PitPat Dog GPS Tracker

Last updated: 30 October 2026

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The subscription question, answered plainly

PitPat's own words are "No subscription needed" and "no monthly fees required". You buy the tracker, clip it to the collar, and live tracking works from then on with nothing further to pay.

Set that beside the market. Tractive, the biggest name in pet GPS in Europe, sells the tracker and then sells a plan on top. Its plans page lists a monthly plan from £13.50 a month, a one-year plan from £7 a month billed as £84 a year, and a two-year plan from £4.50 a month. So a Tractive owner on the annual plan has paid roughly £250 in subscriptions across three years, before the hardware. A PitPat owner has paid £149, once.

That gap is the reason to look at PitPat. The other side of it is that a subscription pays for the mobile data a tracker uses every time it reports a position, and PitPat has to cover that out of a single payment instead. No manufacturer publishes what would happen if that arrangement ever changed, and PitPat is no different.

What it is not

It is not a microchip, and it does not replace one. Microchipping is a legal requirement for dogs in England, Scotland and Wales, and the government sets out the rules and the fines. A chip is how a found dog gets identified. A tracker is how you find the dog yourself. They do different jobs and a household that wants both needs both.

It is also not a Bluetooth tag. An AirTag has a range measured in tens of metres and depends on somebody else's iPhone passing nearby. PitPat talks to satellites for its position and to the mobile network to send it, so range is limited by mobile coverage rather than by distance. In a valley with no signal, neither works.

What it does, and the numbers behind it

Open the map in the app, tap start live-tracking, and the phone tells the tracker to wake and listen for satellites. PitPat say that can take up to 90 seconds, because the device sleeps to save battery. After that the position updates every few seconds while the map is open, and a Dog Finder view points you at the dog with a direction and a distance.

The tracker also does everything the cheaper PitPat Activity Monitor does. It logs exercise, rest, distance and calories, and turns that into a feeding recommendation based on breed, age and weight. Vets use the activity data for weight-loss plans and post-operative recovery, which is a more serious use than the badges and streaks in the app suggest.

Which of the two PitPats to buy

PitPat sell two devices and the difference is simple. The Activity Monitor at £49 counts exercise, rest, distance and calories. The GPS Tracker at £149 does all of that and also shows you where the dog is.

So the £100 gap buys location and nothing else. A dog that never leaves a lead, in a household that only wants to know whether it is getting enough exercise, does not need the £149 version. A dog that recalls badly, or a household with an escape artist, is exactly the £149 case.

Buy the PitPat GPS Tracker on Amazon UK, £149

Living with it, honestly

The wake time, the coverage limit and the battery are what shape ordinary use.

The 90-second wake. The tracker sleeps to protect the battery, so the first fix after you open the map is not instant. In the moment a dog vanishes into a hedge, a minute and a half feels considerably longer than it sounds here.

Coverage, not range. PitPat says unlimited range, and that is true in the sense that there is no distance limit. What there is instead is a coverage limit. The tracker sends its position over the mobile network, so a dog in a signal blackspot is a dog you cannot see on the map until it moves back into one.

Battery in the week it matters. Several days is the honest figure for ordinary use. A week of anxious live-tracking, or a holiday somewhere with weak signal, is where the charging cable gets remembered. PitPat supply a charging pad rather than a socket in the device, which is what makes it waterproof.

None of that is a reason against it. It is the ordinary shape of GPS trackers, and PitPat's version of it costs £149 with nothing after.

PitPat GPS tracker FAQs

Does the PitPat GPS tracker need a subscription?

No. PitPat state plainly that no subscription is needed and no monthly fees are required. Live tracking works on the £149 purchase price alone.

How much does it cost?

£149, both direct from PitPat and from the PitPat Store on Amazon UK, checked on 6 September 2026. The simpler PitPat Activity Monitor, which has no GPS, is £49.

How does PitPat compare with Tractive?

Tractive charges for the hardware and then for a plan. Its own plans page lists £13.50 a month rolling, or £84 a year on the one-year plan. PitPat charges £149 once and nothing after, so the difference grows every year you own it.

Is it waterproof?

Yes. PitPat rate it for rain, mud, puddles and swimming, which is why it charges on a pad rather than through a socket.

How long does the battery last?

Several days on a charge. Frequent live-tracking, or weak mobile coverage that makes the device work harder to connect, shortens that.

Can more than one person track the same dog?

Yes, with your permission. You can share a dog with other owners or a dog walker, and they then see the same map and the same activity data on their own phones.

Does a tracker replace a microchip?

No. Microchipping is a legal requirement for dogs in England, Scotland and Wales, and a chip is how a found dog is identified by a vet or a warden. A tracker is how you find the dog yourself. Most owners want both.

Is PitPat a British company?

Yes. PitPat design and build the tracker in the UK and run their support team from Cambridge.

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Prices, stock and terms change. Everything here was checked on 6 September 2026, from PitPat's own product page, the PitPat Store on Amazon UK, and Tractive's published subscription plans. Microchipping law is set out at gov.uk.

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