Best Trackers: Apple AirTag vs Tile and Chipolo

Size: 1.26 inches (32mm) in diameter, height 0.31 inches (7.9mm)

Weight: 0.39oz (11g)

Range: Not specified

Volume: 60dB

Water resistance: IP67

Battery: 1 year (replaceable)

Compatible with Apple Find My: Yes

Colors: White/Silver

Before we head to the alternatives, it makes sense to look at Apple’s iconic tracker.

Apple pulled back the covers on the AirTags in 2021. The circular tracking device features a silver finish emblazoned with the Apple logo, all of which is encased in a white plastic surrounding edge. It’s powered by a standard CR2032 battery that’s, unusually for Apple, user replaceable and which should deliver around a year’s worth of charge.

An IP67 rating means AirTags will be able to survive immersion in water for a depth of up to one meter and for a maximum of thirty minutes, as well as being dust proof.   

AirTag uses Bluetooth to send out its signal to your iPhone, so you can know it’s location. If you have an iPhone 11 or later, then you’ll be able to utilise the AirTag’s U1 chip that boasts Ultra Wideband technology to use the Precision Finding feature that will guide you directly to the AirTag rather than giving you its general vicinity.

If you’re out of range of the AirTag, you can still find it thanks to the Find My network that’s normally used for Find My iPhone, Find My Friends and so forth. This means that if another Apple device passes by the AirTag, then it will alert the Find My network to the lost item’s position.

One concern with trackers is the ability for people to track you, but Apple makes a big deal of the privacy features it has built-into AirTag to stop this from happening. Essentially if an AirTag is away from the managing iPhone for a length of time it will start to make a sound, which would alert someone to its presence.

Size: 1.49 inches (38mm) in diameter, height 0.25 inches (6.4mm)

Weight: 0.27oz (7.7g)

Range: 200ft (60m)

Volume: 120dB

Water resistance: IPX5

Battery: 1 year (replaceable)

Compatible with Apple Find My: Yes

Colors: Black

Chipolo began its ONE range of trackers before the AirTag was launched, and they’ve proven to be a popular and reliable way to keep track of your important items.

The ONE Spot is compatible with Apple’s Find My network of hundreds of millions of users. This means you’ll be able to use the Find My app on your iPhone to see where the ONE Spot (and the item it’s attached to) is located. Unlike the original ONE, it doesn’t support Android, but that won’t bother most iPhone or Mac users.

Like AirTags, the ONE Spot has a replaceable battery, using the standard CR2032 variant. It also comes with an IPX5 water rating, which is shower-proof rather than able to survive any dips. So don’t put it on your dog if it likes going in the sea.

Using the dedicated app, you’ll get alerts if you’re more than 200ft away from the ONE Spot, plus there’s the added advantage of asking Siri to call the ONE Spot, which then triggers the loud ringer on the device. So, you should be able to track down those elusive keys in your house without too much fuss.

Size: 3.35 inches (85.1mm) x 2.11 inches (53.6mm), height 0.09 inches (2.4mm)

Weight: 0.31oz (8.7g)

Range: 200ft (60m)

Volume: 105dB

Water resistance: IPX5

Battery: 2 years (not replaceable)

Compatible with Apple Find My: Yes

Colors: Black

While you can buy wallets with special AirTag pouches, the Apple tracker’s bulbous design makes it an imperfect solution for wallets and purses. Chipolo’s Card Spot tracker is like a flattened out ONE Spot—there’s no keyring hole but it’s designed to slip almost unnoticed into a wallet alongside your cards and cash.

The Card Spot is 0.09 inches (2.4mm) thick, a third of the height of Apple’s tracker (0.31 inches, 8mm).

It is compatible with Apple’s Find My network, so works very much like an AirTag and is as simple to set up. The AirTag wins on precision but otherwise the Chipolo Card Spot is what you’d expect from an iOS and Mac-friendly tracker.

At 105dB it can also emit a much louder alert noise than the AirTag (60dB).

The Card Spot’s battery lasts around twice as long as the AirTag’s but isn’t replaceable. Instead, Chipolo has a Recycle & Renew service that means you send in your old card and have the chance to buy a new one for half price if you registered your tracker at time of purchase.

The rival Tile Slim tracker is a similar size but isn’t certified to work with Apple’s Find My app or network.

Read a full Chipolo Card Spot review.

Size: 1.54 inches (39mm) square, height 0.28 inches (7.2mm)

Weight: 0.28oz (8g)

Range: 250ft (76m)

Volume: 119dB

Water resistance: IP67

Battery: 3 years (not replaceable)

Compatible with Apple Find My: No

Colors: White, Black

One of the leading names in Bluetooth trackers is Tile. The company was one of the first to champion the idea and its square design makes the trackers instantly recognisable. The Tile Mate is the cheapest offering from its current range but offers plenty of useful features.

Let’s start with the biggest negative—the Tile Mate isn’t, and probably won’t be, compatible with Apple’s Find My network, relying on its own user network that is much smaller than Apple’s.

The battery should last up to three years—much longer than the AirTag but without the ability to replace the battery when drained.

It is a 39mm square shape, and at 7.2mm is slightly less deep than the AirTag’s 8mm bulge.

The latest version of the Tile Mate can track items up to 250ft (75m) away, which is usually ample if you’re just looking for your keys at home or the car in a large parking area.

Outside of that range, you’ll be able to track the Mate via Tile’s other users, with any Tile device triggering an alert you if it passes by your missing item.

Unlike the Chipolo ONE Spot, you don’t get smart alerts that let you know you’ve gone out of range of the Tile—instead this is an optional Premium feature in the app that will cost an additional $29.99 a year.

The Tile Mate matches the Apple AirTag with an impressive IP67 waterproof and dustproof rating.

Size: 2.32 inches (58.8mm) x 1.32 inches (33.6mm), height 0.3 inches (7.7mm)

Weight: 0.49oz (14g)

Range: 400ft (120m)

Volume: 128dB

Water resistance: IP67

Battery: 1 year (replaceable)

Compatible with Apple Find My: No

Colors: White, Black

The bigger brother of the Mate is the Pro, which not only has slightly expanded dimensions but an increased tracking range.

The Pro can stay connected to your iPhone for up to 400ft, double that of the ONE Spot and Tile Mate. It also has a louder ring, which makes sense, as you may need to hear it from further away.

The larger frame allows for a CR2032 battery, as in the ONE Spot and AirTag, which should keep things going for around a year.

Aside from these details though, it’s very much the same as the Mate—its main benefit being the extended range.