GPS trackers for kids: the UK options compared

In a nutshell

• A GPS device for a child does two jobs. It works out where it is, and it sends that to your phone over a mobile network. The second job is why most of them need a monthly plan.
• There are four kinds: screen-free devices, smartwatches, basic phones and Bluetooth tags. The biggest difference between them is what your child can do when they need you.
• Over two years, screen-free devices cost roughly £120 to £250, smartwatches roughly £310 to £460, and tags under £30.
• Tags are cheap, but they were built for keys and bags. Apple says AirTag is designed for objects, not people.
• Check your school's policy before you buy anything with a SIM in it.

Who wrote this

We make Yado, one of the devices in the tables below. We have tried to write the page we would want to read as parents. Every price and feature links to the maker's own page. If you make one of these products and we have something wrong, tell us and we will correct it and log the change at the foot of this page.

How GPS trackers work

The four kinds

Will the school allow it?

Schools in England now follow statutory Department for Education guidance on mobile phones, and each headteacher decides how it applies to other devices. Our schools pages set out what the guidance says and whether a safety device counts as a phone. Before you buy, our guide to talking to your school covers what to ask.

Yado has no screen, no camera and no messaging. With school hours set, it neither rings nor alerts during the day, and the device enforces that, so a child cannot switch it back on. That gives a school grounds to let a child keep it in their bag all day, instead of handing it in each morning and collecting it at home time. The decision is still the school's.

Find the right device

Set a budget and tick what matters. The picker uses only what each maker publishes, which is what the tables below show. It suggests the device with the most features in those tables, and the cheaper one where two tie.

Your budget

DeviceAnyUp to £50Up to £100Up to £150Up to £200Monthly planAnyUp to £3Up to £5Up to £7Up to £10Up to £15Up to £20

What your child can do

Call youRaise an SOS alertCall a list of people until someone answersNo screenNo cameraGoes quiet in school hoursSwitches to the strongest network

What you can see and manage

See where they areAlerts when they arrive or leaveLocation historyDaily and weekly schedulesMore than one child in one appShared with another parent or carer

Show my matchTick at least one thing that matters to you.

What GPS trackers cost in the UK

Prices are the makers' regular prices, without sales or launch offers, checked on 28 September 2026. The plan shown is the cheapest each maker publishes. We include products that are out of stock, on pre-order or taking waitlist sign-ups, so you can see the whole market. Sort the table by device cost, kind or status. Every product links to the maker's own page.

1. UBEE's Data plans do not include calls. Its cheapest calling plan is Voice, at £119.76 for 24 months.
2. FindiFox does not publish how long its plans run.
3. Xplora does not publish the price after the 12-month contract ends.
4. imoo sells no SIM or plan. The watch needs a SIM that supports VoLTE, which you buy separately.
5. NODI's UK page shows prices in euros.

Vodafone no longer sells the Vodafone Neo.

What each one lets your child do

What you can see and manage

Which GPS tracker should you buy?

Start with what your child needs to do when they need you.

If you want your child to be able to call you, and you want to know when they arrive, without giving them a screen, choose Yado. The UBEE Junior 4G on a Voice plan also gives a live call with no screen. UBEE's own pages do not mention calling down a list, daily and weekly schedules, quiet in school hours or more than one child in one app, and Yado has all four.

A smartwatch does the most, if a screen is fine. For a call at the lowest cost, a basic phone with a £6 SIM is cheapest. KARRI suits a child who mainly wants to message friends, since it sends voice notes to other KARRIs. To find a bag, a tag is enough.

Not sure your child is ready for any of this? Our five-question check points to one of three answers, and one of them is a phone.

Where Yado fits

Yado is a screen-free device. One button calls the people you choose, one after another, until someone answers. You get a message when your child arrives at or leaves the places you set. Only numbers you add can call it. It has no screen, camera, apps or games.

The device is £80, with plans from £6.99 a month. Yado can call up to 6 contacts. The £6.99 plan includes 2 of them, plus arrival and departure alerts. Details of other plans to follow. Over two years that is from £247.76. Yado runs on 4G and LTE, and is taking waitlist sign-ups now.

That puts it above the screen-free devices that send voice notes or alerts and below the smartwatches, so it is not the cheapest way to keep in touch. For that price you get a live call down a list of people, from a device with no screen.