The 9 Best Telematics Companies for 2023

Nobody offers telematics like Verizon; and our in-depth research can attest to this as it scores a solid 4.7/5. More advanced than any other provider on the market, Verizon is the ideal next step for fleet managers looking to take vehicle tracking and management to the next level. 

Telematics combines the power of telecommunications and informatics to transfer data from your vehicles to your fleet management dashboards, where you can interpret, monitor, and manage them. 

In this review, we’ll compare the top nine telematics companies we’ve researched according to their features in vehicle tracking, vehicle management, and reducing fleet costs. Short on time? Go directly to our free comparison tool which matches you with the provider that best suits your specific needs.

The Best Telematics Providers 2023

After extensive research into their features and pricing, we've determined these are the nine best telematics providers:

Verizon: Best Overall Telematics Provider

Verizon scores 4.7/5 in our independent research, the highest among all the suppliers we’ve researched. As the best overall telematics provider, it’s a more advanced option than most telematics systems. Verizon’s vehicle tracking features are unparalleled, making it an excellent choice for those looking to upgrade their current system. Gain maximum visibility over your fleet with daily summary reports, predictive alerts and notifications and live tracking that updates every 30 seconds. Auto route-optimization, dedicated scheduling and dispatching features allow maximum efficiency when it comes to planning.

We’re also giving extra credit to its outstanding driver management features. Incentivize your drivers with the leaderboard and points system which rewards safety and productivity while staying aware of dangerous driving and idling with alerts, which are sent to both drivers and management. You’ll be able to collect data on driving style, driving history with ELD-compliant reports specific to each driver and also maintain communication with your drivers via a direct messaging feature.

However, Verizon does have its drawbacks. Despite scoring a perfect 5/5 for vehicle management in our research, it doesn’t have a definitive theft prevention feature, as it only sets time limits and out-of-hours alerts, which can pass as theft detection, though not entirely secure. If this is non-negotiable for you, then GPS Trackit has the most promising offer. Scoring 4.3/5 in our vehicle management analysis, GPS Trackit provides 24/7 protection – even if your vehicles are turned off.

Samsara: Best Telematics Provider for Organizing Dispatches

With an overall score of 4.6/5 in our independent market research, Samsara is another strong contender for telematics. We commend its automatic route optimization feature, which provides accurate calculations (at a maximum of 20 stops) to make your journey as efficient as possible. It helps reduce driving time and fuel costs, something any fleet manager needs in this economy. You can also create webhooks in your account, allowing you to build integrations and automated alerts for your fleet. 

That’s not all – Samsara understands that every fleet has its own unique needs and preferences. Its driving style data analysis allows you to build a complete picture of your safety trends and improvements over time. In the case of harsh events such as acceleration, brakes, turns and crashes – you can set your own custom sensitivity on what is considered harsh enough to be registered, which gives greater control over reporting.

However, one of Samsara’s downsides is that it doesn’t offer installation support. For individual or smaller fleets who don’t have a designated team for this, it can hinder operations as you have to install the system on your own. Scoring 2.5/5 in our pricing analysis, it’s also not the best value for money with its price plans that start at $27 to $33 per vehicle, per month. If you’re looking for a cheaper option that offers free installation support, RAM (scoring 4.6/5 in our pricing analysis) will suit you better. However, RAM does not support automatic route optimization, fleet maintenance records, and vehicle diagnostics, which are all included in Samsara’s plans.

Azuga: Best Telematics Provider for Efficient Routes

Azuga truly understands the art of telematics, and our in-depth research can back this up. With an overall score of 4.5/5, it powers up your fleet by providing you with the most efficient routes. Its Web Platform Structure uses science-backed algorithms and machine learning to compute and analyze your journey stops. It is the most innovative calculation we’ve observed, surpassing Samsara’s automatic route optimization feature as it only calculates a maximum of 20 stops. 

Another standout feature is its fully customizable data refresh times. Although it is on par with Verizon and Samsara’s 30-second refresh rate, you can customize the speed as you see fit, between 30 seconds to 59 minutes. This is in addition to other excellent tracking features, such as the breadcrumb view to track every vehicle on your live map. 

