Best Telematics For UK Fleets and Vehicles 2024

Top telematics platforms do more than just track vehicles. They are integrated systems for monitoring and improving fleet efficiency, usually provided by specialist fleet management companies.

Verizon Connect is currently the best telematics provider in the UK market. Our testing found it is more advanced than any other provider, offering features like predictive maintenance and a job scheduler to organize your fleet operations that most systems can’t.

Still, although Verizon packs some great tools, you might not need all of them – especially if you want to keep your monthly outlay to a minimum. Below we review eight other top-ranked options so you can find the best solution for your fleet.

The Best Telematics Providers in 2024

After extensive research into their features and pricing, we’ve determined these are the five best telematics providers for UK fleets:

1. Verizon: Best Overall Telematics Provider

Simply put, Verizon Connect is the best vehicle telematics provider on the UK market. Parent company Verizon bought Ireland-based Fleetmatics in 2016, California-based Telogis in 2017, and Spanish company Movildata in 2018. These were rebranded into Verizon Connect the same year, with its Reveal software since growing into one of the most well-known options around.

We found Verizon Connect provides greater oversight on the movements of your drivers than any other tool we’ve tested. You’ll get a vast range of features from daily reports for each driver that help you identify trends or opportunities for improved efficiency, to live notifications if anyone starts late, drives harshly, or idles too long.

Why we like Verizon Connect for fleet telematics

Verizon has the most advanced features of any telematics system we researched. Its vehicle tracking features allow you to gain maximum visibility over your fleet with daily summary reports, predictive alerts and notifications, and live tracking that updates every 30 seconds.

Route planning, automatic route optimization, dedicated scheduling, and dispatching features enable you to keep time and fuel waste at minimum levels.

Verizon also has some outstanding driver management features, such as a leaderboard and points system which rewards safety and productivity.

On the flip side, you can keep track of problem drivers with alerts for dangerous driving and idling, which are sent to both drivers and management. You’ll be able to collect data on driving style and driving history, making it easy to identify drivers who require further training.

And finally, Verizon is one of the best ELD providers, with ELD-compliant reports specific to each driver.

Verizon Connect’s potential drawbacks

No system is perfect, although Verizon comes close. Its main drawback is that, despite how advanced the rest of the system is, it doesn’t have extensive theft prevention features.

You can set time limits and out-of-hours alerts, which can pass as theft detection, though not entirely secure. This is the bare minimum when it comes to theft prevention, but some providers have additional tools. GPS Trackit, for example, provides 24/7 protection, even if your vehicles are turned off, and has a remote main power disconnect function.

Who is Verizon Connect suited to?

Given its breadth of features, Verizon Connect is best for large fleets or companies that prioritize comprehensive vehicle tracking. Its telematics tools, such as 30-second data refreshes, live driver tracking, and customizable reports, can provide businesses a deep level of insight into driver performance and fleet activity.

Companies with high standards for safety will benefit from Verizon’s driver management tools, including a safety leaderboard and detailed reporting on driving behaviors.

2. Samsara: Best Telematics Provider for Organising Dispatches

Samsara is our top pick for organising dispatches. A top-tier Internet of Things (IoT) solutions provider, it facilitates fleet managers to choose the optimal vehicle and route for jobs and calculate predicted departure times according to live traffic conditions, time on site, and expected travel time. Here’s what you else can expect if you opt for Samsara as your chosen telematics provider.

Why we like Samsara for fleet telematics

Samsara is another strong contender for telematics, and we rate it highly for its ability to streamline driver dispatches.

Its automatic route optimization feature calculates what order of jobs and stops will take the least amount of time (at a maximum of 20 stops). It uses data from previous trips to estimate how much time each stop will take and generates a planned departure time for each. This avoids wasting time and helps you improve fuel efficiency, something the vast majority of fleet managers will appreciate in the current economic climate.

Samsara also allows you to customize your alerts, so you can set your own parameters for what’s considered harsh driving, for events such as acceleration, brakes, turns, and crashes. This level of customization allows you to build a complete picture of your safety trends and improvements over time, in a way that’s unique to your fleet.

Samsara’s potential drawbacks

One of Samsara’s downsides is that it doesn’t offer installation support. For individual or smaller fleets who don’t have a designated team for this, it can hinder operations as you have to know how to install a car tracker on your own.

It’s also on the expensive side. While Samsara provides custom pricing packages, exemplary quotes we’ve received show most fleets will pay from £20 per vehicle, per month for a Samsara system. If you’re looking for a cheaper option that offers free installation support, RAM with its quotes starts at less than that £20 per vehicle, per month.

Who is Samsara suited to?

