All 7 compared
Only one collar under $300 draws a custom shape from half an acre with no plan: PawTronic Pro Series 2. Here’s how all seven line up.
All 7 collars compared on price, plan, boundary and yard size| Collar | Price | Plan for the fence | Boundary | Smallest yard |
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| PawTronic Pro Series 2 | $278.99 | None | Circle or 8-point shape | 0.5 acre |
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| SpotOn Nova | $999 | None (tracking $9.95/mo) | Drawn or walked | 1/3 acre |
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| Halo Collar 5 | $524 | Required, from $9.99/mo | Posts placed on a map | Fences from 900 sq ft |
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| Dogtra GPS Fence | $199.99 | None | Up to 25 posts, or a circle | Over 3/4 acre |
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| PetSafe Guardian GPS 2.0 | $449.99 | Required, $9.99/mo or $99/yr | Up to 50 saved fences | 0.5 acre |
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| Premier Pet GPS | $139.99 | None | Circle, set on the collar | 3/4 acre |
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| Invirox GPS | $139.99 | None | Circle up to a 999-yd radius | Not listed |
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1. PawTronic Pro Series 2: best overall
PawTronic Pro Series 2 keeps your dog inside a line you draw on your phone. Then it stops needing your phone. We rank it first because it covers 0.5 to 200 acres, bends to fit odd-shaped land, and never asks for a plan.
Here’s how the first week goes:
- Charge and pair. The collar charges over USB-C (the same plug most phones use) in 2 to 3 hours. It pairs with the free Linked Paw app over Bluetooth, and pairing works best outside under open sky.
- Draw the line. A circle is the quick option, but on an odd-shaped lot it can cut across a road or a driveway. That’s when the custom shape helps. Eight points on the map let the line follow your lawn, a tree line or a creek.
- Save it to the collar. The collar holds up to six layouts. That means one collar can carry your home line, the barn and a cabin.
- Walk it, then train. Carry the collar along the edge before your dog wears it. Then start with short sessions on the tone alone. One owner in PawTronic’s reviews needed two 10-minute sessions.
Your phone can sit charging in the kitchen all afternoon. The fence keeps working anyway. PawTronic saves the boundary on the collar, not the phone. The alert stops the moment your dog steps back inside.
No plan, no phone nearby, and the collar still carries the line.
PawTronic’s owners report the same kind of results. The collar holds 4.7 out of 5 stars from 285 reviews on its store. One owner fenced about 75 acres of farm for a rescue dog that chases bikes.
One collar costs $278.99, with free shipping, 30-day returns and a 1-year warranty. Each dog wears its own collar, so the packs help. A two-collar pack takes $55.78 off the pair. A three-collar pack takes off $125.52.
Pros
- No plan ever, and a free app
- Eight-point shape fits odd lots
- Works with your phone left inside
- Fits dogs from 7.9 lb
Keep in mind
- Charge it overnight, like your phone (up to 36 hours of GPS standby).
- It’s a fence, not a tracker, so it shows no live dot.
Buy now for $278.99
2. SpotOn GPS Fence (Nova Edition)
SpotOn is a no-plan GPS fence for properties from a third of an acre to more than 100,000 acres. It’s also the priciest collar here, at $999.
You can draw the fence on a map, or walk the line with the collar and let it record your path. Inside the fence, you can add keep-out zones around a pool or a garden.
SpotOn does ask for a fence at least 80 feet wide at its narrowest point. So a long, thin side yard won’t fit. It also asks for a 15-foot buffer between the fence and any road.
Near the line, the collar plays two warning tones. They start about 10 feet inside the line. Next comes a vibration, and then static if you turn it on. (It has 30 static levels.) The collar picks up four satellite systems on two bands, and it has a Forest Mode for tree cover.
A charge lasts at least 33 hours with tracking on. Then the collar refills in about an hour, so a quick top-up in the morning works.
The fence needs no plan, and it needs no cell service or Wi-Fi either. Tracking is the part you pay for. Live location and escape alerts cost $9.95 a month, or $101.88 billed yearly. Each dog needs its own collar and its own plan, and SpotOn takes $100 off each extra collar.
The collar fits dogs from 15 lb, with necks from 10 to 26 inches. SpotOn gives you a 90-day money-back return. You also get a 1-year warranty with one accidental-damage replacement.
Pros
- Covers 1/3 acre to 100,000+ acres
- Draw the fence or walk it
- Keep-out zones inside the fence
Cons
- $999 for one collar
- Fence must be at least 80 ft wide
3. Halo Collar 5
Halo puts a GPS fence and a live tracker in one collar, and it runs on a monthly plan. You pick that plan before the collar can join your account. Without a plan, the fences don’t work.
