Written by Matt Reed Reviewed by James Macey Updated on August 16, 2024 On this page Samsara’s Pros and Cons How Much Does Samsara Cost? Samsara's Standout Features Samsara vs Other Fleet Management Systems Does Samsara Have Good Customer Reviews? Verdict Expand Our site is reader-supported – by clicking our links, we can match you with a potential supplier, and we may earn a small commission for this referral. Samsara is amongst the best GPS fleet management systems around, with a wide range of features for locating vehicles, reducing fleet costs, and the general asset monitoring. These qualities have earned it the title of the best system for managing vehicles from all the fleet management platforms we’ve investigated. In the below Samsara review, we look at what it can offer you in more detail, including considerations of price, standout features, and comparisons to other solutions on the market.Here at Expert Market, we’ve been helping our readers find the right business solutions for over 15 years. Read on to find out whether Samsara will be a good fit for your fleet. Samsara Review: Pros, Cons and OverviewSamsara performs exceptionally well in several key areas, including vehicle management, tracking, and driver management. However, it also has some notable drawbacks, particularly in terms of pricing and customer support.Here’s a summary of what it can offer you fleet business before we jump into the full Samsara review. Samsara 4.6 Pricing Estimate From $27 to $33 per month Compare quotes Overview Whether your transportation fleet carries goods or people, your routes must be optimized to get those jobs done quickly – saving you money and fuel. This is where Samsara’s route optimization feature comes in.After you’ve entered a series of upcoming jobs, Samsara can use traffic predictions and the average time your drivers spend at each site to automatically plan your fleet’s schedule, ordering the jobs and pencilling in departure times to plot out the most efficient day for your drivers. This feature, among others, earned Samsara the second-best score for tracking.Not to mention Samsara’s unique driver messaging, which helps you to quickly and safely communicate any changes directly to your drivers, and its comprehensive fuel usage reporting, which we believe to be the best on the market.Plus, Samsara also provides insightful fleet maintenance reports that give a quick view of your fleet’s overall health – keeping you informed of everything from the services and inspections your vehicles are due to the insurance that needs to be renewed. These two great features ensure Samsara earns a perfect score in both driver and vehicle management.Overall, Samsara is in the second spot of all the fleet management tools we've tested, just behind Verizon Connect. The only major shortcoming is that its price won't appeal to all businesses. Read more + Read less - Strengths Superb vehicle management like detailed fuel use tracking, vehicle diagnostics and maintenance scheduling Top tier vehicle tracking with real-time updates and traffic alerts Efficient driver management system with Kiosk Mode designed for accurate log-keeping and safety alerts to prevent distracted drivers Weaknesses No installation support Not cost effective Strict data limit on Wi-Fi hotspots of up to 500MB/month by default Pricing See more See less Samsara Pricing Samsara provide bespoke software packages on a case-by-case basis (as is industry norm). Pricing varies by contract length, fleet size, and features chosen. The prices listed above are an estimate based on our research. Samsara is our top pick for managing vehicles Samsara has map customization and AI-powered real-time alerts, which will help you track your fleet efficiently. Learn more by visiting Samsara’s website Visit Samsara Get curated prices from Samsara Samsara Review: Design and LayoutSamsara’s design is user-friendly, with a clean and intuitive interface that makes it easy for fleet managers to access the information they need. The system’s dashboard is highly customizable, allowing users to prioritize the data most relevant to their operations. This design flexibility is particularly beneficial for managing large fleets, as it enables efficient monitoring of multiple vehicles and drivers simultaneously.The layout of the system supports quick navigation, with all essential tools accessible from the main dashboard. Features such as real-time tracking, fuel monitoring, and driver management are integrated seamlessly, reducing the learning curve for new users.Samsara’s route map lets you see the progress made by your driver, including notes on missed stops - Source: Samsara Samsara Review: Pricing and CostsWhile Samsara does offer bespoke pricing depending on your contract length, fleet size, and chosen features, there are certainly more affordable options according to our