| Monthly subscription price | Hardware cost | Ideal for | ||
| Force Fleet Tracking |  | $20 per vehicle | Included | Small business |
| Trackport OBD-II |  | Basic: $29.99 per vehicle Plus: $39.99 per vehicle Premium: $49.99 per vehicle | $41.95-$169.00 | |
| Connect OBD-II |  | ~$6 per vehicle | $389.68 | |
| OneStep GPS |  | $13.95 per vehicle | Included | |
| Azuga |  | BasicFleet: $25 per vehicle SafeFleet: $30 per vehicle CompleteFleet: $35 | Included | Advanced dispatching |
| Momentum IoT |  | $15 per vehicle per month +$6 per vehicle per month for fleet maintenance plug in +$2 per vehicle per month for PowerSense plug in | Included | |
| Verizon Connect |  | $20-$40 per vehicle | Included | Large fleets |
| Samsara |  | $27 per vehicle | ~$100 per unit | Large trucking and transportation operations |
Tell us if this story sounds familiar: Tony, the owner of 123 Plumbing, heard that he could save some money by tracking the company’s small fleet of vans. He did a quick Google search and found a cheap GPS tracker that plugged right into his vehicles’ OBD-II port and would give him data right away—no crazy setup required and no monthly subscription fee that he could see. Within a week, his vehicles are having electronic issues, and one has had its battery go completely dead.
What happened? Essentially, Tony’s new OBD-II trackers had a conflict with the vehicle’s internal computer and a very costly disaster ensued. And unfortunately, this could happen to anyone, especially with plug-and-play devices that have only been on the market for a few years.
Small business owners don’t have the time or money to find out the hard way which OBD-II trackers are going to cause issues. That’s why we’ve put together this comprehensive primer on OBD-II vehicle trackers. It explains:
- What OBD-II trackers are and how they work
- The top plug-and-play GPS trackers available today
- Which OBD-II GPS tracker is the best for small business
What is an OBD-II tracker?
OBD-II GPS trackers are GPS tracking devices that are installed directly via a vehicle’s onboard diagnostics port. While many other types of GPS tracking devices are hardwired directly to the vehicle’s battery and ignition in a process that requires professional intervention, these plug-and-play devices simply plug into a vehicle’s OBD-II port.
The benefits of OBD-II trackers
There are many benefits to OBD-II GPS tracking devices, especially for small businesses. For one, they’re easy to install and compatible with nearly every car, pickup, or van from 1996 on. There’s no need for a costly professional installation with these devices, so they’re easy on the wallet. They also tend to be easy on the eyes, with the best ones being very discrete, easy to hide, and not requiring any unseemly cables.
Beyond the basics and aesthetics, OBD-II trackers record and deliver valuable vehicle diagnostic information that you’d typically have to go to your mechanic to discover. When your vehicle’s “check engine” warning lights up, the best OBD-II GPS trackers describe the diagnostic trouble code, or DTC code for you in plain English. Having access to the onboard diagnostics means that good OBD-II trackers will have an impressive suite of features including vehicle health and maintenance monitoring, driver safety features, idling and fuel consumption reports, and more. They also keep the data coming, even when the vehicle is turned off.
With their easy install and compact sizing, OBD-II trackers are ideal for pickups, vans, and other light- to medium-duty vehicles.
How do you install an OBD-II tracker?
To install an OBD-II tracker, all you have to do is locate the port, which is usually under the steering wheel console on the driver’s side of the car, then plug the device in. Afterwards, you just take the vehicle for a quick spin to calibrate.
The best OBD-II trackers
As with most technology solutions, no two solutions are the same, and they’re definitely not suited to every business’ needs. That’s why we’ve broken down the most popular OBD-II trackers available on the market today to help you understand which service will best meet your needs.
Force Fleet Tracking
| Pros | Cons |
| No contracts | No hard-wired option |
| No hidden fees | Not available for personal use |
| Hardware is included in the price | Free hardware must be returned if you cancel |
| Vehicle health & maintenance alerts included at no extra cost | |
| Idling reports | |
| Driver safety | |
| RoadScore | |
| TireCheck | |
| Route histories | |
| Alerts for harsh braking, speeding, dangerous driving | |
| Disturbance alerts |
Force Fleet Tracking is a fleet tracking service built specifically for small businesses that uses OBD-II GPS tracking devices to provide actionable insights into fleets. It’s straightforward, affordable, and provides a full suite of powerful features for one simple price–no add-ons or sneaky charges.
There are no contracts or commitments required to get started with Force’s plug-and-play OBD-II tracker, which is about the size of an Airpods case and plugs into your vehicles discreetly.
The full suite of Force’s GPS tracking solution alleviates all of the major operations troubles that businesses with small fleets face with the ability to monitor vehicle health and improve driver safety records, all while tracking your vehicles in real time.