The Bronze plan costs $9.99 a month and holds 5 fences. Silver costs $14.99 a month for 20 fences. Gold costs $19.99 a month for unlimited fences. Every plan includes cell data, so your dog’s live position shows in the app, and it updates four times a second.
You build a fence by typing an address and tapping posts onto the map. A fence can be as small as 900 square feet. But Halo’s help center asks for 15 to 20 feet between the fence and your home or a road. The same help center calls 7 to 10 feet of drift normal.
Halo’s collar cues with sound, vibration and optional static. If your dog keeps going, the feedback keeps rising until it turns back.
A charge lasts up to 48 hours. Halo tells owners to take the collar off and charge it every night. The collar is IP67, which means it can sit under a meter of water for half an hour. It fits dogs over 10 lb and 5 months old. Its strap runs from 8 to 30.5 inches, the largest neck size listed here.
Halo Collar 5 costs $524 on sale, down from $599, plus the plan. Over three years on Bronze, one dog comes to $883.64. By year five, the plan alone has cost more than the collar. Halo gives a 90-day money-back guarantee, less $25 for shipping, and a 1-year warranty.
Pros
- Live tracking four times a second
- Fits necks up to 30.5 in
- Fences from 900 sq ft
Cons
- Fences stop without a paid plan
- Gold plan costs $19.99 a month
4. Dogtra GPS Fence
Dogtra keeps the price low at $199.99, and it needs no subscription. Every app feature comes with the collar.
You draw a custom fence with up to 25 posts, or a circle from 12 meters to 4 kilometers across. The app keeps a main fence plus two backups, and it stores up to 30 boundaries. Dogtra asks for more than 3/4 acre. It puts its own accuracy at 3 to 15 feet, and its warning zone starts 5 to 15 yards inside the main fence.
The phone and collar talk over Bluetooth. That keeps the plan at zero, but alerts reach your phone only within 33 feet. It also means Dogtra shows no live location. Once you’re back in range, the app’s route history shows where your dog went.
You get four settings: steady stimulation, vibration, tone, or none. Stimulation runs from level 1 to 100, so you can start very low. Dogtra rates the collar IPX9K, a rating for high-pressure water jets.
Dogtra’s product page lists dogs from 15 lb, with necks of 10 inches and up. The manual limits wear to 6 to 8 hours at a time, so it isn’t an all-day collar. One phone pairs with up to 3 collars, which covers most homes with more than one dog.
Dogtra doesn’t list the battery runtime. The collar takes 3 hours or more to charge, so plan to charge it overnight. It carries a 1-year warranty.
Pros
- $199.99 with no plan
- Custom fence or a circle
- Main fence plus two backups
Cons
- 6 to 8 hours of wear at a time
- No published battery runtime
5. PetSafe Guardian GPS 2.0
PetSafe Guardian GPS 2.0 adds live tracking to PetSafe’s GPS fence, and it fits yards from half an acre. You can save up to 50 fences, which helps if your dog travels with you.
Setup needs 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, so set it up near your router. PetSafe wants fence posts 25 feet per story from any building. So a two-story house needs 50 feet of clear space around it. Opposite sides of the fence need 35 feet between them. PetSafe also says the collar works best without dense tree cover.
The collar uses dual-frequency GPS. It reads two satellite signals, which cuts errors near trees and buildings. It offers tone, vibration and 10 levels of static. PetSafe lists up to 70 hours on a charge. Its user guide limits wear to 12 hours a day, and it says the collar may be too large for dogs under 10 lb.
The plan costs $9.99 a month or $99 a year, and the collar needs cell service for live tracking and alerts. Without service, it still holds the stored fence. Each dog needs its own collar and its own plan.
PetSafe also sells the original Guardian GPS with no subscription, for the same $449.99. That version uses a plugged-in base unit and asks for 3/4 acre. It fits dogs over 25 lb.
Guardian GPS 2.0 costs $449.99 plus the plan, so the first year on the yearly plan comes to $548.99. PetSafe gives a 45-day return window and a 1-year limited warranty.
Pros
- Up to 50 saved fences
- Live tracking on the plan
- Dual-frequency GPS
Cons
- Plan costs $9.99 a month
- Needs 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi for setup
6. Premier Pet GPS Dog Fence
Premier Pet keeps the whole setup on the collar. You set a circle on its small screen, with no app and no plan.
PetSmart sells the collar for $139.99, down from $159.99. Radio Systems Corporation, the company behind PetSafe, owns the brand.
The circle needs a yard of three-quarters of an acre or more. It’s the only shape this collar draws, so the line can’t bend around a driveway or follow a field edge. On a long or L-shaped lot, a circle that fits the front lawn leaves the back outside the line. A square lot with the house in the middle suits it better.
