Quick List
1. Best overall
2. Best budget
3. Best for a wallet
4. Best design
5. Best for attaching to tech
6. Best extra feature
Q&A
There are so many alternatives to Apple AirTag on the market that you don’t necessarily need to go with Apple’s option when opting to purchase a tracker. Companies like Tile have been making smart trackers for over a decade giving you different options depending on your needs.
While the AirTag is a brilliant piece of technology, the small white disc isn’t perfect for every situation and often you’ll need to buy extra accessories like the $35 FineWoven Key Ring or one of the best AirTag wallets to make sure you get the best experience.
Smart trackers allow you to know when you’ve left something behind or keep track of your precious items so you always know where they are. While these alternatives to AirTag aren’t made by Apple they all work with the Find My app, making it seamless to keep on top of your most important items. From house keys to bikes, these alternatives to Apple AirTag are worth considering when looking to purchase a smart tracker — here are our favorites.
Quick list
Best overall
The Tile Pro uses Bluetooth to track your items, and you can use the Tile app to ring your Tile Pro if it's within 400 feet. Tile Pro is water-resistant and features a one-year user-replaceable CR2032 battery. While some features require a premium subscription like smart alerts and 30-day location history, the loud alarm and long range make this the best overall tracker.
Best budget
The Tile Mate is very similar to the Tile Pro, the main difference being the reduced range from 400 feet on the Pro to 200 feet on the Mate and the alarm sound isn’t quite as loud. With IP67 water resistance and a three-year battery, the Tile Mate is an excellent choice for someone who wants to be part of the Tile network at a cheaper cost.
Best for a wallet
The Tile Slim is built for your wallet but can also fit in a notebook or passport. It's the size of a credit card and features a three-year non-replaceable battery. It also has a Bluetooth range of up to 250 feet and is water-resistant up to 1 meter thanks to its IP67 rating. The Slim’s low profile is ideal for anyone who wants to track their wallet at all times.
Best design
Unlike the Tile options on this list, the Chipolo ONE is completely subscription-free, which means you get every feature without paying monthly. With six colors to choose from and a loud 120db alarm for tracking, the Chopolo ONE is an easy-to-use smart tracker with a fun aesthetic. The battery lasts two years and is user-replaceable, so you won’t need to buy a new one regularly like other entries in this list.
Best for attaching to tech
The standout feature of the Tile Sticker is its adhesive, so you can stick it to a remote, headphones, camera, laptop, or literally anything you want. It features a three-year non-replaceable battery and a Bluetooth range of 150 feet. The Tile Sticker is the closest tracker on this list in size to Apple’s AirTag and is fantastic due to its discrete size and color.
Best with an extra feature
The Cube Pro can track your items with Bluetooth up to 200 feet and features a loud 101db ringer. It has a one-year user-replaceable CR2025 battery and a unique feature that makes it stand out. The Cube Pro can act as a selfie remote so you can take photos from a distance without having direct access to your iPhone. This neat feature comes in handy if you want to take remote photos while out and about.
Best overall
The Tile Pro is our pick for the best alternative to the Apple AirTag because of its long 400ft range, user-replaceable battery, and loud decibel alarm in case you lose what you’re looking for. Tile Pro has the iconic Tile shape with space to attach a keyring so it can attach to your luggage or even your keys.
As a complete package, the Tile Pro is the best smart tracker (AirTags aside) out there giving those who need a reliable tracking solution everything they could possibly want. There is a premium subscription that adds extra features like a 30-day location history, and while we wish there were no subscriptions at all on this $34.99 tracker, it unfortunately plagues all of Tile’s products. That said, the $3/month subscription is not a necessity here.
Best budget
The Tile Mate is a more affordable entry into the Tile ecosystem with a lot of the benefits of the more expensive Tile Pro at a cheaper $24.99 price point. Available in black and white the Mate has a 250ft tracking range and a 3-year battery life. The battery here is unfortunately not replaceable which means you’ll need to buy a new Tile Mate once yours gives in.