The Force platform also alerts you to hazardous or unauthorized behaviors in real time, like if a driver enters or exits their geofenced area, unplugs their tracking device or engages in unsafe activities. The system stores detailed trip histories with start and end times, mileage, speed, routes, and driving behavior, and idling, maintenance reports, and other features have been shown to save Force customers up to 40% in fuel costs.
Force’s OBD-II GPS Trackers also offer real miles-based maintenance tracking, reports and alerts, tied to actual miles driven. This means Force tells you when a vehicle is due for maintenance. The maintenance features come standard, unlike other vendors like Momentum IoT and Verizon Connect, which charge a premium for their maintenance features. Check it out here.
See the savings in real time. Check out Force’s fleet pricing.
Vyncs GPS tracker
| Pros | Cons |
| Roadside assistance add-on option | Annual contracts mean long-term commitment required |
| Unsafe driving alerts | Activation fees |
| Geofences | Hidden costs |
| Location tracking | Slow standard refresh |
| Companion app that can help you track mileage | |
| Maintenance reminders |
When you search for GPS tracking devices that don’t have monthly fees, Vyncs is one of the providers that comes up at the top of the page, but don’t let that fool you. Vyncs uses annual plans instead of month-to-month pricing, with tiers for basic, premium and professional deals to add on features like roadside assistance.
Vyncs also charges extra for things that come standard with many other companies built with fleet tracking in mind. For example, 20 second GPS sampling is an additional $40 per device per year, Live Map Auto Refresh is an additional $30 per device per year, and their ‘driver safety supercharge’ costs $35 per device per year. In addition to their annual pricing, there is a $39.99 one-time activation fee per device.
While Vyncs offers faster updates for those paying a premium, the default refresh time is actually 3 minutes.
On the positive side, their companion app can help you track your mileage and mark whether driving time was for work or personal time, and their maintenance alerts can flag minor issues like wear and tear, battery charge levels, and recall notices.
Connect OBD-II GPS Tracker
| Pros | Cons |
| Vehicle maintenance alerts | Billed annually |
| Safety alerts for aggressive driving and hard braking | Very expensive hardware |
| Historical driving activity | |
| 3-second refresh rates | |
| Aggressive driving, hard braking, and low fuel alerts | |
| Speeding and battery alerts | |
| Geofencing |
The Connect OBD-II GPS tracker by Tracking System Direct is a basic GPS tracker that has standard features for top tier pricing. With hardware costing close to $400, one would typically expect more. While it does boast 3-second GPS refresh rates, in the world of fleet telematics, anything faster than 10 seconds is overkill.
This is also another example of a service that leads its advertising by saying there are no monthly fees, but that’s only because they bill annually and you’re paying more than industry average for hardware.
OneStep GPS
| Pros | Cons |
| 2-60 second updating | Activation fee required |
| Safety alerts | |
| Geofencing | |
| Speeding, harsh braking, idling alerts | |
| Vehicle service reminders | |
| Fuel usage |
OneStep GPS offers vehicle tracking services for both personal vehicles and fleets. The solution sends you alerts for bad driving habits like speeding, fast acceleration, sharp braking, engine idling, and after hours driving. They do offer basic reporting features through their web application, but as it was initially designed for personal use, it’s not the most comprehensive feature set for home-service based businesses.
Unlike other business-focussed solutions on the market, OneStep GPS requires that you pay for your first month, last month, and a $20 activation fee, which is a significant initial outlay.
Azuga
| Pros | Cons |
| Intuitive app | 36-month contracts |
| Driver safety features | No trials |
| Vehicle maintenance reports | Lackluster refresh rates |
| Dispatch | More expensive than other solutions with similar offering |
| Idling | |
| Geofences | |
| Timecards | |
| Advanced smart routing system add-on |
Azuga is a fleet tracking solution that enables organizations to monitor driver behaviors, set custom geofences, and in cab safety alerts, driver specific coaching. Where Azuga really excels is with Azuga Routes, an add-on that lets you schedule routes with integrated telematics data, accounting for commercial routing restrictions, time windows, volume and weight constraints, predictive weather constraints and more.
They have a few pricing tiers with contracts starting at 3-year terms. Their most basic offering is $25 per vehicle per month and doesn’t include standard fleet tracking features like vehicle diagnostics, maintenance alerts, or trip logs, which is a significant departure from other solutions. You have to subscribe at $35 per month to get minute-by-minute tracking; not only is that expensive, but competitors have much faster refresh rates on standard plans.
Momentum IoT
| Pros | Cons |
| No contracts | Fleet maintenance and equipment usage tracking are not included in standard pricing. |
| PowerSense add on allows for equipment usage tracking | No dedicated driver safety features |
| Asset tracking for job sites | No diagnostic descriptions for most makes, DTC codes missing for many makes |
| Geofences | Bulky hardware and cables must be hung under the dashboard, often in the way |
| Speed alerts | |
| Mileage history |
Momentum IoT is a GPS fleet tracking solution for small and mid-size fleets consisting of trucks, trailers, heavy equipment, and light equipment like winches.