price estimates. Here’s what our research says it costs:Software: Between $27 and $33 per vehicle, per monthHardware: Between $99 and $148 per vehicle for hardware (lower prices for longer contracts)Our data-collection has shown that the likes of RAM, Quartix, GPS Trackit, Teletrac Navman and Linxup all offer low-priced alternatives if monthly cost is a determining factor for your business.RAM, which tops our pricing analysis, has much more affordable bespoke price plans, whereas Quartix offers a starting price of $14.90. Those Samsara prices are without any add-ons, too. For instance, Driver ID, a wearable key fob that allows you to track driver vehicle usage without signing into the Samsara Driver App, costs an additional $9.99. Get Personalized Prices for Your Business Since most fleet management systems use custom pricing plans that aren’t clear to the public, we have an easy solution.Use our free quote comparison tool to compare personalized quotes from top fleet management providers. We will match you up with the best suppliers for your needs and they’ll be in touch with free, no-obligation prices tailored to your business requirements. Samsara Review: FeaturesSamsara gives you complete control over your fleet through various intelligent tracking devices, safety cameras, and industry-leading reporting features. Let’s go through its highlights, one by one.Extensive vehicle tracking toolsWhen it comes to tracking, you want to get as close to real-time updates as possible. Good news: Samsara has one of the fastest data refresh rates in the industry. It refreshes data every 30 to 60 seconds, the same as Verizon Connect, giving you near-live information about your vehicles and their locations, driver behavior, and distance. But there’s more to why Samsara is one of the best telematics companies we researched.It shows you all the information about live/active locations. Its traffic alerts efficiently overlay your maps to know which roads currently have heavy traffic, so you can avoid these roads and save time. For geofence alerts, you can customize these settings to help you monitor if your driver enters or exits a geofence area.Samsara's Dashboard Map shows all your fleet vehicles and assets, as well as their current status (green arrows indicate a moving vehicle, for example) - Source: SamsaraIn terms of alerts and notifications, you can create webhooks in your account, which helps integrate alerts into different vehicles so that when certain actions happen, you get notified right away.Excellent route optimizationOptimizing the routes taken by vehicles in your fleet will mean less driving time, which eventually means lower fuel costs – a great perk, especially in this economy. Our research into Samsara shows that route optimization is somewhere Samsara stands above most other software options.Among all the providers we’ve reviewed, only Verizon and Samsara offer automatic route optimization. However, Samsara provides a more thorough and accurate calculation of start and stop points. It optimizes a route with a maximum of 20 stops to reduce driving time. Then, it analyzes which order of stops yields the shortest distance traveled while keeping the Start Location and Last Stop constant. Samsara’s route map lets you see the progress made by your driver, including notes on missed stops - Source: SamsaraYou can look back on routes that have already happened, helping you figure out where your drivers have been, if they skipped any stops and if any other problems have arisen so you can make changes to future routes accordingly.After determining the optimal order, it computes the ‘Time on Site’ report to determine the average stop duration based on the recent driving history.Samsara shows the timeliness of your drivers compared to the predicted timeframes - Source: SamsaraSmart driver managementSamsara’s driver portal gives you an overview of your drivers’ active driving times, start and end locations, distance, and driver information. It has Kiosk Mode, where drivers can edit their on and off-duty statuses for accurate logs. If you need to send an urgent instruction to your driver, you can easily send them a direct message on the dashboard. Samsara will notify your driver, but they cannot open messages while in Driving Mode. If your driver attempts to access the messages while driving, Samsara will send a warning message.If you have a dashcam, you can also replay and review ‘harsh driving events’ to see exactly what went wrong. This can help identify what topics drivers could use more training or guidance on going forward.Samsara automatically logs harsh driving events triggered by camera or vehicle activity - Source: SamsaraBest-in-class vehicle maintenance and managementIn short, Samsara is the best choice for managing vehicles. It checks all the boxes to help you manage your fleet smoothly, from fuel