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Companies that deliver and ship their products locally and nationally need a solution to help them effectively manage their vehicle fleet. Keeping track of maintenance schedules, driver records, and monitoring their drivers on a daily basis can be impossible without a comprehensive system in place.
The best fleet management software allows businesses to effectively:
They provide advanced reports on a variety of metrics, giving the companies that use them the ability to take a more data-backed approach to vehicle fleet management and optimize their operations to reduce costs and improve productivity.
The best modern vehicle fleet management and tracking systems use mobile hardware components or leverage driver’s smartphones to provide real-time updates, reports, and communications. This allows managers to be more agile, making changes on the fly where it makes sense.
In this article, we’ll break down some of the best vehicle fleet management systems that are available today. We’ll dive into the features provided by each and cover some of the downsides that users of the software reference in their reviews to give you a complete picture.
Let’s get started.
Established in 2005 and based in Oklahoma, US Fleet Tracking has been able to secure itself a spot at the forefront of the industry since it was originally founded in 2015. Their web-based cloud solution makes it easy for companies to monitor their fleets anytime, anywhere with connected devices.
US Fleet Tracking tends to focus more on GPS-tracking than other solutions. While many of the solutions that we will cover in this article do offer GPS tracking, US Fleet Tracking offers options for near real-time updating — with GPS refreshes every 5 seconds and 10 seconds available with an upgrade. For companies that want near real-time updates, this is a highly sought after feature.
US Fleet Tracking comes complete with a range of features that include:
While US Fleet Tracking is a comprehensive solution, it does fall a bit short in a few key areas. First, it doesn’t offer maintenance management, a key component of fleet management. It also lacks features for tire management and inspection management.
As an established industry brand, US Fleet Tracking is a solid choice of fleet management software — especially for companies with small delivery areas or companies that have a need for more frequent updates than are offered by other platforms. It does have its blind spots, but is a reliable system that is used across the US and Canada.
Despite its name, you should know that US Fleet Tracking is available in Canada, with updated GPS and routing data.
US Fleet Tracking offers two different plans. Each plan is identical, aside from different GPS update speeds.
US Fleet Tracking quickly rose to become one of the most popular options in the industry in a relatively short amount of time. For good reason too — their devices and software are detailed, reliable, and affordable. However, they tend to be a better choice for companies that are most concerned with GPS tracking functionality and less with other fleet management tasks like maintenance and inspection management.
Geotab is a bit different from some of the other options in this list because they do not sell their telematics solutions directly to customers, but rather through partners with a reseller network and third-party retail locations. This is a unique approach in this industry. Still, Geotab is regarded as one of the industry leaders in both software and hardware solutions.
Geotab treats both its software and hardware solutions as two separate products. You don’t necessarily need one to find the other useful. They can be combined into a more comprehensive fleet management system, especially when you take into account the software’s open API that allows it to pair with almost any hardware option on the market.
The company offers two standard devices, the Geotab Go and the Geotab Rugged.
The Geotab Go is plug-and-play and can be installed in seconds using the vehicle’s standard OBDII port. It records a range of data including ignition information, engine idle times, route distance, and vehicle speed. It also includes a feature that allows it to detect in-vehicle reverse collisions, which is not standard with most OBDII port plugin hardware.
For companies that are looking for customization and flexibility, there is no better option than Geotab.
Geotab offers four different standard plans, but pricing is dependent upon third-party sellers and can vary quite a bit from one location or dealer to another. They are responsible for setting their own retail price. Additionally, the price they choose may be dependent upon a number of add-ons and extra features which can cause the package to cost more.
All Geotab Go devices come with a one-year warranty with the ProPlus plan or higher.
If you want a fleet tracking and telematics solution that offers deep flexibility and customization — Geotab is your go-to system. The ability to connect to nearly anywhere hardware solution via their API makes it an attractive option for fleets that want to keep their options open moving forward.
Onfleet is a fleet management system that focuses primarily on last-mile deliveries. They power last-mile delivery options for companies around the world.
They also differ a bit from other options on this list because instead of providing customers with a comprehensive solution, they focus on delivering a straight-forward, minimalist experience that is easy-to-use and understandable. This makes it an excellent option for small business owners that are interested in a simple but powerful solution for monitoring their own fleets and assets.
By focusing on last-mile deliveries — the part of the delivery process where the product is delivered to the customer, they make themselves an ideal choice for a small subset of the market.
