Integrated video and AI dash cams: Verizon’s Integrated Video and AI dash cam packages provide HD dual-facing video, real-time in-cab alerts and automated upload/tagging of risky events (harsh braking, tailgating, distraction, tiredness, phone use, smoking, etc.).
• Extended View Cameras (2026): Newly-launched rear, side and cargo cameras provide near-360° coverage, especially useful for larger trucks, trailers and construction vehicles, and they feed directly into the same Reveal dashboard and coaching workflow.
• Coaching workflows: AI events are ranked by severity, with tools to mark clips as “coachable” and track coaching status, helping safety teams focus on the small percent of drivers causing most of the risk.

Vehicle management and compliance

• Vehicle diagnostics and maintenance: Reveal pulls DTC fault codes, mileage and engine data to trigger maintenance alerts, log service histories, and help reduce unexpected breakdowns — a big cost lever for large fleets.
• DVIR updates: A more customizable DVIR module has been rolled out, simplifying daily inspections and tying them directly to maintenance and compliance workflows in Reveal.
• Fuel and utilization: Tools for tracking fuel consumption and utilization across vehicles, which can highlight underused assets or inefficient routes that are inflating your costs.

Is Verizon Connect good value for money?

Against the other cheap GPS trackers on this page, Verizon Connect is the least cheap by most definitions:

• Pricing: Even the starter tier tends to cost more than RAM and often more than a basic Motive setup. Full Reveal with AI cameras is closer to the top end of the market.
• Contracts: Standard three-year terms with auto-renewal and early-termination fees mean it’s not a low-risk, try-and-see option.

But value isn’t just about the line on your software bill:

• For larger or safety-critical fleets, Verizon’s AI dash cams, extended view cameras, ADAS alerts, and maintenance/DVIR tools can materially reduce crashes, claims, downtime and unplanned maintenance — areas where small improvements often dwarf the software cost.
• For smaller fleets that mainly want basic GPS tracking and a few alerts at the lowest possible monthly price, Verizon is likely overkill; RAM or a stripped-down Motive package will feel far better aligned with a “cheap GPS” brief.

Should I Just Choose the Cheapest Vehicle Trackers?

It might be tempting to choose the cheapest option available, but when it comes to vehicle tracking, you really have to read the fine print. It is best to ensure that you’re getting the features you need. You might subscribe to a package that sounds stellar, only to find out later that it lacks certain driver or vehicle management features that are crucial for your business.

Cutting corners could be costly in the long run, so instead of just opting for the cheapest system, it’s essential to consider crucial features that can make or break your fleet management game:

• Route optimization
• Geofencing
• Maintenance scheduling
• Driver monitoring
• Powerful alerts
• Anti-theft features
• Vehicle diagnostics
• Expense management
• Fuel card integrations
• Fuel management tools
• Electronic logging devices
• Automatic tax reporting

Not sure where to begin? Check out our curated list of the best fleet management software in the US.

How Did We Compare Cheap GPS Trackers?

At Expert Market, we are committed to providing you with the most reliable and up-to-date information to help you choose the best and most affordable GPS tracking system for your business. To bring you the most comprehensive analysis of each system, our team of unbiased software researchers compared and evaluated several key factors, such as:  

• Route optimization: How efficiently it can guide you to the swiftest and safest routes, no matter the weather or the traffic conditions.
• Driver scheduling/dispatching: If it can help you seamlessly assign drivers to routes, manage their schedules and monitor their progress throughout the day. 
• Price: We scrutinize its value for money and if it offers bundle pricing and long-term deals.
• Vehicle management: To help keep your vehicles in tip-top shape, we inspect if it has intuitive maintenance, scheduling and diagnostic tools. 
• Product features: We investigate its cutting-edge features to help give you unmatched control over your fleet.
• Help and support channels: We examined each of its support channels and its ability to give you quality support 24/7.