monitoring to maintenance scheduling, and theft prevention.Samsara’s fuel monitoring feature is convenient and comprehensive, and it’s what every fleet manager needs to stay on top of fuel usage and cut down costs. Unlike software such as Teletrac, it provides a detailed breakdown of the fuel usage of all the vehicles in your fleet.The details include the vehicle name, current driver, current fuel level, amount of fuel used, estimated fuel costs, idle time, and runtime, as you can see in the image below. Samsara Fuel & Energy dashboard highlights the fuel efficiency and costs of each tracked vehicle - Source: Expert MarketYou can also run reports automatically on your most convenient setting, be it per day, week, or month. This allows you to review vehicle diagnostics and get alerted whenever a faulty system is detected, which Samsara will automatically sync with your data.You can even review your total distance traveled and evaluate the average usage of all your vehicles. This feature is handy for fleet managers as they can easily track return on investments and know which equipment is worth investing in in the future. Thereafter, you can schedule regular maintenance checks and review maintenance records as and when you need to. To make the process even easier, you can use mileage data to automatically determine when it’s time for you to get your fleet vehicles checked. The system also monitors other metrics, such as engine and cargo temperature, to prevent damage and loss of product.And to help prevent theft attempts, Samsara also sends alerts if the vehicle leaves any specified geofenced areas that you want to keep your vehicles inside of. How Does Samsara Compare with Other Fleet Management Systems?Samsara ranks second overall in our market analysis with a score of 4.6/5. Here’s how Samsara matches up with other fleet management systems in the US: Swipe right to see more 0 out of 0 backward forward FEATURED PROVIDER Motive Best for managing vehicles Samsara Best Samsara alternative Verizon Connect Best for managing drivers Teletrac Navman TN360 Best for efficient routes Azuga Best for affordability RAM Best for smaller fleets GPS Trackit Best for minimizing downtime Linxup Best for fleets of cars Quartix Best for fast updates Spireon 4.1 4.6 4.7 4.6 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.1 4.2 4.2 Pricing (Software) Available on request Pricing (Software) From $27/month Pricing (Software) On request Pricing (Software) From $25/month Pricing (Software) From $25 to $35/month Pricing (Software) From $15.99 Pricing (Software) From $23.95 Pricing (Software) Starts at $25 per month Pricing (Software) From $14.90 to $22.90 Pricing (Software) On request Try Motive Visit Samsara Visit Verizon Visit Teletrac Visit Azuga Compare Quotes Compare Quotes Compare Quotes Compare Quotes Compare Quotes Samsara vs Verizon Connect revealSamsara’s closest competitor is Verizon Connect’s Reveal software.Samsara’s live/active tracking features are slightly more detailed compared to Verizon. Verizon allows you to track all vehicles on the map by color: green is for driving; red is for stopped; blue is for no GPS; and orange is for idle. Samsara, on the other hand, lets you filter by driver, vehicle, or gateway, and it will produce all the information from the current location to the driver’s name. The on-page architecture of the Verizon Connect Reveal web-app is straightforward to understand and has an aesthetic that is attractive on the eye - Source: Expert MarketTraffic alerts are a feature common to both Verizon and Samsara, however we reckon Verizon has the edge. Aside from overlapping your maps, as occurs on Samsara’s live map, you can also check if there are road closures along the way.Verizon offers very similar vehicle management and maintenance features, but you may have to upgrade your subscription. Only certain Verizon packages (depending on your tailored quote and business needs) can schedule automatic maintenance and maintain these records. As for theft prevention, Verizon only sets time limits to detect theft attempts. By setting maintenance alerts, you can get ahead of any vehicle problems before they arise - Source: Expert MarketSamsara vs RAMFor a cheaper alternative, RAM is almost at par in terms of data speeds with its 60-second refresh rate. However, it lacks automatic route optimization and fuel efficiency, amongst other tracking features.Samsara’s maintenance tools are more intuitive than RAM too. The latter provides maintenance scheduling based on your total mileage but does not have automatic options. Instead, it only allows you to set self-reminders for your maintenance.Still, RAM is far better in terms of help and support, too. It allows you to schedule set-ups with its engineers at your most convenient time, whereas Samsara requires you to learn how to install a vehicle tracker