Momentum IoT offers a simple solution for companies in the construction, oil and gas, and agriculture industries looking to track their fleet and get high level reports. Customers must pay extra to keep track of preventative maintenance schedules and get alerts for vehicle services.
Momentum IoT also allows users to set geofencing alerts, get speed notifications and see trip and mileage history; however, it doesn’t have any alerts for harsh braking or unsafe behavior, and their maintenance features aren’t included in the standard pricing. If you want more than a general overview, you’ll have to pay extra for things like preventative maintenance and tool usage information.
Find out why small business owners prefer Force. Hear what our customers have to say.
Verizon Connect
| Pros | Cons |
| International coverage | Long contract periods |
| Automated maintenance alerts | Expensive compared to similar services |
| Unauthorized break or detour tracking | Steep learning curve |
| Dynamic routing | |
| Live map with route replay | |
| Speed alerts | |
| Geofences |
Verizon Connect is a GPS fleet tracking software with lots of add-ons and extensive data collection. Beyond the standard fleet tracking solutions, Verizon Connect offers intense analytics, asset tracking, and route optimization add ons with extra apps for drivers and fleet managers.
Larger fleets with internal data scientists will potentially get more value out of Verizon’s services, since larger companies can collect more data which will in turn help them gain more insights.
Samsara
| Pros | Cons |
| Automated maintenance alerts | Contracts are 3-5 years long |
| Vehicle diagnostics dashboard | Pay for hardware |
| Heat maps of routes taken | Clients must sign up for at least three years, with a minimum of three vehicles. |
| Real-time vehicle location | |
| Dash camera add ons | |
| Temperature probes |
Samsara is a comprehensive tracking platform for large-scale fleets. It provides fleet managers with tracking, fuel and maintenance data, and equipment monitoring for trailers, large trucks, production facilities, and construction sites. Samsara offers a wide variety of hardware add-ons including tracking devices, dash cameras, environmental monitors, temperature probes, and asset trackers to support use cases for industrial applications.
Samsara provides robust solutions for enterprises, however their years-long contracts and complex implementation processes aren’t flexible or simple enough for small businesses.
The final word on GPS trackers for small business
Compared to other fleet management tools and plug-in trackers on the market, Force is the best option for small businesses, and it largely comes down to the actual GPS vehicle tracker itself.
Force’s hardware is exceptional by comparison to other GPS trackers. It’s easy to install and has the least amount of power consumption or interference with the vehicle’s electronics, meaning it will help preserve battery life.
Ultimately, a number of services aren’t doing their due diligence to make sure that their trackers that plug into the OBD-II port aren’t interfering with the vehicle’s Electronic Control Unit. Different devices will do different things after all, and not all GPS trackers are built the same. Since Mojio has a decade of history working in this space, the Force solution has the most extensive vehicle data library in the industry.
When you combine an extensive vehicle diagnostics library with 10-second GPS refresh and a feature set designed explicitly for small and mid-sized field service businesses you get the best GPS trackers for small businesses that won’t fry your electronics.
Feel the Force difference, for free. Start your free trial today.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Force different from other fleet tracking software?
Force is completely optimized for small businesses and home services companies. From easy-to-use features to low pricing and no contracts, Force offers the best value for money for fleets between 2 or more vehicles.
How does the free trial work?
When you sign up for a 14-day free trial, Force ships you a free GPS tracking device for each of your vehicles. If you’d like to keep using Force after your free trial period is over, simply continue using the service. Your first billing date will be 14 days after you begin your trial. If you choose not to continue after your trial, just notify the team and they’ll send you a prepaid shipping label to return the devices.
How do I know if my vehicle is compatible?
Force is compatible with virtually any vehicle that has an OBD-II port, which includes nearly all cars, vans and light trucks manufactured from 1996. If you’re unsure, contact the team and we’ll verify whether your vehicles are compatible.
How much time does installation take?
Force can be installed in just a few minutes per vehicle. Simply plug the devices into the OBD-II port and follow a few simple on-screen instructions in your web browser.
What if I need help getting started?
Force is designed to be as easy to set up and use as possible. That said, Force’s team of friendly support agents are on call and the Help Center is full of resources to help you get started.
How much money can my small business save using Force Fleet Tracking?
How much you save using GPS fleet tracking will depend on the issues your business is facing. Between preventing wage loss, stopping expensive driving habits, avoiding breakdowns, and improving customer satisfaction, this can add up fast. An average fleet running 5 vehicles will save more than $4,400 in fuel costs in a year, just by managing idle time! And that doesn’t even include the value of getting to more jobs on time.
