How Much Does a Car Tracker Cost in the UK?

Ask five providers what a car tracker costs and you will get five different answers, because they are often quoting different things: the device only, the device fitted, the first year of service, or a monthly rental with nothing upfront. Many do not publish a price at all.

This guide breaks the cost into its real parts, shows typical UK ranges, works through a full example, and then shows where Rubikas sits, with our prices in the open.

The short answer

For a live-tracking car tracker in the UK, most providers land somewhere in these ranges:

• Upfront: roughly £75 to £200 for a basic fitted tracker, and £300 to £600 or more for premium systems with extra security features.
• Ongoing: often £10 to £20 a month, or a yearly fee of around £100 to £200 or more, to cover mobile data and the tracking platform.
• Cheapest options: plug-in trackers and pay-as-you-go devices can cost £30 to £140, but they usually do less (and some only report on request by SMS).

Those figures come from what UK providers advertise today and they move around, so treat them as a guide to the shape of the market, not a quote. The more useful question is what you pay in total, and for what.

What makes up the cost of a car tracker?

1. The device

The tracker itself. Price depends on what is inside: how often it reports a location, whether it has a backup battery, motion and tow sensors, and whether it detects signal jamming. A bare OBD plug-in unit sits at the bottom of the market, a hardwired unit with sensors in the middle.

2. Fitting

A hardwired tracker needs fitting properly and hidden well. Some providers include installation in the price, others charge separately, and plug-in units need none. Always ask whether the price you are shown is fitted or not.

3. Data and the tracking platform

A tracker that shows you a live location needs a SIM, mobile data and servers behind the app. That is a running cost for the provider, which is why it appears as a monthly or yearly charge. Devices advertised as "no subscription" usually shift that cost elsewhere, for example into a higher upfront price, a SIM you top up yourself, or fewer features.

4. Contract length

Longer contracts normally lower the monthly figure. A 36-month term costs less per month than a 12-month one, but you are committed for longer. Check what happens if you sell the car or want to leave early.

5. Extras that raise the price

Engine blocking, fingerprint driver identification, jammer detection, voice-call alerts and a backup battery all add cost. They also change what the tracker can do: it stops being only a way to find a stolen car and becomes a way to stop it being driven away. For background on how the two ideas differ, see our guide to car immobilisers.

6. What you pay after the contract

This is the cost most buyers overlook. Once a rental or prepaid term ends, some providers keep charging the full rate, some drop to a lower maintenance fee, and some stop service completely. Ask for the after-contract price before you sign.

Rent or buy: which is cheaper?

Buying outright means a bigger payment now and, for a live-tracking device, usually still some form of service charge later. Renting spreads the cost, folds in data and software, and keeps the hardware covered. Neither is automatically cheaper over many years.

A simple test: add up everything you would pay over the period you expect to keep the car, including fitting and any service fees, and compare totals rather than headline prices. A cheap device with a yearly fee can cost more over three years than a monthly rental that looks pricier at first glance.

Rubikas prices, published in full

Rubikas is a monthly rental: you rent the system rather than buy it, with the device, mobile data through a built-in eSIM, the iOS, Android and web apps and all alerts included. The packages are built from three units, a tracker, a remote engine block and a fingerprint reader, and you choose how many you want.

Monthly rental per vehicle, including VAT:

On top of the monthly price there is a one-off installation and activation fee per vehicle, excluding VAT: £70 for the tracker alone, £85 for tracker plus fingerprint reader, £100 for tracker plus engine block, and £125 for all three. Installation is done by certified installers at your home or workplace anywhere in the UK, and a standard fit takes around 45 to 60 minutes. The system connects without cutting factory wiring.

If you would rather not rent, there is also a one-off purchase option for each package and term. You can compare rental and purchase for your exact setup on the configurator.

A worked example

Take Rubi Track on a 24-month rental:

• Monthly: £12.99 x 24 = £311.76 (VAT included)
• Installation and activation: £70 + VAT = £84.00
• Total over 24 months: about £395.76, or roughly £16.49 a month all in

Now Rubi Secure on 24 months, the full package with engine block and fingerprint reader:

• Monthly: £21.99 x 24 = £527.76
• Installation and activation: £125 + VAT = £150.00
• Total over 24 months: about £677.76, or roughly £28.24 a month all in

After the contract

When the term ends you can return the device, extend your rental or transfer it to someone else. If you keep the service running, it continues at £9.99 a month. Knowing this on day one is the point: there is no surprise renewal rate.

What should you actually pay for?

Match the spend to the risk rather than buying the most expensive box:

• You mainly want to find the car if it is taken: a tracker-only package is enough. Look for tow and motion alerts and jammer detection, not just a dot on a map.
• You want to stop it being taken: add an engine block. In the Rubikas system, the block engages when the ignition is switched off, so a parked car cannot be started.
• Your main worry is keyless theft: a fingerprint reader means a relayed signal or a programmed blank key is not enough to drive away. Our guide to keyless car theft and relay attacks explains why the key alone is no longer a reliable check.
• You run several vehicles: see vehicle tracking for business for fleet use.

If you want to see the full feature set before choosing, our car tracker page covers the device, specification and alerts.

Questions to ask any provider before you buy

1. Is the price shown fitted, and does it include VAT?
2. What is the monthly or yearly fee, and what does it include (data, app, alerts)?
3. How long is the contract and what happens if I sell the car?
4. What do I pay after the contract ends?
5. Who fits it, where, and is factory wiring cut?
6. Does it detect jamming and tow-away movement, or only report a location?

Frequently asked questions

Want to see the exact price for your car? Build your Rubikas package or call +44 7444 619588.