Is the Fi GPS Dog Collar Worth it?

We tested four of the most popular dog collar brands so you can find the best-performing and most worthwhile option for your pet.

Fi is a well-known GPS collar brand, but it comes with a higher price tag. With so many strong competitors on the market, is the Fi Collar still worth buying?

I’ve thoroughly tested and compared the 4 most popular dog GPS collar brands — Fi, Tractive, Whistle, and Fitbark. After playing with each in person for a few days, my rank is:

1. Tractive (very affordable, Only $34.99 when you purchase through the promotional link provided by Tractive.)
2. Whistle
3. Fi
4. Fitbark

Review details and ranking reasons are provided below.

Tractive vs. Fi vs. Whistle vs. Fitbark: Detailed Comparison

Tracking Performance Comparison – Only Tractive Was Able to Track in Real Time

The purpose of purchasing a GPS collar is to prevent the loss of our loved ones. In view of the fact that these pets are actively moving, only real-time tracking can ensure they are being properly monitored. My test shows that only Tractive truly delivers on that promise, while other brands often experience delays.

• Fi worked quite well. Notified me within ~2-3 minutes of zone departure. Live tracking prompted me to wait 60 seconds for next update – yeah, that's not “live”. Still, the frequency and accuracy of updates definitely beat Whistle and Fitbark, not Tractive though.
• Whistle only notified me of virtual fence departure 1 of the 3 times I tested … and it took ~5 minutes. Further, it would take ~15 minutes for overall location to update. Even worse, request a manual location update – never processed (tried three times).
• Fitbark unfortunately lagged behind along with Whistle in taking FAR too long to update unless I requested a manual update. It was roughly ~11-15 minutes until update. 
• Tractive is the only one that offered real time, immediate responses to “live” tracking. This was an instant win for me. Further, it was the fastest to notify of departure from the virtual fence (~1 minute).

Tractive won the PCMag Editor's Choice Award, and my test results matched the review of PCMag experts, who wrote:

Save your Money – Tractive Has the Cheapest Subscription Price

The lifespan of a pet dog can be as long as 15 years. If the annual subscription fee is very expensive, it will add up to be a big expense. I compared the four mainstream dog collars. Regardless of the subscription period, Tractive has the cheapest subscription price. This is especially true if you subscribe immediately to a 5-year subscription. The monthly subscription price will only cost $5.

	Collar Price	Subscription fee:
Fi Series 3	N/A	1 year: 192$ 2 years: 336$ (168$ per Year)
Whistle	149$	1 year: 99$
Fitbark	99$	1 year: 96$ 2 years: 168$ (83$ per Year) 3 Years: 216$ (72$ per Year)
Tractive	34.99$ (Get 30% Off from this link)	1 year: 96$ 2 years: 144$ (72$ per Year) 5 Years: 300$ (60$ per Year)

Another advantage is that you can cancel your subscription at any time. However, I do not recommend it. Because once the GPS collar can’t connect to the internet, you will only be able to rely on Bluetooth to obtain data. The tracking range for Bluetooth is extremely limited, so if your dog were to wander a bit further away, you would not be able to obtain GPS positioning data on your mobile phone. This will also affect your ability to locate your dog. During this time, there will be no point in having a dog collar. Tractive provides detailed information about the benefits of its subscriptions and the cancellation policy it offers: https://tractive.com/en/c/plans

For those considering the Tractive GPS collar, it is available on Amazon and the Tractive official site. However, I highly advise that you purchase directly from their official website. This ensures the creation of an account that is already integrated with their dedicated app and guarantees your access to their customer support team.

Tractive offers the best after-sales services, and can help resolve your problems quickly.

Based on my experience and research, Fi's customer service is subpar. There are plenty of complaints as seen on Trustpilot. It often takes about five days for customer service to respond to customer inquiries, with some questions even left unanswered. If you decide you’re not satisfied with the product, the refund process can also be a tedious process.

Whistle and Fitbark, on the other hand,  also have some issues with their customer service, with unsatisfactory response times and frequent tracking issues that customers have complained about without having it resolved! Fitbark also has plenty of users complaining about it on Trustpilot and Reddit.

Tractive has the best customer service. Tractive can always respond to my questions quickly, help analyze the cause of the problem, and provide effective solutions. Tractive has a rating of 4.6 on Trustpilot, and a 90% rating of a score of 4 or more.