The short answer
For a UK small business, GPS tracking usually costs somewhere between a few pounds and around £20 per vehicle or person, per month. Hardware trackers add the price of the unit and often installation; phone-based apps skip both. The cheapest option that works well is usually a phone app if your team already carries smartphones — TrackLink, for example, is £16 a month for one manager and three tracked people.
What you are actually paying for
Every GPS tracking service charges for the same three things, just packaged differently:
- The device that knows where it is. Either a dedicated tracker (a box wired into a van, or a battery unit stuck to a trailer) or the smartphone someone already carries.
- Getting the location to you. The device has to send its position over a mobile network. Hardware trackers carry their own SIM and data plan; a phone app uses the phone’s existing data.
- The software you look at. The live map, route history, reports and alerts — usually the part the monthly fee is really for.
So when you compare prices, compare the total for your team over a year, not the headline monthly figure.
Typical GPS tracking costs in the UK
| Type | Upfront | Ongoing |
|---|---|---|
| Hardwired vehicle tracker (telematics) | Unit plus professional installation, sometimes bundled into a contract | Commonly around £8–£20 per vehicle per month, often on a 24–36 month contract |
| Battery or plug-in tracker | The unit, typically tens of pounds | A data subscription for most models, plus your time charging or replacing batteries |
| Phone-based tracking app | Nothing if the team has smartphones | A per-person or per-plan subscription; no installation, no hardware to replace |
These are broad market ranges, not quotes — suppliers price very differently, and many hide the true total behind a contract. Which brings us to the costs that don’t appear on the price page.
Hidden costs of GPS tracking services to avoid
- Long contracts. A low monthly price tied to a three-year term can cost more than a higher price you can cancel. Ask what happens if your fleet shrinks.
- Installation and removal. Hardwired trackers need fitting — and fitting again when you change vehicles, which small businesses do often.
- Hardware replacement. Lost, broken or out-of-date units are often your cost.
- Charging per feature. Some services sell the map, history, alerts and reports as separate tiers. Check that the features you need are in the price you were quoted.
- History limits. How far back can you look? Some cheap plans keep only a few days.
- Per-user fees for managers. A plan might be cheap per vehicle but charge again for every office login.
The cheapest GPS tracker that actually works well
“Cheapest” and “works well” pull in different directions. The cheap trackers that disappoint people usually fail on one of three things: the accuracy of the position, how often it updates, or a battery that dies halfway through the day.
If your team already carries Android phones, a phone app is almost always the cheapest option that still works well: modern phones have excellent GPS receivers, the data cost is already paid, and there’s nothing to install. Where a phone app is not the answer is tracking things rather than people — see tracking company assets.
What TrackLink costs
TrackLink is priced per person, not per feature. Every plan includes the live map, route history, groups, zone alerts and CSV export.
- Base plan: £16 a month (or £160 a year) — 1 Hub seat for a manager and 3 Track seats for the people being tracked.
- More people: Track seats come in packs of five for £22 a month (£4.40 a seat). Once you have three packs, single extra seats are £5 each.
- More managers: Hub seats come in packs of two for £11 a month, then £6 each.
- 14-day free trial, no card needed to start, and 30 days of route history included.
Worked example: a team of 20 people tracked with three managers comes to £103 a month on the web. Prices above are for signing up on the web; subscribing inside the Android app through Google Play costs a little more (£18 for the base plan). See full pricing.
How to budget for GPS tracking
- Count the people or vehicles you actually need to see, and how many people need to see them.
- Decide whether you are tracking people (a phone app fits) or assets (you need hardware).
- Work out the total over 12 months, including installation, hardware and any contract minimum.
- Use a free trial with two or three real team members before committing the whole business.
Common questions
Is GPS tracking worth it for a small business?
For most teams that drive for work, yes — the savings from fewer wasted journeys, quicker answers to customers and less time spent chasing people usually outweigh a few pounds a month per person. See how GPS tracking improves efficiency.
Do I have to sign a long contract?
Not always. Many hardwired systems use 24 to 36 month contracts, while app-based services such as TrackLink are monthly or annual and can be cancelled.
Does a GPS tracking app use a lot of mobile data?
No — a location update is tiny. At the standard intervals (every 30 seconds, 60 seconds or 5 minutes, with 5-second and 1-second modes as explicit opt-ins) the data use is small compared with normal phone use.