According to a recent Fleet Technology Trends report, 70% of companies in the U.S. use GPS tracking technology. Even so, only 31% of the companies achieve positive return on investment (ROI) within six months. But why do some companies take longer to record a positive ROI? The answer lies in the choice of the fleet tracker app.
Positive ROI remains elusive without the best GPS fleet tracking app or system. The problem is that with the proliferation of fleet tracking apps, buying the best is akin to finding a needle in the haystack. Ordinarily, you’d have to try numerous apps to find one that suits your company’s needs.
Thankfully, we did the donkey work. We tried numerous apps and narrowed your options to four of the best fleet tracker apps. In this guide, we’ll discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the top GPS fleet tracking apps to lower fuel costs, labor costs, and accidents.
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A GPS fleeting tracking app is a mobile app that helps fleet managers, small business owners, and business leaders monitor the activities of company vehicles or assets. The fleet GPS trackers use global positioning system (GPS) technology to provide insights into fleet operations.
Some of the best GPS fleet tracking software and systems include
Timeero — Best Fleet Tracking App for Small Businesses
Samsara — Best For Vehicle Maintenance Tracking
Verizon Connect — Best for Granular Control
Azuga Fleet — Best for Improving Drivers’ Safety
Unlike traditional telematics, which must be plugged into the vehicle, fleet tracker apps are easy to install on smartphones. Some work as standalone apps, but other GPS-tracking apps require the support of additional fleet-tracking devices for advanced tools to function.
Combining mobile apps with fleet tracking devices yields in-depth data that transcend location and mileage. For example, you may have a device plugged directly into the vehicle’s OBD port to harness data regarding vehicle maintenance or fuel consumption. The device then transmits these metrics to a centralized, cloud-based dashboard for data-back decisions.
Top 4 GPS Fleet Tracker Apps
Whether you intend to reduce fuel costs, monitor field employees, manage fleet maintenance, enhance compliance, or improve driver safety, there’s a solution for you on our list.
We’ll divulge the nitty-gritty about the apps’ strengths and weaknesses to help you make an informed buying decision.
Timeero — Best Fleet Tracking App for Small Businesses
Timeero has easy-to-use Android and iOS apps with excellent customer support.
Pros:
User-friendly mobile apps
Real-time location tracking
Accurate mileage tracking
Segmented tracking
Affordable pricing
Cons:
No vehicle maintenance tracking module
Timeero is an easy-to-use GPS tracking app built with small and growing businesses in mind. The fleeting tracking solution ticks the right boxes if you want to streamline fleet operations on an affordable budget.
The mobile app’s intuitive user interface allows drivers — including the non-tech-savvy — to figure out the app like a duck to water. The centralized dashboard provides the data for the managers to make strategic and operational decisions on the fly.
Location Tracking
Timeero GPS location tracking is ideal for distribution and delivery businesses looking to streamline delivery tracking. The location tracking software lets you create geofences around warehouses, pick-up points, and drop-off zones.
At any moment, you can open the “Who’s working” tab to see the real-time location of each driver. For example, you can tell how far a delivery vehicle is from the drop-off point to give customers more accurate ETAs. Alternatively, you can see drivers closest to a warehouse or pick-up to dispatch more efficiently.
Mileage Tracking
In addition, Timeero offers an accurate mileage-tracking app. According to the latest IRS mileage rates, every business mile you log deducts 67 from your taxable income. However, you must adhere to all IRS mileage tracking guidelines to qualify for the tax deduction.
Thankfully, the Timeero automatic mileage tracker is configured to log miles in accordance with IRS regulations. The app tracks miles when the vehicle exceeds a predefined speed threshold — this way, it prevents tracking mileage when the driver is walking.
The commuter mileage tool deducts employee commute from their business miles to boost mileage accuracy further. Remember that commute mileage isn’t tax deductible and shouldn’t feature on your business mileage logs.
Segmented Tracking
Segmented tracking helps you monitor how long vehicles spend in specific locations.
Timeero also offers a unique segmented mileage tracking feature. This tool is for you if you have a fleet of delivery trucks and want to monitor how much each truck spends at a drop-off or pick-up zone.
Traditional tools require the drivers to clock in and out at every customer location to improve tracking accuracy. Such a tracking mode can be a bane for drivers and is prone to human errors. Segmented tracing throws all issues out of the window.
The driver must only clock in once, and Timeero will do the magic. The app tracks the vehicle’s movement based on the stops and automatically computes the time spent during each stop. You can also tell the distance between customer locations or stops.
Driver Behaviour Monitoring
A lot can happen when drivers are out on the road: accidents, vehicle breakdowns, natural disasters, etc. Some issues may be caused by the driver’s carelessness or reckless driving, especially if you don’t monitor their behavior.
