Over the past 6 months, we benchmarked multiple tracking technologies for mobile, unpowered assets: construction gear, medical rentals, tools, shipping containers, and more. The goal: build a system that reliably tells you: Where is this item now?
When was it last seen?
What’s the cost per asset to do this at scale? Where is this item now? Where is this item now? When was it last seen? When was it last seen? What’s the cost per asset to do this at scale? What’s the cost per asset to do this at scale? We tested: Cellular GPS (LandAirSea, Samsara)
Passive/Active RFID (Zebra, Alien)
BLE Trackers (Tile, One-Key, etc.)
Apple AirTags + programmatic layer Cellular GPS (LandAirSea, Samsara) Passive/Active RFID (Zebra, Alien) BLE Trackers (Tile, One-Key, etc.) Apple AirTags + programmatic layer Only one approach gave us: High-fidelity passive tracking
Minimal labor
Predictable location updates in the wild
Sub-$4/month total cost High-fidelity passive tracking Minimal labor Predictable location updates in the wild Sub-$4/month total cost 🔴 GPS Trackers — Power-Hungry & Operationally Fragile lessCopyEdit[ Asset ]
   |
[ GPS Module ]
   |
[ LTE Modem ]---[ Carrier Network ]---[ Cloud Platform ]
   |
[ Battery ] lessCopyEdit[ Asset ]
   |
[ GPS Module ]
   |
[ LTE Modem ]---[ Carrier Network ]---[ Cloud Platform ]
   |
[ Battery ] What it’s good at: What it’s good at: Real-time tracking when you have cell signal
Fine-grained updates (every 10s–60s) Real-time tracking when you have cell signal Fine-grained updates (every 10s–60s) Failure modes in the field: Failure modes in the field: Battery depletion → dead device in 7–30 days
Indoor/urban canyons → GPS lock fails
SIM provisioning → ~3% failure rate during setup
Techs forget to charge or miswire installs Battery depletion → dead device in 7–30 days Indoor/urban canyons → GPS lock fails SIM provisioning → ~3% failure rate during setup Techs forget to charge or miswire installs Measured in field: Measured in field: Avg install time (non-hardwired): 18 min
Avg labor revisit per year: 5.7x
Location latency indoors: >1hr or failed ping Avg install time (non-hardwired): 18 min 18 min Avg labor revisit per year: 5.7x 5.7x Location latency indoors: >1hr or failed ping >1hr or failed ping GPS works for powered fleets. It breaks down hard for passive assets. GPS works for powered fleets. It breaks down hard for passive assets. Annual TCO per device: ~$400 \  ($150 hardware + $240 data + $50 labor) 🟠 RFID — Great for Warehouses, Not the Field lessCopyEdit[ RFID Tag ]---(Passive)---[ RFID Reader ]
                             |
                        [ Backend DB ] lessCopyEdit[ RFID Tag ]---(Passive)---[ RFID Reader ]
                             |
                        [ Backend DB ] Useful for: Useful for: Inventory control at fixed chokepoints
Bulk scanning in highly structured environments Inventory control at fixed chokepoints Bulk scanning in highly structured environments Limitations: Limitations: No real tracking — just “seen at gate X”
Requires infrastructure at every decision point
0 coverage outdoors, in transit, on job sites
Readers are expensive and fragile (EM interference prone) No real tracking — just “seen at gate X” Requires infrastructure at every decision point 0 coverage outdoors, in transit, on job sites Readers are expensive and fragile (EM interference prone) Cost Breakdown: Cost Breakdown: Passive tags: $0.12–$0.80


