QR pet tag vs microchip vs GPS tracker: which do you need?

• Microchip: read only with a scanner, by a vet, council or rescue. No battery. Usually £10 to £30 to fit, and some databases charge to update your details (what it costs). The law for dogs, and for cats in England.
• Engraved tag: anyone can read it. No battery. A few pounds. For dogs in public, your name and address on the collar or a tag is the law.
• QR code tag: anyone with a phone camera can open your pet's page and contact you. No battery, and you can change the details any time. PetTag is £10, paid once.
• GPS tracker: shows you where your pet is. Needs regular charging and a plan for its SIM card: Tractive's, for example, is £59 plus £5 to £10 a month, with a battery that lasts up to 2 weeks on a dog (see what smart pet tags cost).
• Bluetooth tracker, like an AirTag: shows roughly where it is when a compatible phone passes nearby. No monthly fee.

A tiny chip under your pet's skin that links to your details on a database. It can't fall off, but it can only be read with a scanner, usually at a vet or by the council. By law, all dogs in the UK must be microchipped by 8 weeks old, and in England cats must be microchipped by 20 weeks old.

Your details engraved on a metal tag. Anyone can read it, and it covers the legal requirement for dogs in public to wear your name and address. But space is tight, the details are visible to everyone, and you need a new tag if anything changes.

Anyone can scan it with their phone camera to open your pet's profile and contact you straight away. You can update it any time, add medical notes and keep your number private. It works alongside a microchip and your name and address on the collar.

Shows you where your pet is on a map, which helps if your pet roams. It needs charging, often needs a subscription, and doesn't help a stranger who finds your pet contact you.

A small tracker that shows up on your phone's map when other phones nearby pick up its signal. It's cheaper than GPS and has no subscription, but it only updates when a compatible phone passes by, and a stranger who finds your pet won't know who you are. Our AirTag guide goes into the details, and there's one just for AirTags on cats.

• In a national US survey, 93% of lost dogs were recovered: 49% were found by searching the neighbourhood, 20% came home on their own, and 15% got home because of a tag or microchip (Weiss and others, 2012).
• In a study of 187 lost dogs in Ohio, a licence or ID tag on the collar got about a quarter of the recovered dogs home. A microchip got two home, but only 8% of the dogs had one (Lord and others, 2007).
• At a large US shelter, adult stray dogs with a microchip were returned to their owners 71% of the time, against 39% without one (Kremer, 2021).
• In the UK, a Battersea study of council strays found 96% of dogs with a chip and up-to-date details got home, against 77% with out-of-date details and 40% with no chip (cited in Defra's 2021 review).

So the two things that matter most are ID a finder can read on the spot, and a chip with your current details for when your pet reaches a scanner. More figures are in our UK pet statistics.

• A microchip with up-to-date details. It's the law for dogs, and for cats in England.
• For dogs, your name and address on the collar or a tag. That's the law too.
• A QR tag, so anyone who finds your pet can reach you in seconds.
• A GPS tracker as well, if your pet is a roamer.