What a GPS tracker does
It has its own cellular connection and reports its position from anywhere with coverage. That is genuine location tracking, and it is the only thing that works for a stolen vehicle or a shipment.
It costs money every month, and the battery is measured in days or weeks rather than a year, because a cellular radio is expensive in power terms.
What Bluetooth does
It tells you whether something is within radio range of you, and roughly how close. Tens of metres indoors, more outdoors.
It costs nothing to run and lasts a year on a coin cell, because a broadcast is almost free in power terms.
Choosing
- Vehicle, trailer, plant or high-value shipment → GPS. Nothing else works.
- Keys, wallet, bag, headphones, remote, anything lost at home → Bluetooth. GPS would be expensive overkill with worse battery.
- Luggage → a crowd-sourced tag such as AirTag, which sits between the two: Bluetooth power consumption with network-scale range.
The honest summary
Almost everything people actually lose is lost within thirty metres of where they are standing. That is Bluetooth's entire territory, and it is most of the problem.
Other comparisons
How this sits against the rest of what is available.
- SmartThings Find and iPhone: the gap
- Google’s Find Hub and iPhone owners
- Why iPhone Settings doesn’t show every device
- Chipolo and other tags: where the app fits
- Do you need an AirTag, an app, or both?
- Bluetooth scanner for iPhone, Scan tab
- How to check whether someone is tracking you, Safety
- All comparisons, the complete list
Common questions
Can a Bluetooth tracker work like GPS?
No. It has no independent connection and no position of its own. Any long-range capability comes from a crowd-sourced network of other people's phones, not from the tag.
Do GPS trackers need a subscription?
Almost always, because they use a cellular connection. That is the main ongoing cost difference.
In the app: This is what the app does. Read about Bluetooth Scanner.