Reader infrastructure/site: $2,500–$10,000


Integration overhead: high Passive tags: $0.12–$0.80 Passive tags: $0.12–$0.80 Reader infrastructure/site: $2,500–$10,000 Reader infrastructure/site: $2,500–$10,000 Integration overhead: high Integration overhead: high Unless you control the entire environment, RFID creates visibility gaps you can't close. Unless you control the entire environment, RFID creates visibility gaps you can't close. Annual TCO (real deployments): $8k–$40k/site Annual TCO (real deployments): $8k–$40k/site 🟡 BLE Trackers — “Tracking” That Usually Isn’t cssCopyEdit[ BLE Beacon ] --x--> [ Needs Someone Running App ] cssCopyEdit[ BLE Beacon ] --x--> [ Needs Someone Running App ] Examples tested: Examples tested: Tile Pro
Milwaukee One-Key
Chipolo Business Beta Tile Pro Milwaukee One-Key Chipolo Business Beta Core issue: They rely on proprietary apps running in the background — no real mesh, just marketing. Core issue: no real mesh Mesh Density (urban tests): Mesh Density (urban tests): Tile: 2 updates/week/asset in SF
One-Key: 0 updates outside Milwaukee job sites
Battery life: ~12 months (replaceable CR2032) Tile: 2 updates/week/asset in SF One-Key: 0 updates outside Milwaukee job sites Battery life: ~12 months (replaceable CR2032) Key limitation: Key limitation: If no one’s running the app, the device is invisible. In practice, that means ~99%+ dead zones. If no one’s running the app, the device is invisible. In practice, that means ~99%+ dead zones. No way to manage at scale. No geofences. No asset dashboard. Just a few stale pings, if you're lucky. TCO: ~ $30–$60/year  (still too high for something that barely works) TCO: ~ $30–$60/year  (still too high for something that barely works) 🟢 AirTags — When Paired with the Right Stack, They Win lessCopyEdit[ AirTag ]---(BLE)---[ Any iPhone Nearby ]
                         |
              [ Apple Find My Mesh ]
                         |
                 [ Programmatic Layer ]
                         |
                   [ AirPinpoint Dashboard ] lessCopyEdit[ AirTag ]---(BLE)---[ Any iPhone Nearby ]
                         |
              [ Apple Find My Mesh ]
                         |
                 [ Programmatic Layer ]
                         |
                   [ AirPinpoint Dashboard ] Key technical advantages: Key technical advantages: BLE beaconing interval: ~800ms (adaptive)
U1 chip + BLE triangulation improves spatial accuracy
Global passive mesh: 2.2B+ iOS devices relay encrypted updates
Battery: 2–4 years on CR2032
Range: We observed ~0.2–2.3 miles real-world handoff distance in cities BLE beaconing interval: ~800ms (adaptive) U1 chip + BLE triangulation improves spatial accuracy Global passive mesh: 2.2B+ iOS devices relay encrypted updates 2.2B+ iOS devices Battery: 2–4 years on CR2032 Range: We observed ~0.2–2.3 miles real-world handoff distance in cities Test results: Test results: Urban ping latency: <8 minutes
Suburban latency: ~12–45 minutes
Dense indoor location accuracy: ~10–15m radius
Deployment time: <60 seconds per asset
No SIM, no charge cycles, no field config Urban ping latency: <8 minutes <8 minutes Suburban latency: ~12–45 minutes ~12–45 minutes Dense indoor location accuracy: ~10–15m radius Deployment time: <60 seconds per asset <60 seconds No SIM, no charge cycles, no field config This is the only BLE-based system with actual nationwide mesh reliability. This is the only BLE-based system with actual nationwide mesh reliability. AirTag Comprehensive CR2032 Battery Brand Comparison Based on extensive empirical testing of CR2032 batteries under conditions similar to AirTag operation, here's how different brands perform: Brand

Runtime (Hours)

Runtime (Approx. Months)*

Cost per Cell

Value Rating (Hours/$)



Panasonic

1500

12.5

$1.04

1442



Voniko

1448

12.1

$0.83

1745



Maxell

1444

12.0

$0.58

2490



Toshiba

1325

11.0

$0.64

2070



Harbor Freight

1307

10.9

$0.75

1743



Energizer

1307

10.9

$1.28

1021



Duracell

1298

10.8

$1.81

717



AC Delco

1223

10.2

$0.79

1548



Nightkonic

1186

9.9

$0.24

4942



Murata

1175

9.8

$0.45

2611



Hua Dao

642

5.4

$0.14

4586 Brand

Runtime (Hours)

Runtime (Approx. Months)*

Cost per Cell

Value Rating (Hours/$)



Panasonic

1500

12.5

$1.04

1442



Voniko

1448

12.1

$0.83

1745



Maxell

1444

12.0

$0.58

2490



Toshiba

1325

11.0

$0.64

2070



Harbor Freight

1307

10.9

$0.75

1743



Energizer

1307

10.9

$1.28

1021



Duracell

1298

10.8

$1.81

717



AC Delco

1223

10.2

$0.79

1548



Nightkonic

1186

9.9

$0.24

4942



Murata

1175

9.8

$0.45

2611



Hua Dao

642

5.4

$0.14

4586 Brand

Runtime (Hours)

Runtime (Approx. Months)*

Cost per Cell

Value Rating (Hours/$) Brand Brand Runtime (Hours) Runtime (Hours) Runtime (Approx. Months)* Runtime (Approx. Months)* Cost per Cell Cost per Cell Value Rating (Hours/$) Value Rating (Hours/$) Panasonic