Timeero loops you in on the driver’s behavior. The route replay feature provides breadcrumbs that reveal details about a vehicle’s location speed during a trip. When you open a driver’s route — from the time and mileage card — you can click on any breadcrumb to see how fast they were driving.
The Timeero route replay recreates a vehicle’s trail during the day.
Breadcrumbs can help settle customer disputes. For example, if a technician was to reach the customer’s destination at 11:00 am, but the customer claims they came an hour late, worry not.
Open the route replay and select a breadcrumb most proximate to the customer location to set the records straight.
It’s also helpful if you require drivers to adhere to specific speeds or take designated routes to lower fuel costs. The route replay recreates the driver’s movement during the day, making it easier to certify if a driver is stuck to the assigned route.
Route Planning
Fuel cost remains the biggest fleet operational expense, surging by the year. The latest study by the American Transportation Research Institute found that the average fuel cost increased by 53.7% between 2021 and 2022. To be precise, every mile traveled in 2022 cost your business $0.641.
Businesses have turned to route planning to cut miles traveled and reduce fuel costs. Timeero doesn’t come with a fully-fledged route planner, but the suggested mileage can save fuel costs.
With Timeero, you can easily compare the shortest possible route with the actual route taken by your drivers.
The tool calculates the shortest route to each destination based on previous trips — the shorter the route, the lower the fuel expense.
Vehicle Maintenance Tracking
The only quibble with Timeero is that it doesn’t offer a vehicle maintenance tracking feature. It doesn’t track scheduled maintenance or provide real-time notifications when the fleet vehicles are due for maintenance.
Other Timeero Features
Time tracking with geofencing and facial recognition
Timeero pricing: 14-day free trial; paid plans start at $4 per user per month
Samsara Fleet — Best For Vehicle Maintenance Tracking
Samsara streamlines the fleet management workflow with robust fleet tracking and vehicle maintenance tools. (Source: YouTube, @SamsaraHQ)
Pros:
Robust vehicle maintenance module
Route optimization
ELD compliance (Hours logged and HOS status, preventive maintenance, DVIR, etc.)
Fuel consumption management (with fuel card)
Cons:
No automatic mileage tracker
Requires hardware device
Samsara is another reliable fleet-tracking app for businesses of all sizes. Consider it if you’re grappling with vehicle maintenance issues or are constantly blowing through your fuel budget.
Let’s get into the details:
Location Tracking
Like Timeero, Samsara allows you to create geofences around key areas such as warehouses or customer locations. The app notifies you via email or text when a vehicle enters or leaves the geofenced zones or when an unusual activity occurs.
The GPS fleet tracking app is a vital component of the comprehensive platform, bringing even more power to manage fleets easily.
Beyond tracking real-time locations of fleet vehicles from a centralized dashboard, Samsara allows employees to share their live locations. For example, a driver can share a live location link with a customer with accurate ETAs.
Mileage Tracking
Mileage tracking isn’t Samsara’s forte — if you want to track accurate mileage for IRS compliance or fair employee reimbursement, look elsewhere. The system’s mileage tracker pulls odometer data directly from the engine control unit (ECU).
While the odometer value is a good estimate of vehicle mileage, it might not be accurate enough in the eyes of the IRS. Remember that when pulling data from the odometer, it doesn’t differentiate business from personal mileage. Moreover, it doesn’t erase commuter mileage from the overall reading.
Driver Behaviour Monitoring
Samsara dashcam captures video of different events on the road to simplify driver monitoring. (Source: YouTube, @SamsaraHQ)
Samsara uses AI dashcams to monitor incidents on the road. It records high-definition videos and instantly uploads them to your database for review. Beyond that, the app also sends real-time alerts, allowing managers to quickly investigate potential incidents and review safety events, like distracted driving or harsh braking, from the app itself.
The provider lets you monitor driver behavior as a matter of security, not surveillance. For example, with driver efficiency and safety scores, you can spot lagging drivers and coach them to improve their driving skills. Frequent coaching improves driver’s habits on the road and can help significantly reduce fuel and maintenance costs.
Vehicle Maintenance Tracking
Samsara is apt for efficient vehicle maintenance. You can pinpoint vehicle issues such as engine faults or falling battery codes and devise the appropriate remedy before the problem escalates.
In addition, mechanics and drivers are alerted instantly when DVIRs are submitted, or vehicle fault is detected.
Route Planning
Samsara Map Overlays provides important weather and traffic updates. (Source: YouTube, @SamsaraHQ)
Samsara’s GPS fleet tracking system provides up-to-the-second visibility into your fleet, with real-time traffic and weather updates. This enables you to easily map the quickest route for drivers, ensuring they arrive on time.
Just enter the proposed stops (drop-off or pick-up points), and the app will provide the shortest distance while keeping the start and last stop unchanged. The optimal order allows less windshield time for drivers, more efficient deliveries, and reduced fuel consumption. The only quibble is that Samsara allows a maximum of 20 stops per route.
