Fi Smart Dog Collar Vs SpotOn: What’s The Difference?

Are you looking for a dog collar that can track your pet whether they’re in your yard or on a walk?

There’s no shortage of dog trackers available on the market right now that it can be overwhelming trying to figure out the best option for your pet.

We’ve been approached by countless brands over the years to review their dog trackers on our trusted testers Copper and Skye.

In this article, we’re going to compare the Fi Collar and the SpotOn device to see which of these products we’d recommend based on our experience.

We’ll start by sharing our pick before taking a closer look at some of the features of these two dog collars to help pet owners feeling a little lost.

Fi Collar Vs SpotOn: Our Recommendation

We’ll get straight to the crux of this article by sharing our recommendation. We tested these two collars on our Alaskan Klee Kai dogs and we preferred Fi.

Copper and Skye much preferred wearing the Fi 3 Series dog collar because it was lighter and less intrusive to wear around their necks.

The Fi collar provides realtime tracking data to allow pet owners to keep tabs on their pet, whether they’re exploring during a hike or roaming a large yard.

There’s a big sense of community and you can see how you canine friend’s stats track and compare to other members of the same breed on the Fi app.

We aren’t looking to contain Copper and Skye in a space so that’s a central reason why SpotOn simply wasn’t for us. If you need that feature, SpotOn is for you.

The SpotOn collar is heavier and it was more cumbersome to use both in terms of the physical product and their app’s interface.

We preferred the pricing of the Fi Collar. It works out significantly cheaper – up to $800 – when buying a Fi collar and membership instead of SpotOn.

Fi 3 Series

Fi 3 Series dog collar is one of the leading dog trackers on the market and perfect for pet owners looking to keep tabs on their pet.

I was in the market for a dog collar after Copper escaped from a traditional collar and chased a coyote in our neighborhood. It was a scary experience.

Fortunately he returned unscathed but I wanted a tracking collar in case something similar happened again. My Klee Kai are on a diet so I wanted to measure their stats – too.

Fi 3 Series has GPS location, real-time tracking, and measures activity and health. These were three key areas for us as Alaskan Klee Kai owners.

The Fi collar is easy to use and our mini huskies didn’t mind wearing it. This was a big plus because Copper and Skye are sensitive dogs who don’t like wearing heavy collars.

Fi differs from SpotOn because it doesn’t offer containment. If you’re looking to keep your pet in a set space, you’ll probably want to consider SpotOn or Halo.

I would say the Fi collar is perfect for pet owners who live in cities or suburbs and don’t require containment features. You can still check where your dog is if they’re in the yard, some you don’t sacrifice on realtime GPS location.

You can purchase Fi collars in the following sizes: extra small, small, medium, large and extra large. Fi’s monthly plan costs $4.40 a week or $19 a month, $3.80 a week or $99 every six months for the six-month plan, $3.60 a week or $189 annually for the yearly plan, and $3.20 a week or $339 every two years for the biannual plan. We signed up for this plan. (It’s important to remember every Fi collar requires a $20 activation fee)

SpotOn Dog Collar

SpotOn is another reputable dog collar brand in the USA, looking to provide pet owners with peace of mind if they’re looking for containment and tracking.

As we mentioned above, SpotOn differs from Fi because it allows pet parents to create a virtual fence to ensure their dogs don’t wander off. To create the fence, you use the app and create a zone where you want to keep your furry friend contained.

Aside from the containment feature, SpotOn provides realtime GPS location like Fi to see where your pet is at all times. They use “True Location” technology, and SpotOn claim their GPS is far stronger than most other dog tracker brands.

While we live on a half acre with a large yard, we have physical 8ft fences to ensure Copper and Skye don’t stray from home. We don’t usually allow them to explore the yard off leash because there are pests in our neighborhood.

But we did give SpotOn a try. Unfortunately, the SpotOn collar seemed unsuitable for our mini huskies. They weren’t comfortable wearing it so our test run didn’t last too long. If you’ve got a medium or large breed, I’m sure you won’t encounter this issue.

They offer the collar in small, medium and large. They offer a monthly plan at $9.95, a yearly plan that equates to $8.49 a month, or a biannual plan that works out at $7.49 a month. However, you have to pay $999 up front for the collar. In theory, you could shell out nearly $1200 before discounts.

Wrapping Up

We’ve reached the end of our comparison article, pitting the Fi Collar against the SpotOn collar.

My recommendation would be the Fi collar based on my experience using the tracker on my Alaskan Klee Kai dogs.

Copper and Skye were more comfortable wearing the Fi collar rather than the heavier SpotOn collar, while the features better suited our needs.