As you might expect, fleets focused on improving dispatch efficiency and managing complex scheduling needs will find Samsara a good fit. Its route optimization capabilities and integration with real-time traffic data help dispatchers make smarter decisions, and keep jobs on schedule with minimal fuel waste.

Given its breadth of features, only truly rivalled by Verizon Connect in this sense, including robust driver management features, customizable alerts for driving behaviour, as well as its 24/7 customer support, it’s a solid choice for larger fleets in general looking to cover all bases. Albeit, this does come at a more premium price point than some other telematics systems.

3. Teletrac Navman TN360: Best Telematics Provider for Managing Drivers

Teletrac Navman is one of the world’s largest telematics and fleet solutions providers, boasting over 35 years of experience.

Its TN360 software is particularly beneficial for driver management, showing a detailed breakdown of driver history and the ability to manage driver behaviour. This is done through various features including a leaderboard system, automatic alerts for dangerous driving, and reporting to analyze journeys or specific events. We’ll explain these driver-related features and more shortly.

Why we like Teletrac Navman for fleet telematics

Teletrac Navman TN360 is the best telematics system for managing drivers.

Its standout features for drivers include customized alert parameters for harsh driving, similar to those offered by Samsara, with the difference being that Teletrac Navman lets you choose where you receive alerts (on desktop, by email, or by text).

The system also has pre-made driver vehicle inspection report (DVIR) templates, making it quick and easy for drivers to submit reports, and has an entire set of tools for managing driver fatigue. This includes scheduling mandatory breaks and driver training, to help ensure the safety of your drivers and keep your vehicles in tip-top shape.

Teletrac Navman also has some commendable tracking features, like real-time data refresh time. It is the fastest refresh rate among all the suppliers we’ve researched, as the next fastest rate is at 15 seconds with Spireon. Having real-time tracking data available helps you monitor your vehicles efficiently. And, unlike RAM, Quartix, and Spireon, Teletrac provides 24/7 phone support to its users, which comes in handy during urgent concerns and queries.

Teletrac Navman’s potential drawbacks

Teletrac doesn’t have cargo and engine temperature sensors. So, if your fleet handles temperature-sensitive goods, such as food or medicine, we recommend opting for Verizon, as it uses diagnostics to detect temperature.

But if you are more concerned about pricing than temperature sensors, we’d hand it to Quartix, which starts at around £9.90 per vehicle, per month, compared to Teletrac, which starts at around £20 per vehicle, per month.

Who is Teletrac Navman TN360 suited to?

We highly recommend Teletrac Navman for companies that want advanced driver management tools and real-time data updates. Its driver-focused features, such as a comprehensive leaderboard system, DVIR templates, and fatigue management tools, make it a strong choice for businesses focused on ensuring driver safety and compliance. If you’ve been stung in this regard before, you’ll be in good hands with its TN360 software.

However, for fleets needing temperature monitoring for sensitive cargo, alternatives like Verizon may be more appropriate.

4. RAM: Best Telematics Provider for Improving Driver Safety

Founded in the UK back in 2004, RAM Tracking is somewhat basic telematics and fleet management software, though it did impress us with how much it offers at its comparatively low cost. In particular, its driver safety features are useful for keeping tabs on how careful your fleet is on the road. We’ll detail exactly how it achieves this shortly, as well as what else you can expect with RAM.

Why we like RAM for fleet telematics

RAM is our top recommendation for a telematics system that improves driver safety. With a centralized Driver App, you’ll be able to see summaries of essential driver information including assigned vehicle, locations visited and driving time, anytime, from anywhere.

In terms of behaviour management, you’ll receive alerts on accidents, speeding, harsh braking and acceleration which can be compiled into reports. You can encourage and reward safer driving practices with a points and leaderboard system.

It’s also one of the more affordable solutions on our list. Although RAM offers custom pricing, like most telematics providers, the example quotes we received show that you can get a software and dashcam bundle from around £8.99 per vehicle, per month, much less than Samsara or Verizon.

Apart from being affordable, RAM also helps you manage overall fleet costs, including fuel, with financial reporting that you can integrate with your timesheet reports to effectively track travel and on-site expenses. It includes approximate fuel cost expectations and driver travel time expenditure. 

Installing telematics is also a breeze with RAM, as it schedules engineers to come in and install it for you without additional fees.

RAM’s potential drawbacks

Where RAM falters a little is its optimization features. Unlike Samsara and Verizon, it doesn’t offer automatic route optimization, which could significantly reduce fleet expenses by suggesting the shortest journey for your drivers.

What’s more, if you do want your drivers to take the most optimal route, you’ll have to put time aside to manually plan it out that you wouldn’t with RAM’s rivals. 

The company also doesn’t provide vehicle diagnostics or track fleet maintenance records, which are crucial when it comes to maintaining your vehicles and reducing downtime.

