The World's Smallest GPS Tracker: Size & Weight Comparison

Why GPS Tracker Size and Weight Matter

For many use cases, a tracker that is too heavy or too bulky is simply not usable — regardless of how good its tracking is:

• Drones: Every gram of payload directly reduces flight time. A 50g tracker on a 250g micro drone represents 20% of the total mass. FPV racing drones are tuned to gram-level precision. At 15g, Loko Air adds negligible weight and does not require rebalancing.
• Small dogs and cats: Vets recommend pet accessories weigh no more than 10% of the animal's body weight. A 3kg toy poodle should not carry more than 300g on its collar. A 50g GPS tracker is already a significant fraction of that. At 15g, Loko Air is appropriate for dogs down to ~1kg.
• Luggage and valuables: A discrete tracker hidden in a bag needs to be small enough not to create a visible bulge or add notable weight to the item being tracked.
• Ultralight hiking: Backpackers on gram-counting trips scrutinize every piece of kit. A 15g tracker with up to 1-year battery is a completely different proposition from a 50g cellular tracker that needs recharging every 3 days.
• Racing pigeon tracking: Competition rules often limit attachment weight to 5–10% of bird weight. For birds weighing 300–400g, a 15g tracker is essential.

GPS Tracker Size and Weight Comparison

Tracker	Weight	Monthly Fee	Range	Battery Life	Technology
Loko Air (nolilab)	15g	$0	20km	up to 1-years	GPS + LoRa
Apple AirTag	11g	$0	~100m direct	~12 months	Bluetooth BLE
Tile Mate (2024)	7.6g	$0 / $3 (Premium)	~76m Bluetooth	~3 years*	Bluetooth BLE
Tractive DOG LTE	~35g	$9.99	Unlimited (LTE)	2–7 days	4G LTE + GPS
Garmin Alpha TT15 Mini	~100g	$0	~14km (MURS)	~20 hrs active	GPS + MURS radio

*Tile Mate and AirTag are Bluetooth beacons, not true GPS trackers — they have no GPS chip and depend on crowdsourced phone networks for location. Range listed is Bluetooth direct range. See our AirTag vs LoRa comparison for a full breakdown.

Garmin Alpha TT15 Mini is a legitimate radio GPS tracker — it uses MURS VHF radio bands — but weighs 100g+ and costs $699+. It is designed for hunting dogs and is overkill for most applications.

Loko Air is the only tracker in this comparison with real GPS, 20km radio range, and a monthly fee of $0 — at 15g.

What Loko Achieves at 15 Grams

The engineering challenge of building a tracker this small with these capabilities is significant. Here is what is packed into Loko Air's tiny form factor:

• Multi-constellation GPS receiver: Simultaneous GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo reception for fast, accurate fixes in varied conditions
• LoRa radio transmitter: Achieves 20km range on 14 dBm output power using a chip antenna — no large external antenna required
• Low-power microcontroller: Manages GPS acquisition, LoRa scheduling, and power management with a firmware optimized for minimum energy consumption
• Battery: Small rechargeable LiPo cell, rechargeable via USB, lasting up to 1-years at normal use intervals
• Open source design: Every component was selected for optimal power-to-size ratio, with the full BOM and schematics publicly available

The key to achieving this size is LoRa radio. A cellular modem requires much more complex radio circuitry and higher power amplification to reach cell towers. LoRa's spread-spectrum technology achieves extraordinary range with minimal hardware and power — which is why Loko can be so small while outranging most cellular trackers in off-grid environments.

Use Cases Where Small Size Is Critical

Beyond the obvious weight advantage, a small form factor opens up tracking possibilities that simply are not practical with bulkier devices:

• FPV drone recovery: When a long-range FPV drone goes out of control and lands in an unknown location, you need to find it. Loko Air at 15g fits on most drones without affecting the center of gravity, and its 20km LoRa range covers even the most ambitious flights. Cellular trackers fail because there may be no signal at the landing site.
• Exotic pet tracking: Large parrots, ferrets, and other pets that can escape through small gaps need small trackers. Under 15g is the threshold for comfortable attachment to a harness on mid-sized exotic pets.
• Backpack hidden placement: A tracker hidden inside a backpack for theft recovery needs to be small enough to conceal in a seam, pocket lining, or frame channel. Under 15g fits practically anywhere.
• Competitive cycling: Tracking a bicycle in a race or preventing theft requires a tracker small enough to hide inside a handlebar, seat tube, or under a saddle. Every gram adds up on a racing bike.
• Marine buoy and equipment marking: Attaching a tracker to a fishing net, lobster pot, or small buoy — where waterproof attachment hardware may add weight — benefits from the lightest possible base device.

Smallest GPS Tracker: FAQ