Which is the better smart tracker?

• 

  Tile Pro (2022)

  Tile’s flagship tracker

  The Tile Pro is a comprehensive tracking solution. With a 400-foot Bluetooth range and a circular cutout for easy attachment to your belongings, it offers convenience and peace of mind.

  Pros

  • Large tag network
  • User-replaceable battery
  • Excellent build quality

  Cons

  • Some features need a paid subscription

• 

  Chipolo One

  Affordable alternative

  Chipolo One is a budget-friendly smart tracker that offers a cost-effective solution for your tracking needs. It operates on its own tag network and boasts a 200-foot Bluetooth range. Additionally, itdouble as a smartphone camera remote, adding to its versatility.

  Pros

  • Long battery life and user-replaceable battery
  • Loud ringer
  • No subscription plans

The Tile Pro and the Chipolo One are two of the most popular smart tags that are platform-agnostic, which means they are compatible with Android and iOS devices. The two can achieve this by relying on their own tag networks to locate your belongings rather than leveraging Apple’s Find My or Google’s Find My Device networks. You will find a lot of other similarities between the two smart trackers. However, which of the two is most beneficial? Let’s find out.

Price, availability, and specifications

The Tile Pro is the company’s flagship general-purpose smart tracker and is reasonably priced at $35. The Chipolo One, on the other hand, is even $10 cheaper at $25 for the single pack. And if stocking up on smart trackers is your aim, you can save a few bucks by going with multipacks for either.

Since the Tile Pro and Chipolo One have been around for a while, they are widely available and easy to find through online and physical retailers.

Before we delve deeper, here’s a quick look at the smart trackers’ raw specifications.

• 	Tile Pro (2022)	Chipolo One
  Brand	Tile	Chipolo
  Connectivity	Bluetooth LE	Bluetooth LE
  Battery	Up to one year, user-replaceable User-replaceable CR2032 coin cell battery	Up to two years, user-replaceable User-replaceable CR2032 coin cell battery
  Range	Up to 120m (400 feet)	Up to 60m (200 feet)
  Water Resistance	IP67	IPX5

Design, build, and battery

The Tile Pro sports a rectangular design with curved edges. It’s not the most discreet tracker, but it isn’t too bulky, either. Since it’s a flagship, build quality is a Pro highlight, as Tile has combined plastic with metal to produce a durable smart tag. You also get a circular cutout to attach to your keys, luggage, and more. Additionally, Tile’s tracker has an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance to keep the device safe should it encounter the elements.

On the other hand, the Chipolo One has a circular design and plastic construction. Its design is reasonably durable, but the Tile’s construction is more substantial, as evidenced by the lesser IPX5 rating (which may make it more susceptible to water damage and dust.) This device also has a cutout for easy attachment on your most important items.

Though the Tile outshines the Chipolo in design, the battery is one area where the Chipolo One outperforms the Tile. It promises a two-year battery life compared to the Tile Pro’s one-year. But no matter when the battery is depleted, both trackers use a user-replaceable CR2032 coin cell battery.

Those looking for a little style will like that the Chipolo One is available in six exciting colors, including blue, green, and red. The Tile Pro, on the other hand, only comes in black and white.

Features

Features make or break a smart tracker, and the Chipolo One and the Tile Pro are pretty stacked in that aspect, but there are some crucial differences. For example, although Chipolo and Tile offerings use Bluetooth for close-range communication and tracking, the Tile Pro has a claimed Bluetooth range of 400 feet, and Chipolo One’s has a 200-foot range. However, keep in mind that these are line-of-sight range estimates, and you will never achieve them in real-world usage because obstructions, such as walls and everyday objects, interfere. Still, the longer Bluetooth range of the Tile Pro is certainly an advantage.

Outside the Bluetooth coverage, the Tile Pro and Chipolo One rely on their respective tag networks to locate your belongings. While the Tile network is pretty robust, with over 50 million networked devices, Chipolo falls behind with its smaller network of about 5 million devices. So, the Tile network is about 10 times bigger than the Chipolo network, which will significantly impact whether you find a lost item.

The Chipolo One may be backed by a smaller network and has a shorter Bluetooth range, but it has a louder speaker that can aid in quickly locating a lost item at close range. This can be helpful if you tend to lose things in your home.

Additionally, the two trackers have a button that you can use to ping your misplaced phone. Chipolo takes the advanced features one step further, offering a button that also acts as a camera remote for your smartphone. Both smart tags also support voice assistants, such as Alexa and Google Assistant, and you can use your smart speakers to ring them.

Subscription required for more features

Besides the features mentioned above, Tile Pro supports separation alerts and tracker location sharing with unlimited contacts. However, you must subscribe to the company’s premium plan to get them. Chipolo One offers both features for free, which is a huge benefit that should be considered. In fact, none of the Chipolo tracker’s features are locked behind a paywall.

Tile’s premium subscription also includes a 30-day location history, a replacement warranty, and item reimbursement as per the premium plan. So, while you certainly get a few extra features with the Tile Pro, you must account for the subscription costs that can add up in the long run.

Which should you buy?

The Chipolo One has a lot going for it, but Tile’s more extensive network and longer Bluetooth range tilt the scales in its favor. After all, you’ll want to find a lost tagged belonging as quickly as possible, and the tag network plays the primary role in that. Besides, the Tile Pro has a better build quality and all the necessary features. Sadly, you may have to pay for some of them. Otherwise, the Tile Pro is an easy recommendation for most people.

But if you want a cheaper tracker and are willing to accept Chipolo’s less robust tag network, the One is a good choice. It has a user-replaceable battery, longer battery life, and acts as the camera remote for your smartphone. The device also doesn’t require any subscription plan and gives you free access to separation alerts, unlimited tracker location sharing, and more.