Who is RAM Tracking suited to?

Overall, we’d suggest RAM Tracking to smaller fleets that prioritize drivers over advanced tracking or route optimization features. Its driver behaviour management tools, centralized Driver App, and affordable pricing make it well-suited for managers who need a straightforward monitoring solution that facilitates easy communication with drivers.

RAM’s simplified telematics functionality is best for businesses that can manage route planning manually (or with another app) but still need essential fleet-tracking features. Fleets on a tight budget will appreciate its affordability and installation support, too.

5. Quartix: Best Telematics Provider for Managing Fuel Costs

Founded in 2001, Quartix is a leading telematics system in the UK that is a superb choice for helping businesses reduce fuel costs and improve fleet performance.

Why we like Quartix for fleet telematics

Fuel is one of fleet management’s biggest and most unpredictable expenses, but fortunately, Quartix can help stay on top of fuel spending.

Its system integrates data from your fuel cards through its partnership with FleetCheck. You’ll have oversight on spending, and get reports on your vehicles’ CO2 emissions. On top of this, Quartix also sends alerts whenever it detects driving behaviors that waste fuel, such as speeding and idling.

When it comes to other features, we found the Quartix interface a little tricky to use at first, especially when it came to flipping between tabs. Even though each tab had well-placed buttons for generating reports or adjusting settings when needed, it wasn’t immediately obvious how to get from one tab to the other.

Once you do figure it out, however, any data-hungry managers will be able to analyze speeding incidents and track critical battery statuses on a granular level that covers specific vehicles, locations, and times.

Quartix’s potential drawbacks

When it comes to reducing fleet costs beyond fuel savings, Quartix lacks the necessary components. For starters, it doesn’t offer vehicle diagnostics or maintenance scheduling, which are essential when it comes to ensuring your vehicles function properly and are roadworthy.

It also does not support automatic route optimization, another tool that could help cut down your fleet’s fuel expenses as it provides the most efficient routes. For great route optimization tools, we recommend Azuga or Samsara.

Lastly, Quartix has a slower data refresh rate of one to two minutes (depending on your package). If you need these features, then we recommend Teletrac, since it has real-time tracking.

What businesses is Quartix suited to?

If you need advanced features for fleet management beyond telematics, such as route optimization, driver dispatching, and in-depth reports on driver safety and efficiency, Quartix isn’t for you. It purely focuses on fleet tracking past and present.

To that end, we would say if you just need telematics tracking, or you are a small-sized fleet that doesn’t require much functionality of this type, then Quartix is an excellent choice. What features it does have are excellently deployed, including an easy-to-understand live tracking map, useful driver and vehicle histories, and vehicle metric data to dive into, too.

Telematics Buying Guide

The best fleet telematics systems combine telecommunications and informatics to monitor and manage vehicles effectively. But if you don’t know what in particular to look out for with a telematics system, here’s our whistle-stop guide to help you understand what you’re getting into.

Core components of a telematics system

• Telematics device: An onboard hardware unit that collects data such as location, speed, and vehicle diagnostics. It typically connects to the vehicle’s OBD-II port or CAN bus depending on the vehicle.
• Data transmission: Utilizes cellular or satellite networks to send collected data to a central server for analysis. Normally this will be a component of the telematics device itself.
• Fleet management software: A platform that processes incoming data, providing real-time insights and reports accessible via web or mobile applications.

Essential features of telematics systems

• Real-time GPS tracking: Monitors vehicle locations to enhance routing and dispatching efficiency. This is a part of every telematics system we’ve researched and is usually the landing page of software you’ll encounter.
• Driver behaviour monitoring: Analyzes driving patterns to promote safety and reduce wear on vehicles.
• Maintenance alerts: Notifies managers of upcoming service needs, preventing costly breakdowns.
• Fuel usage analysis: Tracks consumption to identify savings opportunities and reduce environmental impact.

How to choose the optimal telematics system for you

There are many factors to consider when picking a telematics provider, and ultimately which ones are most important for your business will vary. Still, here are some things we suggest you think about when picking the one for you:

• Scalability: Choose a system that can grow with your fleet’s size and operational complexity. It can be difficult to stop using a telematics system if you are bound up in a long contract or simply in terms of exporting all your past data to the new system should you outgrow your current one.
• Integration capabilities: Ensure compatibility with existing systems like dispatch, accounting, or CRM software. If you have existing tools, you’ll need them to be working in harmony with the telematics provider you choose.
• User-friendly interface: Opt for intuitive platforms that require minimal training for effective use, especially if more than just the fleet manager is using the telematics system.
• Data security: Prioritize providers that implement robust measures. If you are a fleet company dealing with sensitive information, this is even more important.

How We Ranked the Best Telematics Companies