When buying a GPS dog collar, price and precision are the two factors we should mainly take into consideration. With regard to GPS technology itself and its degree of reliability, there is very little to say. It is a very mature technology which, thanks to a whole series of expedients developed over the years, such as assisted GPS (A-GPS), coupling with the GLONASS localisation system, etc., is able to calculate the coordinates accurately. The accuracy in the calculation of coordinates is roughly optimal in almost all devices, so when evaluating the price of a GPS dog collar we need to understand a little bit about what affects it and what features we actually need.
The highest priced GPS dog collar models are certainly those used in hunting with a collar equipped with a GPS antenna and radio and a second handheld device which remains with the human and allows the position of the dog to be displayed on special maps. The handheld device communicates directly with the device on the dog’s neck using radio waves operating over a radius of several tens of metres and shows the coordinates of the animal on special satellite maps to help the dog’s owner as much as possible to locate it.
This solution as described can cost up to (and over) a thousand euros in premium models, but on average it costs around 3-400 euros, but it all depends on range, battery life, type of maps, etc.
Today’s most popular GPS trackers are those which, after locating the dog via GPS, then communicate the position via GSM phone line so that it can be displayed on our smartphone. The device itself is a low-priced GPS dog collar, well under 100 euros, but the overall cost also includes any subscriptions needed to make proper use of the tracking services. Some manufacturers provide a form of periodic payment in order to be able to take advantage of certain satellite maps, and the telephone line issue applies to all of them. Whether a separate SIM card is required or the GSM communication is handled directly by the collar manufacturer, the costs involved must be taken into account.