yourself. It does have a Knowledge Centre you can refer to for videos and articles, but that’s it.The greater support options, less advanced features, and lower cost position RAM as a better alternative for fleet businesses new to vehicle tracking, whereas Samsara is better suited to larger operations demanding the best capabilities around. Get bespoke quotes from providers that suit your fleet Do You Already Use a Fleet Management System? Yes No Simply answer a few questions – it only takes a minute Samsara Review: Customer ReviewsTo back up our claims, we checked Samsara’s customer reviews on Capterra, Trustpilot, and G2, where we got an average customer score of 3.8/5. While most of its users applaud its stellar tracking features, this also proves to be a point of improvement for Samsara. Some users report having difficulty driving in traffic as it can be too sensitive. Here’s what they have to say: Customer review I enjoy having the insight that it provides us. Literally, with what I can see on the road and all of the back-end data, it can provide us. Samsara helps us remain compliant in our industry. So its routing functions are a leading example of what vehicle tracking should look like. Lastly, the driver app is what comes in the clutch to wrap it all up. Our staff finds the app very intuitive, and it rarely faults. It is official and its documents function helps us log valuable information that we turn into presentable data! (sic) L. Houston S., Fleet Manager Logistics & Supply Chain - Customer review Our experience with Samsara has been wonderful thus far. Their products are easy to use, a breeze to install, and training our drivers on how to use the Samsara Driver app has been smooth as silk. We did not previously have camera systems installed in our vehicles but both the drivers and management immediately saw the utility, and Samsara’s pricing made it an easy decision. (sic) Mike G., - Customer review Real-Time tracking is helpful in our business to have our vehicles location for giving delivery times to customers that aren’t present when the deliveries are made, giving the time/date and a picture of our vehicle at their facility helps with proof of delivery.Maintenance tracking is helpful for keeping vehicles service intervals to be done on time with the alerts to show up before mileage has been reaching.Following distance notifications can be annoying when driving in heavy traffic because the settings are fairly sensitive. Downloading footage from cameras can be very slow at times, not sure if that has to do with the cellar service or if there could be an update to improve that retrieval. (sic) Loren M., General Manager - Samsara Review: Verdict As we’ve outlined in this review, Samsara is the best system for managing vehicles and performs impressively across a number of areas thanks to its extensive feature-set.We’d strongly recommend it if you want to level up your fleet efficiency and reduce fuel expenses. Any fleet manager would benefit from its automatic alerts, synchronized reports, and detailed fuel monitoring functionality. As such, we recommend Samsara for fleets with many vehicles to manage and those who rely highly on deliveries.However, its price points may not fit into every business’s budget. So if you’re looking for something nearly as powerful as Samsara but will cost less, then your next best option is Teletrac Navman TN360. At a starting price of $25 per vehicle, per month, it offers top-of-the-line driver management features to keep your drivers safe and ensure utmost operational efficiency. If you want to go even cheaper, RAM is a solid choice, too.To help you find the right fleet management system, try our free quote comparison tool. It’s quick and simple. All you need to do is answer a few easy questions, and we’ll match you up with the top providers that will match your business needs. They’ll then be in touch to provide free, tailored, no-obligation quotes for you to compare. Written by: Matt Reed Senior Writer Matt Reed is a Senior Writer at Expert Market. Adept at evaluating products, he focuses mainly on assessing fleet management and business communication software. Matt began his career in technology publishing with Expert Reviews, where he spent several years putting the latest audio-related products and releases through their paces, revealing his findings in transparent, in-depth articles and guides. Holding a Master’s degree in Journalism from City, University of London, Matt is no stranger to diving into challenging topics and summarising them into practical, helpful information. Reviewed by: James Macey Senior Business Software Researcher James draws on his 4+ years experience as a researcher to offer specialized advice on a wide range of categories from CRM to Fleet Management. He believes all businesses can grow if they use the right tools and services.