The minor niggle aside, drivers don’t have to worry about weather and traffic snarl-ups. The Smart map overlays provide near real-time traffic and weather updates; drivers can adapt accordingly to stay on schedule.
Samsara Fleet Integrations: FleetOperate, CreteSuite, RoadFlex, AUTOsist, Cetaris, CrossPoint, PayCom, ADP, and more.
Samsara Fleet pricing: Samsara doesn’t reveal the pricing per vehicle. The devices and accessories range between $54 and $2160.
Keep in mind that Samsara's policy for small businesses with fleet sizes of fewer than 11 vehicles requires upfront payments for 3-year contracts with a 30-day return period.
Verizon Connect — Best for Granular Control
Verizon Connect displays a green button for moving vehicles and red for those that are switched off. (Source: verizonconnect.com)
Pros:
Real-time vehicle and asset tracking
Route replay with breadcrumbs
Multi-stop route planning
Vehicle diagnostics alerts
Cons:
No automatic mileage tracker
Comparatively pricey
Requires hardware device
Verizon Connect mobile app provides relevant vehicle information, such as location, safety, fuel efficiency, and distance traveled, to help fleet managers decide how to use resources more efficiently.
Keep in mind that you’ll need to invest in additional hardware devices to enable vehicle tracking. The good thing is that the plug-and-play GPS hardware is easy to install on most vehicles — model year 1996 or newer — with an OBD-II port.
Location Tracking
Verizon Connect uses GPS technology to track vehicles and assets and updates their location every 30 seconds or so. The “Live Maps” displays the real-time location of each vehicle; you can see vehicles that are moving (in which direction), idling, or switched off.
Verizon lets you find the nearest driver/vehicle for an urgent task with ease. (Source: verizonconnect.com)
The find “nearest driver” is the standout location tracking functionality. If a driver misses a pick-up task, you only need to open the nearest driver tool to find a replacement. This tool gives you a list of available drivers, where they are headed, and how far they are from the specific location, making it easy to find a replacement.
You can also create geofences around specific locations, such as warehouses or customer locations. This way, Verizon Connect lets you monitor when vehicles come and go and how long they spend within the geofenced location.
Mileage Tracking
Every fleet management software has a downside; for Verizon Connect, that’s mileage tracking. It’s not the most efficient mileage tracker, so if you want to keep accurate mileage logs, you’re better off using another app.
However, it provides mileage reports using data from the vehicle's odometer. There are different filters, such as by state, by driver, or by vehicle, to help you monitor mileage expenses.
Driver monitoring is another of Verizon Connect’s strong suit. The route replay feature enables you to view vehicles’ route history, with details of specific events such as speeds and stops made.
In addition, the app captures video of events during the trip, such as harsh driving, hard braking, or overspeeding. You can review the clips to pinpoint irresponsible drivers and coach them accordingly to mitigate risks.
Route Planning
Verizon Connect’s route planning feature enables you to create multi-stop routes. You can assign routes to drivers based on vehicle attributes, driver availability, customer preferences, and other factors to improve delivery or territory efficiency.
Drivers can pull up live traffic updates thanks to Verizon Connect integrations with Google Maps. This feature is handy for vehicles operating in congested areas such as towns and cities. It helps avoid unnecessary delays that could impact customer satisfaction.
Vehicle Maintenance Tracking
If your subscription includes Maintenance Connect, you can monitor vehicle diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs). The module provides fleet-wide maintenance schedules in a centralized dashboard so no vehicle fault falls through the cracks.
Also, for additional cost, you can configure Verizon Connect to provide instant notifications when a vehicle requires attention or reports a DTC.
Verizon Connect integrations: Project44, Tranzaura, Whip Around, Transport Exchange Group, GroupAuto, and AssetWorks.
Verizon Connect Pricing: Starts at $0.66 per vehicle per day, plus additional hardware devices. Remember that Verizon's standard contract ties you down to a three-year contract.
Azuga Fleet — Best for Improving Drivers’ Safety
Azuga Fleet lets you create optimal routes with predictive ETAs. (Source: azuga.com)
Pros:
Sharable live locations
Trip classification
Panci alerts
Route optimization with predictive ETAs
Cons:
No automatic mileage tracker
Requires hardware device
Azuga’s GPS fleet tracking solution is a part of its comprehensive fleet management solution, tailored to fit the needs of fleets of all sizes. The FleetMobile app can also come as a standalone edition, meaning that you won’t need to invest in any new hardware — employees’ mobile devices suffice for fleet tracking.
Location Tracking
When it comes to location tracking, you can use the mobile app or install the GPS tracking device. Either way, Azuga Fleet tracking updates the location of your vehicles and assets in near real-time.