You pick one of three settings: tone and vibration, small-dog static, or large-dog static. When your dog walks back in, the collar stays quiet. So coming home never earns a correction.
The collar fits dogs from 20 lb, with necks from 12 to 25 inches. A charge lasts up to 24 hours, so it goes on the charger each night. Premier Pet lists the collar as water-resistant, not waterproof, and backs it with a 1-year warranty.
Setup takes a few button presses and no phone at all. That suits an owner who wants nothing to install. But it also means you change the circle on the collar itself, so you’ll take it off your dog to adjust it.
Pros
- $139.99 with no app or plan
- Setup happens on the collar
- No correction on the way back in
Cons
- Circle only, set on the collar
- Dogs 20 lb and up
7. Invirox GPS Wireless Dog Fence
Invirox also sets its fence on the collar, with no app, no SIM card (the chip a phone uses for cell service) and no Wi-Fi. You pick a circle with the collar’s buttons. Its radius runs up to 999 yards in 99 steps, and the collar remembers it after a restart.
That circle shapes everything else. On a lot beside a road, a circle big enough for the back lawn can also cross the road. So the line has to shrink to the nearest edge, and a square lot with the house near the middle suits it best.
At the edge, the collar sounds a tone and vibrates, and you can add static. Each one has six levels, and you set them one by one. Invirox lists 1 to 2 yards of accuracy for its GPS chip.
A charge lasts up to 24 hours of steady use. It uses a magnetic USB charger, so the collar goes on it every night. The collar is IPX7, which means it can handle rain and a swim.
The strap fits necks from 7 to 22.5 inches. Invirox doesn’t list a minimum weight, so measure your dog’s neck before you order.
Invirox sells the fence for $139.99, down from $189.99. It comes with a 2-year warranty and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Its product page shows 5 verified reviews, so there’s little owner feedback to go on yet.
Pros
- Low price for a GPS fence
- No app, plan or SIM
- 2-year warranty
Cons
- Circle only, set with buttons
- Few owner reviews so far
How to choose
Choose a GPS fence by checking five things in order: your yard size, the shape of your land, the plan, the phone, and your dog. I always start with the first one, because it rules out the most collars.
1. Is your yard big enough?
Plan on half an acre or more, because GPS drifts a few feet and the line needs room inside your property. PawTronic works on 0.5 to 200 acres. Dogtra and Premier Pet ask for 3/4 acre. On a smaller lot, a buried-wire fence follows the line more tightly. Check your yard.
2. Does the line follow the shape of your land?
A good GPS fence lets you draw your own shape, because few yards are circles. PawTronic gives you a circle or eight points on a map. That way, the line can bend around a driveway or run along a field edge.
3. Will you pay every month?
A required plan adds about $120 a year for each collar. PawTronic needs no plan of any kind, and its app is free. Halo’s fence stops working without a membership.
4. Does the fence work when your phone is inside?
The fence should live on the collar, not on your phone. PawTronic saves the boundary to the collar. So the fence keeps working while your phone charges or sits out of range.
5. Does the collar fit your dog?
Check the neck size and the alert modes first. PawTronic fits necks from 8 to 25 inches, and it can cue with a tone or a vibration, with no static needed. Dogtra and SpotOn start at 15 lb.
Buying checklist with PawTronic Pro Series 2’s answer to each point| What to check | Why it matters | PawTronic Pro Series 2 |
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| Plan | A plan adds about $120 a year | None |
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| Smallest yard | GPS needs room inside your line | 0.5 acre |
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| Shape | Few yards are circles | Circle or 8-point shape |
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| Works without your phone | Your phone won’t always be near | Yes, the map lives on the collar |
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| Alert modes | Start gentle | Sound, vibration, both, optional static |
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| Dog size | The collar has to fit | Neck 8 to 25 in, from 7.9 lb |
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| Battery | A flat collar is no fence | Up to 36 h GPS standby |
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| Water | Dogs find mud | IP67 |
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| Returns | A safety net if it doesn’t fit | 30-day returns, 1-year warranty |
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How we compared
We compared all seven collars on the same points: price, required plan, boundary shape, smallest yard and dog size. Every price and specification comes from the maker’s own product page, help center or manual. Where a maker’s pages disagree, we use the stricter number. We haven’t run hands-on tests of all seven yet, and we’ll add the results here when we do. We checked every price on November 9, 2026. Our full method and sources.
Your dog getting out is a problem you can fix this week. Draw the line once, train on the tone for a few days, and give your dog the whole yard.
Buy now for $278.99