However, there’s a loophole with its product features, as our research sees its score down to 3.8/5. It does not integrate with satellite navigation (sat nav) devices, which helps with accurate tracking and driving experience. It also does not have hardwired options, potentially weakening its security features as anyone can quickly disconnect the vehicle from the system. If you prefer having this in your telematics, we recommend opting for Verizon. Scoring 4.9/5 in our product features analysis, it offers built-in integrations which allow you to send stops, directions, and messages to your Garmin device. It also has hardwired options, along with on-board diagnostics and software options. 

Teletrac Navman TN360: Best Telematics Provider for Managing Drivers

With a perfect 5/5 score in our driver management analysis, Teletrac Navman TN360 is the best for managing drivers. Its standout features for drivers include built-in driver vehicle inspection report (DVIR) templates and a driver fatigue platform, two helpful tools that ensure the safety of your drivers and that your vehicles are in tip-top shape.

Teletrac scores 4.6/5 in our tracking analysis, with commendable tracking features, like real-time data refresh time. It is the fastest refresh rate among all the suppliers we’ve researched, as the next fastest rate is at 15 seconds, which Spireon offers. Having real-time tracking data available helps you monitor your vehicles efficiently. And unlike RAM, Quartix, and Spireon, Teletrac provides 24/7 phone support to its users, which comes in handy during urgent concerns and queries. 

However, it doesn’t offer automatic route optimization, a vital feature if you want to reduce fuel consumption and driving time. Teletrac also doesn’t have cargo and engine temperature sensors. So, if your fleet handles temperature-sensitive goods, such as food or medicine, we recommend opting for Verizon, as it uses diagnostics to detect temperature. But if you are more concerned about pricing than temperature sensors, we’d hand it to Quartix, which scores 4.4/5 in our pricing analysis. Its price plans start at a lower $14.90 per vehicle, per month, compared to Teletrac (3.4/5), which starts at $25 per vehicle, per month. 

RAM: Best Telematics Provider for Improving Driver Safety

RAM is our top recommendation for a telematics system that improves driver management. With a centralized Driver App, you’ll be able to see summaries of essential driver information including assigned vehicle, locations visited and driving time.

In terms of behavior management, you’ll receive alerts on accidents, speeding, harsh braking and acceleration which can be compiled into reports. You can encourage and reward safer driving practices with a points and leaderboard system.

Its key feature goes beyond affordable price plans because RAM also helps you manage overall fleet costs, including fuel. RAM offers financial reporting that you can integrate with your timesheet reports to effectively track travel and on-site expenses. It includes approximate fuel cost expectations and driver travel time expenditure. 

Installing telematics is also a breeze with RAM, as it schedules engineers to come in and install it for you without additional fees. This contributes to its excellent 4.6/5 score in our pricing analysis. However, RAM drops down on tracking with a score of 4.6/5. Unlike Samsara and Verizon, it doesn’t offer automatic route optimization, which could significantly reduce fleet expenses by suggesting the shortest journey for your drivers.

RAM drops further down for vehicle management as it only scores 2.3/5. It doesn’t provide vehicle diagnostics and fleet maintenance records, which are crucial when it comes to maintaining your vehicles and reducing downtime. 

GPS Trackit: Best Telematics Provider for Smaller Fleets

GPS Trackit scores 4.2/5 in our research, where we singled it out as the best provider for smaller fleets. Its features allow you to track your vehicles’ locations in real time and review mileage summaries.

We’ve identified its outstanding theft prevention feature, which provides 24/7 protection, ensuring that your vehicles are secure even when not in use. GPS Trackit also allows you to customize vehicle reporting tools, such as driver scorecards, landmark reports, and speed and safety reports. 

GPS Trackit also has the most basic interface among the suppliers we’ve looked into, making it perfect for smaller fleets that are easier to scale and monitor. 

However, its simplicity is a double-edged sword that creates a few weak points. It does not offer vehicle diagnostics, automatic route optimization, or traffic alerts, which are essential in telematics.

Even though it has a zero contract policy, GPS Trackit still doesn’t offer the best value for money, scoring a low 3.9/5 in our research. With its higher entry point at $23.95 per vehicle, per month, and limited features, we’d recommend choosing Verizon. Scoring 4.7/5 in our research, Verizon’s pricing plans start at $20 per vehicle, per month, and it has many more features on its roster, such as automatic vehicle diagnostics and detailed fuel usage reports.