The Live page on the web portal provides real-time GPS location details of your assets. You can see each vehicle’s current location, speed, and last activity. The TrackMe tool lets you share a vehicle’s location with customers or co-workers.
For example, if a customer complains about uncertain ETAs or delayed delivery, open the responsible driver’s map and create a customizable link. When the customer opens the link, they will see the delivery vehicle’s current location and the ETA.
Mileage Tracking
Azuga’s mileage tracker could be more accurate. It documents mileage automatically and updates the information to your database, where you can access it instantly.
Thankfully, Azuga has a leg-up on Verizon Connect and Samsara. It allows drivers and managers to classify trips as business or personal — a vital step towards IRS compliance. Moreover, you can add trip starting point, stops, destination, speed, distance, and idle time.
Driver Behaviour Monitoring
Azuga Fleet pays a lot of attention to improving driving safety and minimizing the risk of your fleet on the road.
For example, its Distracted Driving feature lets you monitor calls made, received, and missed during a ride. In addition, the DriveSafe feature (available on Android only) enables drivers to block smartphone distractions, such as phone calls, texting, and app use when on the move.
Whenever drivers are in an emergency and need help, they can use the Panic Alert feature to alert their managers instantly and get the assistance they need.
Using rewards and gamification, the fleet management system can help you promote safe driver safety. The drivers’ scores feature lets you see driver performance and how they stack up against one another.
Azuga Fleet lets you create a drivers’ leaderboard and reward top performers to promote healthy competition. (Source: azuga.com)
You can use this to spur healthy competition among your drivers and send rewards to your best drivers using the FleetMobile app.
One of the features offered in the pricier package is Azuga Coach. Their driving coaching program aims to improve driving behaviors using personalized safety coaching videos.
Route Planning
Like other apps on our list, Azuga Fleet enables you to optimize single or multiple routes.
Suppose you generate an optimal route, but unexpected delays occur due to traffic jams, bad weather, major blockages, or accidents. In this case, Azuga’s ability to re-optimize routes will come in handy.
The app predicts all unexpected events and takes them into account to recalculate your routes. This helps drivers avoid delays and meet customer ETAs.
Vehicle Maintenance Tracking
The vehicle maintenance tracking module isn’t as powerful as Samsara or Verizon Connect, but it gets the job done. It has features such as engine temperature tracking and DVIR reporting. It also offers a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS), which alerts drivers when tire pressure is out of range.
Azuga Fleet Integrations: AUTOist, WennSoft, Towbook, CarIQ, ServiceTitan, and ServiceTrade.
Azuga Fleet pricing
Azuga pricing. (Source: azuga.com)
BasicFleet - $25/vehicle/month: Core tracking features for basic fleets with unlimited 24/7 support.
SafeFleet - $30/vehicle/month: All BasicFleet features plus additional safety and efficiency tools, backed by 24/7 support.
CompleteFleet - Custom Pricing: Comprehensive solution with exclusive services, premium features, and a dedicated Customer Success Manager.
Choose the Best GPS Fleet Tracking App
The GPS fleet tracking apps come in different shapes and sizes. The best fleet tracker app offers the features you need at an affordable price. Timeero is one of the most affordable apps on our list, with no base fee.
The basic plan is ideal for businesses with fleets with up to 10 vehicles. For $4 per driver per month, you get the tools to track GPS location and mileage. The Pro plan costs $8 per user per month and is perfect for small and medium businesses with a growing fleet.
The good thing is that all the plans offer a 14-day free trial, which you can start today to try all the features free of charge. No credit card is required.
Fleet Tracker App: FAQs
What Is a Fleet Tracking System?
A fleet tracking system comprises a mobile app and hardware devices that work in unison to streamline all fleet tracking.
What Is the Best Fleet Tracker App?
The best fleet tracker app for small and medium businesses is Timeero. In contrast, Verizon Connect and Samsara are ideal for large enterprises with deep pockets.
How Do I Install a Fleet Tracking App?
You can install a fleet tracking app from Google Play or Apple’s App Store, depending on your device.
How Do I Keep Track of Fleet Vehicles?
To keep track of a fleet of vehicles, you need a fleet tracker app that monitors vehicle location, maintenance, and driver behavior and centralizes the data and metrics in a single dashboard.
How Much Does Fleet Tracking Cost?
The pricing of fleet tracking apps varies across providers. For example, Timeero pricing starts at $4 per user per month, whereas Azuga Fleet starts at $25 vehicle per month.
Want to learn how Timeero puts you on top of every fleet operation?
Samson is a mathematician turned content marketer specializing in SaaS and Tech content. He focuses on the practical aspects of software systems while keeping abreast of the industry’s cutting-edge principles to create informative and engaging content. When he’s not writing, Samson spends time playing or watching soccer.
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