In our review, we praised the Tile Mate for its slim and discreet design alongside a “fairly loud” alarm. It’s worth noting that the Mate, just like the Tile Pro, requires Tile’s premium subscription to get smart alerts — why does everything these days need to be a subscription?
Best for a wallet
The Tile Slim is awesome. It features all the same bells and whistles as the Tile Mate but fits into a credit card-sized slim format. Ideal for putting in your wallet, the Tile Slim also works great with adhesive onto any flat object like an iPad or a book. Tile Slim is different enough from AirTag that it can live alongside Apple’s trackers in your ecosystem.
Unfortunately, to get the most from the Tile Slim you’ll need to pay the $3/month subscription fee but this small drawback isn’t enough to stop you from buying one of the best AirTag alternatives.
Best design
The Chipolo One is so much fun. Available in six different colors, yellow, red, blue, green, black, and white, the Chipolo One is as much a smart tracker as it is a fashion accessory. The tiny AirTag alternative has a 120dB speaker, 2 years of battery life that’s also replaceable when it runs out, and a 200ft range.
One drawback of the ONE is the lack of IP67 water resistance like all of the other trackers on this list. While the IPX5 Standard is splash-proof you don’t want to get caught out in the rain. That said, the Chipolo ONE has zero subscription fees and feels like the most consumer-friendly product on this list.
Best for attaching to tech
The Tile Sticker is aptly named as it can stick to everything and anything. Ideal for attaching to your tech with its small footprint, the Sticker is a brilliant alternative to Apple’s AirTag. Tile recommends you use the Sticker on things like your TV remote, headphones, bikes, or anything else as it has a strong adhesive and looks incredibly discreet.
Like every other Tile entry on this list, we have to mention the subscription fees — you’ll need to pay $3/month to get the best experience. The Tile Sticker is also good for 3 years but you’ll need to replace the whole product after that, not ideal for the environment.
Best extra feature
The Cube Pro is the only tracker in this buying guide that has a secret weapon: It also works as a shutter button for your iPhone’s camera. The premium metal enclosure and replaceable battery make the Cube Pro a great alternative for anyone who wants more than just a smart tracker.
If you take lots of selfies on the go and think you would use the remote shutter feature, then the Cube Pro is the tracker for you. The Range isn’t quite as good as the Tile Pro, offering a range of 200ft, but that shouldn’t deter you from a brilliant product that deserves a place on this list of best Apple AirTag alternatives.
Q&A
What to look for in a smart tracker?
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Every smart tracker on this list is fantastic and will do a great job at allowing you to easily track your items. The best advice is to pick a tracker based on your needs and whether or not you want to pay extra for a subscription service.
If you’re looking for the best option overall and don’t mind paying $3/month then the Tile Pro is the best with its large 400ft range. A more budget option is the Tile Mate which offers a similar experience with slightly fewer features.
If you’re looking for something to fit in your wallet, the Tile Slim is ideal as its credit card form factor makes it stand out from the crowd. Rounding out the Tile options, the Tile Sticker is incredibly versatile and can be stuck to basically anything thanks to its tiny footprint.
The Chipolo One adds a little bit of flair with its bright colors and completely subscription-free business model. The Cube Pro rounds out the choices for the best AirTag alternative with a sleek metal design and an extra feature that allows you to take photos remotely.
Should I pick an alternative or just buy an Apple AirTag?
Alternatives to Apple AirTag make sense for those who don’t own Apple products or want specific footprints like the Tile Slim which fits perfectly into a wallet. That said, iPhone owners and those heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem should seriously consider AirTag as Apple’s tracker is one of the best on the market and relatively inexpensive compared to other Apple products.
Is Tile or AirTag Better?
Tile trackers use Bluetooth and the company’s own user network to help track down the location of your items. Tile doesn’t yet offer UWB (Ultra-wideband) which makes it inferior for tracking compared to Apple’s AirTag which seamlessly works alongside the billions of iPhones on the planet.
