5 Best GPS Trackers for Cars

Informed by our detailed research into the world of GPS vehicle tracking devices, we can reveal that Verizon Connect’s tracker is the best option for businesses, thanks to its outstanding tracking and product features.

But that doesn’t mean you should blindly jump onboard the SS Verizon. After all, there are plenty more options on the market, and to find the best option for your business, you'll want to weigh up cost, features, and overall tracking quality. On this page, we review and rank the top five GPS car trackers in the USA, so you can decide which of our top-rated devices would be best for tracking your business fleet.

You can also try our free quote-finding tool to compare tailored quotes from vehicle tracking system suppliers that can cater to your needs.

Best GPS Car Trackers

We're all aware of what a GPS tracker is and what it does. But while they used to be relatively simple devices that came with cars, they've evolved into multi-functional devices that can perform various services for their drivers.

With all of the GPS features that are now possible, here is our list of the top 5 options:

1. Verizon Connect: Best overall
2. Samsara: Best for managing vehicles
3. Teletrac Navman “TN360”: Best for managing drivers
4. Azuga: Best for efficient routes
5. RAM: Best for affordability

1. Verizon Connect – Best overall

While Verizon is one of the pricier systems on the market (scoring a 2.5/5 for its cost), its tracking offering is the absolute best that we've encountered during our research, scoring a 5.0/5. It offers everything you'd want – various alerts (for things like idling, speeding, harsh driving, and more), traffic alerts, and automatic route optimization.

It also has some great features, like integration with Garmin satnavs, robust Verizon phone apps, and asset tracking, scoring it a 4.9/5 for features. The only reason it's not a 5.0/5 is due to the fact that the panic button is a bit trickier to implement.

Latest updates as of April 2023 include an Asset Summary Report that details key information such as how many hours vehicles are operated for, the distance they are driven and fuel consumed over a given period, allowing you maximum visibility of your fleet.

2. Samsara – Best for managing vehicles

When it comes to vehicle tracking, Samsara is a very close second to Verizon Connect, scoring a 4.9/5. The only reason for this 0.1 point distinction is that Samsara has a 30 second to 1 minute refresh rate, while Verizon promises a 30 second refresh rate. Otherwise, Samsara offers a great set of features, like Geofencing, traffic alerts, and route optimization.

Samsara falls a bit short when looking at its offering of other features, scoring a still respectable 4.0/5. It's lacking satnav integration and a hardwired option, both of which are quite handy when considering GPS offerings. And, like Verizon, it scores a 2.5/5 for pricing.

3. Teletrac Navman – Best for managing drivers

Teletrac offers a couple of different systems, but the TN360 is the highlight here. Earning a 4.9/5 for tracking, it compares well to Samsara, Verizon, and Azuga, which also pulled almost perfect scores.

However, Teletrac does trump those three when it comes to price, scoring 3.4/5 over its competitors' 2.5/5. While none of them have concrete pricing, Teletrac's range does seem to be lower than its competitors'. Its feature score of 3.8/5 is also fairly solid, due to its solid app, hardwired option, and fuel purchase data log.

4. Azuga – Best for efficient routes

Azuga ties for second with Samsara when it comes to tracking, also scoring a 4.9/5, with its only downfall being that the alerts aren't as robust as other platforms. One of its most unique features is the ability to customize refresh time from anywhere between 30 seconds and 59 minutes, letting your drivers go with as much or as little oversight as they need.

Looking at price, Azuga scores 2.5/5, which isn't amazing, especially when its other product features aren't as robust as Verizon's or Samsara's. It's missing a hardwired option, and satnav integration, and the panic button is within the mobile app.

After a recent update, their FleetMobile integration has features that track safe driving and speeding to create an overall driver score, as well as the option to add features such as vehicle health monitoring, navigation, tracking, parked vehicle location and third-party apps.

5. RAM – Best for affordability

RAM is the cheapest platform on this list, scoring 4.6/5 in price. This doesn't compromise its GPS tracking prowess, however, as it still scores a hearty 4.6/5 in tracking. The only fault is the lack of automatic route optimization, which is admittedly a bit of a blow.

However, a 4.5 in product features is also quite solid, attributed to its hardwire option, asset tracker, and smartphone app. The only missing pieces are a panic button and integration with Satnav devices.

What's great about RAM is that they are constantly updating their product. Some of the latest updates in 2023 include the addition of geofencing, congestion zones, a customer marketplace with pre-negotiated deals for other products and user notifications to quickly see relevant information.

How Did We Find the Best Fleet Management Software?

Our team of independent researchers looked at a selection of the best and most popular fleet management systems. After finding all the information we need, the researchers then compare each platform against its competitors, allowing us to find the cream of the crop. The criteria we look at include:

Price: Simple enough – the platform with the lowest price tag scores the best

Tracking: How robust and effective are the platform's tracking features? For example, how quickly does the tracking map refresh, does the map factor in traffic, etc.

Driver Management: Tracking and logging the behavior of each of your drivers. Does Driver #3 idle his vehicle for too long? Does Driver #4 tend to speed?

Vehicle Management: Checking up on the health of your vehicles. Are they in need of maintenance? Are they well protected against theft?

Product Features: What else can the product do? Can it sync up with third-party satnavs? Is there a phone app?

Customer Support: Again, easy enough – look at the options available and see what each platform offers its customers when it comes to their support resources

After factoring in all this information, alongside the scores they received, we were able to calculate a final overall score for each fleet management system.

Expert Verdict

There are plenty of great GPS car trackers on the market, but if we had to pick, our favourite is Verizon Connect. It's not the cheapest platform out there – that accolade goes to RAM – but it's got the best tracking features of all its contemporaries, scoring a solid 5.0/5. This doesn't mean it's the only choice out there, of course.

Even fleet managers will find that some systems better serve their needs than others. That’s why it’s always important to compare quotes from local fleet management providers to find the best option for you. Just fill in this short form and we’ll get you quotes from the best suppliers in your area.