Do smart pet tags need a subscription? UK costs

Prices checked in September 2026, and they move around, so treat them as a guide.

• Printed QR or NFC tags: usually £5 to £20 for the tag. The profile behind it may be free for life, free for a year, or a few pounds a month.
• Bluetooth trackers (AirTag and similar): £20 to £35, a battery every year or so, no monthly fee, but they only work where other phones pass by. See our AirTag guide.
• GPS trackers: £20 to £150 for the unit, then roughly £3 to £15 a month for the SIM and the app, plus charging every few days.

With a GPS tracker you’re paying for a mobile SIM and the servers behind the map, which genuinely cost money every month.

With a printed QR or NFC tag, you’re paying for a web page. That’s cheap to run, which is why plenty of tags, ours included, don’t charge for it. If a tag does charge monthly, check what you get for it that a free profile doesn’t.

1. Is the profile free for life, or free for a year?
2. What happens to the tag if you stop paying? Does it show a “renew” page to the person holding your lost pet?
3. Can you move the profile to a replacement tag, or do you start again?
4. Can you hide your phone number, or is it shown to everyone who scans?
5. Does the company sell or share your data?
6. How many taps does a finder need before they can reach you?

It’s the honest risk with any tag that points at a website, ours included: if the site goes, the code stops opening anything.

Two things make that survivable. Keep your microchip details up to date, because the microchip is the official record a vet or warden scans. And keep your name and address on the collar, which UK law already asks for on dogs. The tag is the fast route home; the chip and the engraving are the backstop.

Free tags handed out by insurers, food brands or a vet are usually genuine, but the profile behind them often comes with the catch: adverts, an upsell, or a fee to change your number later. Read what happens after the first year before you rely on one.

£10 for one tag, £18 for two, £32 for four, with free UK delivery. The profile is free for life, there’s no subscription, and you can hide your phone number and still be contacted. If you want the detail, it’s all on the shop page.