1500

12.5

$1.04

1442 Panasonic Panasonic 1500 1500 12.5 12.5 $1.04 $1.04 1442 1442 Voniko

1448

12.1

$0.83

1745 Voniko Voniko 1448 1448 12.1 12.1 $0.83 $0.83 1745 1745 Maxell

1444

12.0

$0.58

2490 Maxell Maxell 1444 1444 12.0 12.0 $0.58 $0.58 2490 2490 Toshiba

1325

11.0

$0.64

2070 Toshiba Toshiba 1325 1325 11.0 11.0 $0.64 $0.64 2070 2070 Harbor Freight

1307

10.9

$0.75

1743 Harbor Freight Harbor Freight 1307 1307 10.9 10.9 $0.75 $0.75 1743 1743 Energizer

1307

10.9

$1.28

1021 Energizer Energizer 1307 1307 10.9 10.9 $1.28 $1.28 1021 1021 Duracell

1298

10.8

$1.81

717 Duracell Duracell 1298 1298 10.8 10.8 $1.81 $1.81 717 717 AC Delco

1223

10.2

$0.79

1548 AC Delco AC Delco 1223 1223 10.2 10.2 $0.79 $0.79 1548 1548 Nightkonic

1186

9.9

$0.24

4942 Nightkonic Nightkonic 1186 1186 9.9 9.9 $0.24 $0.24 4942 4942 Murata

1175

9.8

$0.45

2611 Murata Murata 1175 1175 9.8 9.8 $0.45 $0.45 2611 2611 Hua Dao

642

5.4

$0.14

4586 Hua Dao Hua Dao 642 642 5.4 5.4 $0.14 $0.14 4586 4586 *Converted from accelerated test conditions to approximate real-world months based on typical AirTag usage patterns Converted from accelerated test conditions to approximate real-world months based on typical AirTag usage patterns Test Methodology: All batteries were tested with a consistent 80μA base load (approximately 16x the typical AirTag sleep current) with periodic higher current pulse loads similar to Bluetooth transmissions. Tests were normalized to account for minor variations in test fixtures. Test Methodology 🧮 Real Cost Comparison (Per 100 Assets, Per Year) Tech

Hardware

Labor

Subscriptions

TCO (Year 1)



GPS

$15,000

$5,000

$36,000

$56,000



RFID

$2,000

$4,000

$0

$6,000+



BLE

$3,000

$3,000

$0

$6,000



AirTag + Platform

$2,000

$500

$47.88 (flat)

~$2,548 Tech

Hardware

Labor

Subscriptions

TCO (Year 1)



GPS

$15,000

$5,000

$36,000

$56,000



RFID

$2,000

$4,000

$0

$6,000+



BLE

$3,000

$3,000

$0

$6,000



AirTag + Platform

$2,000

$500

$47.88 (flat)

~$2,548 Tech

Hardware

Labor

Subscriptions

TCO (Year 1) Tech Tech Hardware Hardware Labor Labor Subscriptions Subscriptions TCO (Year 1) TCO (Year 1) GPS

$15,000

$5,000

$36,000

$56,000 GPS GPS $15,000 $15,000 $5,000 $5,000 $36,000 $36,000 $56,000 $56,000 $56,000 RFID

$2,000

$4,000

$0

$6,000+ RFID RFID $2,000 $2,000 $4,000 $4,000 $0 $0 $6,000+ $6,000+ $6,000+ BLE

$3,000

$3,000

$0

$6,000 BLE BLE $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $0 $0 $6,000 $6,000 $6,000 AirTag + Platform

$2,000

$500

$47.88 (flat)

~$2,548 AirTag + Platform AirTag + Platform AirTag + Platform $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $500 $500 $500 $47.88 (flat) $47.88 (flat) $47.88 (flat) ~$2,548 ~$2,548 ~$2,548 ✅ Final Notes AirTags on an ios device alone are not sufficient for business use. They lack: Asset naming / grouping


Geofencing


Bulk management


Alerting / integrations


Silent mode (you don’t want customers getting “you’re being tracked” alerts) Asset naming / grouping Asset naming / grouping Geofencing Geofencing Bulk management Bulk management Alerting / integrations Alerting / integrations Silent mode (you don’t want customers getting “you’re being tracked” alerts) Silent mode (you don’t want customers getting “you’re being tracked” alerts) But when paired with a 3rd party platform that solves those (like AirPinpoint) they become arguably the highest-leverage, lowest-friction tracking layer available for unpowered asset fleets. highest-leverage, lowest-friction tracking layer available If you’re trying to track equipment, rentals, forklifts, pumps, dollies, carts, containers, or anything that moves but doesn’t have power — this is the stack to beat. this is the stack to beat

This story contains new, firsthand information uncovered by the writer.

Walkthroughs, tutorials, guides, and tips. This story will teach you how to do something new or how to do something better.

We Tested GPS, RFID, BLE, and AirTags for Asset Tracking — Only One Actually Worked

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