Hardware — from R499
A once-off purchase you own outright, from R499 for the plug-in OBD Mini to R1,199 for the rugged FMC880. No rental, ever.
Prices · South Africa
Car Tracker Prices in South Africa (2026)
A car tracker has two costs: the hardware you buy once, and a monthly or yearly subscription for live tracking. The Tracking Co sells the hardware outright from R499, then tracking is R50 a month or R540 a year — with no contract and nothing rented. Here is the full breakdown of what you will actually pay in 2026.
- Hardware from R499
- R50/mo or R540/yr
- No contract
- You own the device
01 · What it costs
What a car tracker actually costs.
The Tracking Co is a Cape Town-based GPS vehicle tracking company founded in 2016, and it prices tracking in plain parts rather than one bundled monthly figure. You pay once for the hardware and own it, then pay a subscription for live tracking. That is the whole cost — there is no setup fee, no activation fee, and no contract.
Tracking — R50/mo or R540/yr
Live tracking and the full platform: R50 per vehicle a month, month-to-month, or R540 a year (about R45 a month) with no monthly debit.
Installation — free or from R450
Fit it yourself for free, or have The Tracking Co arrange a professional installer from R450 depending on your vehicle and location.
SVR — optional, R44/mo
Stolen vehicle recovery is an optional add-on at R44 per vehicle a month. Nothing else is required to track a vehicle.
02 · Hardware prices
The once-off device cost.
With The Tracking Co you buy the tracker once and it is yours — there is no rented hardware to hand back. Prices range from R499 to R1,199 depending on how the device fits and what it needs to do. Every one runs on the same R50-a-month platform. You can compare the hardware in detail or see how it all adds up on the full pricing page.
OBD Mini · R499
Plug-and-play OBD device. Visible and removable — best for logbooks and self-monitoring.
4G900L · R769
Hardwired and hidden. SVR-ready — the everyday workhorse for most cars and bakkies.
FMC920 · R999
Advanced hardwired fleet tracker. Accelerometer, memory, advanced alerts and reports.
FMC880 · R1,199
Rugged and weatherproof. Connects to battery terminals — farms, plant, harsh environments.
Need CAN BUS data like RPM, fuel level and odometer? The FMB140 reads it straight from the vehicle at R1,499. All hardware is a once-off purchase you own outright.
03 · Monthly & annual cost
The subscription — monthly or once a year.
Live tracking needs a subscription to cover the mobile data and the platform. With The Tracking Co that is R50 per vehicle per month, month-to-month, and you can cancel anytime. Prefer not to have a monthly debit order? The annual plan is R540 a year — which works out to R45 a month — and is effectively the no-subscription way to track: you pay once a year and renew, or you don’t. Either way, every feature is included with no tiers.
R50 / month
Month-to-month per vehicle. Cancel anytime, no penalty. Full platform included.
R540 / year
About R45 a month, paid once a year. No monthly debit order — the no-subscription option.
+ R44 / month SVR
Optional stolen vehicle recovery add-on. See how SVR works.
04 · Installation cost
Fit it yourself, or from R450.
Installation is the cost most providers hide. With The Tracking Co you have three options, and the cheapest is free. Every device is built to be fitted without a specialist, so what you pay is entirely your choice.
Do it yourself — free
The OBD Mini plugs into the OBD port; the others connect to power or the battery. We guide you through it. No fee.
Your own electrician
Any auto electrician can fit a TTC device in under an hour. There is no approved-installer list to go through.
We arrange it — from R450
Prefer it done for you? The Tracking Co arranges a professional installer from R450, depending on vehicle and location.
05 · Owning vs renting
What you’ll really pay over three years.
A low monthly figure can still cost more in the end. Traditional providers rent the hardware on multi-year contracts with annual increases, so you pay forever and own nothing. The Tracking Co sells you the device once and keeps the subscription month-to-month. Here is the gap on a single vehicle over three years.
The Tracking Co
R2,389
R769 device once-off + R45/mo annual plan × 36 months. You own the device.
Typical contract provider
R9,000+
~R250/mo on a 36-month rental contract with annual increases. You own nothing at the end.
R6,600+ saved
over three years, on a single vehicle — and you keep the hardware.
Illustrative comparison using typical traditional contract pricing. Competitor pricing varies and changes; figures for illustration of the ownership-vs-rental difference. See how we compare for the full picture.
06 · Price questions
Car tracker price questions, answered.
How much does a car tracker cost in South Africa?
A car tracker in South Africa has two costs: the hardware once-off and a monthly subscription. With The Tracking Co, hardware starts at R499 for the plug-in OBD Mini and goes up to R1,199 for the rugged FMC880 — and you own it outright. Live tracking is then R50 per vehicle per month, or R540 a year. There is no contract and no setup fee. Traditional providers instead bundle a rented device into a 24- to 36-month contract, so you pay monthly but never own the hardware.
Is there a monthly fee for car tracking?
Yes — live GPS tracking needs a subscription to cover the mobile data and platform. With The Tracking Co it is R50 per vehicle per month, month-to-month, and you can cancel anytime with no penalty. If you would rather not pay monthly, the annual plan is R540 a year (which works out to R45 a month) with no monthly debit order. Every feature is included on both plans — there are no tiers or paywalls to unlock.
How much does car tracker installation cost?
It depends on how you fit it. With The Tracking Co, self-installation is free: the OBD Mini plugs into your car’s OBD port in seconds, and the hardwired devices connect to power or the battery. If you would rather have it done for you, professional installation starts from R450, with the exact price depending on your vehicle and location. You can also use your own auto electrician — there is no approved-installer list to go through.
Are there car trackers with no monthly subscription?
Not for live tracking — any live GPS tracker needs a subscription to send its location data. The closest no-subscription option with The Tracking Co is the annual plan: you buy the hardware once from R499 and own it, then pay R540 once a year for tracking instead of a monthly debit order. There is no contract, so you simply renew the following year or stop — the device stays yours either way.
Why are some car trackers so much cheaper than others?
Price usually comes down to ownership and contract length. A cheap-looking monthly deal from a traditional provider is a rental — the device stays theirs and you are locked into a 24- to 36-month contract, often with annual increases. The Tracking Co sells the hardware outright from R499 and keeps the subscription month-to-month at R50, so the true cost over three years is far lower: roughly R2,389 on one vehicle, against R9,000 or more on a typical rental contract.
Does car tracking need a contract in South Africa?
No. The Tracking Co operates on a no-contract model — you subscribe month-to-month from R50 per vehicle and cancel anytime with no penalties or early-termination fees. You buy the tracker once and own it, so there is no rented hardware tying you down. Many traditional providers use 24- to 36-month contracts to recover the cost of a device they still own; because The Tracking Co sells you the device, that lock-in is not needed.
Ready to start tracking?
Hardware from R499. Subscriptions from R50 a month. No contracts, no setup fee, no surprise upgrades.
Get my quote → Or call the office on 021 330 5408, or WhatsApp 083 399 9937.