To that end, Onfleet includes features like:
While Onfleet is not a comprehensive solution, it makes up for its lack of deep features by being hassle-free. There is no hardware required with Onfleet. The technology uses GPS features that are enabled on your smartphone through their app. As long as your driver has their smart device with them, they can be tracked by Onfleet.
Onfleet offers transparent pricing that is available publicly on their website. Each plan offers feature upgrades as you step up.
| Plan |
Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Starter |
$149 | Track, dispatch, manage, and analyze your fleet. |
| Basic | $349 | Starter + optimize routes, chat with drivers, and build integrations. |
| Premium |
$799 | Basic + scan barcodes, and IDs, and use a dedicated phone number. |
| Professional |
$1,999 | Premium + priority support, full data access, and brand customization. |
Onfleet is the perfect solution for companies that are looking for a last-minute delivery solution that is simple, easy-to-use, and doesn’t require a big investment into hardware. Their straight-forward plans and pricing make it easy for companies to evaluate
AgileFleet makes FleetCommander, an industry-leading comprehensive fleet management software solution for fleets with twenty-five vehicles or more. FleetCommander offers a wide range of features including dispatch, employee management, fuel management, inventory management, and maintenance tracking. In fact, just about the only major feature that Fleetcommander doesn’t include is routing.
Their cloud-based solution is available from any internet-connected device. Fleet Commander offers full GPS tracking that tracks vehicle locations along with speed, coordinates, and driver information.
Additionally, FleetCommander also offers geofencing technology, which allows companies to set predefined boundaries for each vehicle on an individual basis and receive alerts when a vehicle has gone out of their designated zone. Another often-cited feature in customer reviews is their diagnostic alert system, which sends alerts to users as vehicles approach their maintenance dates, as well as alerts for emission or engine issues. With FleetCommander, it’s easier to ensure that routine maintenance doesn’t turn into unexpected repairs.
FleetCommander also offers deep analytics including device assignment profiles, driver performance, and graphical reports across a range of metrics. The deep management features along with advanced visual analytics make FleetCommander an excellent solution for companies that not only want a top-down view but want to continually optimize their operations for better performance.
While you do have to contact them for a quote, they do make a few important facts available on their pricing page:
The different software modules that you can choose from when receiving your quote include:
AgileFleet’s FleetCommander is an excellent comprehensive fleet management solution for companies with fleets of twenty-five or more vehicles. While the pricing will likely put it outside of the budgets of smaller companies, their excellent customer service and valuable add-on services are often cited as welcome additions in reviews by customers.
Rhino Fleet Tracking is a cloud-based fleet management software solution that caters to companies of all sizes. Compatible with both desktop and mobile devices, it is a great solution for deep, detailed fleet analysis from anywhere with an internet connection.
Rhino Fleet Tracking uses GPS tracking hardware to deliver data about vehicle locations and routes in real-time, using Google Maps. Integrations with HOS and ELog make it easy for companies to monitor how long their drivers are on the road and meet FCMSA requirements. Through their system, feedback can be delivered directly to drivers through the Rhino GPS device.
One of Rhino’s more notable features is their vehicle maintenance alerts. Their system tracks routine maintenance schedules and sends alerts to companies and drivers as vehicles approach their maintenance dates, helping fleets to stay on top of their maintenance schedule and limit repair costs.
While Rhino Fleet Tracking could be used for businesses of almost any size, their system caters mostly to trucking companies with larger fleets due to the heavy focus on regulatory considerations.
Rhino Fleet Tracking pricing is available through quote only. The price of their solutions depends on:
Rhino Fleet Tracking is an excellent option for larger fleets, and particularly companies with trucking and shipping fleets. They have a heavier focus on the regulatory side of things, but provide a simple system that is compatible with both desktop and mobile devices.
Yes, each of these is available in Canada.
It depends on the fleet management software, but generally, vehicle tracking is near real-time, typically delayed by just a few minutes. The length of the delay varies by platform.
Not always. Many of them do, but others are able to track and deliver data through cell phone apps. Those that do require hardware typically utilize your vehicle’s standard OBDII port, which delivers more data.
Yes, unless you are using a satellite system (which will typically provide slower data updates), all of these systems require cell phone network services to operate. Companies in more rural areas may want to look into other solutions.
Yes, typically the best vehicle fleet management software will require either a monthly, quarterly, and annual subscription for access to the software. Often, hardware solutions can be purchased separately but you need to make sure that any hardware that you purchase is compatible with the software that you choose.