Quartix: Best Telematics Provider for Managing Fuel Costs

Fuel is one of fleet management’s biggest expenses. Fortunately, Quartix, with an overall score of 4.1/5, can help you optimize this. Its system integrates data from your fuel cards to help reduce fuel costs and provides input into your vehicle’s CO2 emissions. On top of this, it also sends alerts whenever it detects driving behaviors that waste fuel, such as speeding and idling. This is why our research named Quartix the best for managing fuel costs.  

But, when it comes to reducing other fleet costs, Quartix lacks the necessary components. For starters, it doesn’t offer vehicle diagnostics or maintenance scheduling, which are essential when it comes to ensuring your vehicles function properly and are roadworthy.

It also does not support automatic route optimization, another tool that could help cut down your fleet’s fuel expenses as it provides the most efficient routes. According to our research, Samsara (scoring 4.6/5 overall) provides the most innovative approach to automatic route optimization. It calculates your stops to suggest the shortest routes for your driver.

Lastly, Quartix has a slow data refresh rate of two minutes. If you need these features, then we recommend Teletrac. Teletrac refreshes data in real time, the fastest among all the suppliers we’ve researched.

Spireon: Best Telematics Provider for Fast Updates

Spireon is another great telematics provider that helps you stay on top of vehicle tracking by providing swift data refresh times. It offers the second fastest rate at 15 seconds, next to Teletrac. Depending on the needs of your fleet, you can also choose between 30 or 60 seconds. Spireon is also versatile because it can suit small and medium-sized fleets, or mixed fleets that utilize cars, vans, and trucks. 

However, our deep dive into Spireon identified its pricing plans as its downside. With an average score of 2.5/5 in our pricing analysis, Spireon is keen on its mandatory three-year contracts. If you do not want to be tied into a lengthy contract, we’d recommend trying GPS Trackit, which employs a zero-contract policy.

It’s also worth noting that Spireon offers custom pricing plans based on fleet size, contract length, and features. But if you wish to know if its plans are suited for your business, try our free quote comparison tool. We will match you up with tailored and obligation-free pricing quotes from the top telematics providers. 

Linxup: Best Telematics Provider for Minimizing Downtime

Vehicle downtime caused by faulty systems can rack up high fleet costs and slow down your operations. Linxup, with an overall score of 4/5, is an excellent help in this category because it automatically syncs data whenever a fault is detected in your vehicle. It also produces mileage reports for every journey to help you track diagnostics. Another cost-reducing feature from Linxup is its detailed fuel reports, which include the gallons used per vehicle, fuel tax rates per state, and the due dates of taxes. 

However, Linxup scores only 4.1/5 in our tracking analysis because it doesn’t provide traffic alerts or automatic route optimization. These features are essential for tracking your vehicles but also to help minimize overall fleet costs. Automatic route optimization suggests the shortest possible routes for your drivers, which can help reduce driving time and fuel usage. On the other hand, traffic alerts also do the same by keeping your drivers away from jam-packed routes and finishing the job faster and more efficiently. If you are looking for these in your telematics provider, opt for Verizon. Scoring 4.7/5 in our research, it’s the best overall, and it ticks off all the boxes you need, including these two.

How Did We Compare the Best Fleet Telematics Companies?

Our expert in-house research team analyzed the most popular fleet telematics companies and compared them against the following criteria: 

• Vehicle management: How effectively does it keep tabs on your car’s general condition? Does it save a record of your maintenance?
• Price: Considering its features, does it offer great value for money? Does it offer a warranty, or are there any hidden fees?
• Tracking: How well does this system work for monitoring your vehicles? How quickly does it update data? Does it take traffic into account or aid in route optimization?
• Driver management: Can it track your drivers’ performance? Does it report risky driving behavior? Can you reach your driver if you have an urgent issue?
• Product features: What else does it offer in addition to these features? A mobile app? Sat nav integration? 
• Customer support: What platforms do they give their customers for support and assistance?

After identifying these factors, we combine the input from our readers to calculate their overall score. Then, we rank them and see which categories they excel.