SpotOn vs. Invisible Fence® GPS Collar: PamperedPup Review

REVIEW: SpotOn Remains the Superior Choice for Dog Owners.

Dog owners are increasingly seeking the best technology to keep their pets safe while enjoying the freedom of the great outdoors. With GPS dog fences becoming more popular, several brands have emerged as front-runners, including SpotOn - the original GPS dog fence. SpotOn is the first-ever GPS dog fence and has more than five years of invaluable experience iterating and improving their technology. Meanwhile, Invisible Fence® has been providing dog fencing for decades with their buried wire fences, and just recently introduced a GPS dog collar option.

So how do the two compare? The dog experts at the Pampered Pup recently sought to answer that question with an in-depth review exploring which collar is the superior choice for pet safety, ease of use, and overall customer satisfaction.

Why SpotOn Remains the Top GPS Dog Collar

According to the Pampered Pup's review video, SpotOn was recommended as the superior GPS dog fence and collar for several key reasons.


1. Subscriptions are NOT required

The price of a GPS dog collar is just one piece of the overall investment. Subscription plans are another consideration and an essential part of the total cost of ownership comparison.

The Pampered Pup states, "The Invisible Fence® GPS Collar usually runs about $700 bucks, although as I'm filming it's on sale for about $600. You need a subscription to use it and that was about $100 for the year when I signed up. There was no option for a monthly payment."

Meanwhile, SpotOn's collar costs more up front but over time, gives dog owners more flexibility: "A subscription for the SpotOn collar is nice to have for things like live tracking and real-time notifications on your phone, but unlike most GPS dog fence collars, it's not required with the SpotOn."

The Pampered Pup adds: "Now if you want a subscription for that extra functionality, that runs at about $10 bucks a month, but you can knock the price down by signing up for longer terms."


2. SpotOn's set up is "much smoother"

Zack Lovatt and his team of experts at the Pampered Pup are highly experienced in using and testing GPS dog fences and other wireless containment systems. On YouTube, you can find over 200 videos that show the Pampered Pup testing dog tech and other pet products.

Based on this deep familiarity with GPS dog collars, the Pampered Pup was shocked to encounter so many issues setting up the other brand's collar. After a few hours: "We still weren't even able to get the collar up and running."

Among their frustrations was the glitchy app. "They may have the worst app I've ever used," shared their editor, as they display the frozen screen within the app. They add:

"These days, I'd expect a better experience with such an expensive product, and most of the other products are, indeed, easier to set up. Compare this with SpotOn... SpotOn is more or less ready to go right out of the box."


3. SpotOn's customer service outshines the others

Customer support is another area where SpotOn stood out. The Pampered Pup's experience with the other brand's customer support was riddled with delays and unresponsiveness. After multiple attempts to contact customer service via email and the company’s website, the reviewer was left without a response for an extended period. Even when they finally managed to initiate a return, the process was slow and cumbersome, taking weeks to resolve.


"I feel a little bummed that I didn't get to test the Invisible Fence GPS in action, but at the same time, I think most dog owners probably wouldn't love going through what we went through trying to set this up."

SpotOn, on the other hand, offers multiple channels for customer support, including email, live chat, and phone support directly within the app. This accessibility ensures that customers can quickly and easily get the help they need. 

"All in all, when you're paying this kind of for a product these days, you expect a better customer experience. SpotOn's customer support has been great in my experience."

4. SpotOn offers Proven Performance

While the Pampered Pup didn't delve into a direct comparison of performance, due to their setup issues that prevented field testing, they did express their confidence in SpotOn versus the other GPS Collar.


"I still think SpotOn is the top performing GPS fence, and they continue to develop the collar to keep up with the needs of dog owners. The Invisible Fence GPS collar is still young."

Get SpotOn Today!

SpotOn stands behind its products and is proud to offer the FIVE-STAR Guarantee. Try it, love it, or return it risk-free!

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