Fi vs Halo Collar: GPS dog tracking vs a GPS fence

Fi vs Halo Collar is a containment decision, not a collar-color decision. Fi sells GPS and health trackers, with escape alerts around a Safe Zone, on tryfi.com. Halo Collar sells a GPS dog fence that can use sound, vibration, and static feedback, on halocollar.com. Choose Fi when you want to see where a dog is, get an alert if they leave a zone, and you do not want a shock. Choose Halo when you want the collar itself to hold a boundary, you accept static as one of the feedback settings, and you will keep a membership so the fence stays on. StoreAtlas files both as stores on the pets hub and the pet-gear tag. This note is not a Best of ranking.

Wild One vs Ruffwear is the gear compare for harnesses, not trackers. Read pet storefront notes, how to read a product page, and whether the store ships to you. Both collars need a plan after the hardware charge. tryfi.com currently redirects to the brand’s tracking site. Facts below are from that storefront and from Halo’s pages.

There is no shopping-job page for this pair yet — other shopping tasks already filed live on the jobs index. Both brands also live as files in the store directory.

Who each collar is

Fi’s current line is Series 3+, Fi Mini, and Fi Ultra. Series 3+ is a GPS and health tracker in a collar, marketed at up to 3 months of battery. The help chart splits that by GPS rate: up to 3 months on low, 4–6 weeks on moderate, and up to 2 weeks on high. Lost Mode is about 2 days, with updates every few seconds. The default report away from the base is about once every 5 minutes. Mini is the small tracker, up to 2 months, 16 g. Ultra adds T-Mobile satellite with Starlink and a recall the brand says does not use static shock. Marketing says up to 5 days of battery. The help article says 2–3 days, or up to 5 with Power Saving Mode on. Read the mode you will use.

Waterproof pages disagree. Marketing says Series 3+ is IP68 and IP66K to 50 meters. The help article says IP68 at 1.5 meters for 30 minutes, and it does not give Mini that IP66K line. Neck bands for Series 3+ run from under 10 lb (9.5–11 inches) to 95 lb and up (20–31 inches). Mini and Ultra attach to a collar you already own. Series 3+ includes a base. Ultra does not. A USB wall adapter is no longer in the US box list. A phone and Wi-Fi are required and not included.

Halo Collar 5 is sold as a GPS fence, with homepage copy from 900 square feet up to 1,200 square miles and an FAQ minimum of 30 by 30 feet. The collar page says the collar analyzes 20 GPS fixes a second, while the app shows up to 4. Accuracy lines include “within two feet” and “within 0.6 meters,” with dual-frequency L1 and L5. Battery on the Collar 5 pages is up to 48 hours, with a full charge in about an hour. Collar 4’s own page prints 30-plus hours, 40-plus hours, and, in one FAQ block, 48 hours. Use the figure on the buy button you click. Both are IP67. Weight was not printed on the pages opened. Neck fit is one size. The shop says 8–30 inches and 10 lb and up. The homepage FAQ says 8–30.5 inches, over 10 lb, and over 5 months. Feedback on the homepage and the Collar 4 page is customizable sound, vibration, and static. That static setting is the product difference Fi’s Ultra page is written against.

Halo’s homepage and shop page do not print the same Collar 5 box list. One includes a Pro case, contact tips, and a Perfect Fit kit. The shop list is shorter: collar, cable, guide, and a safety sleeve. Charging blocks are no longer included. Neither brand sells a swappable collar battery. Halo’s beacons, sold separately, are the pieces with a replaceable battery.

The plan is the product

Fi requires a membership for Series 3+, Series 3, Mini, and Ultra. The billing article says the tracker is paid at checkout and the membership is charged at activation, or automatically within 7 days of shipping if you do not activate. Without a membership, GPS and exit alerts are off on the current trackers. Series 2 is the older model where a plan is described as optional. The membership is the cellular connection. Your phone can be on any carrier. Series 3+ uses AT&T LTE-M, Mini uses Verizon, and Ultra uses T-Mobile, plus satellite on Ultra. The billing article’s renewal prices are $99 every 6 months, $189 every year, and $339 every 2 years, with a 6-month minimum. Hardware prices on that article are Mini $99, Series 3+ $129, and Ultra $299, before promotions, in USD. A comparison page on the same brand has printed a different bundle, with a one-year membership and the device together from $189. The price at checkout is the one you pay. Coverage pages disagree: one limits Series 3+ to the US, Canada, and Mexico, and another says 35 countries. Ultra’s satellite line is United States only, and not Alaska. Terms say a non-US address works only if it is eligible.

Halo requires a Pack membership for GPS, cellular data, and fences. The shop says plans start at $9.99 a month. On the Collar 5 shop page, Bronze is $9.99 a month for 5 virtual fences, Silver is $14.99 for 20 fences plus activity reports, and Gold is $19.99 for unlimited fences. Additional collars on those monthly prices are $9.99. Annual and two-year toggles on the plans page print lower monthly equivalents. The homepage also says you can create unlimited boundaries, while the plan caps the count. Read the tier. Collar 5 hardware has been listed at $524 against a $599 compare-at price, and Collar 4 at $424 against $549. Those are the page’s figures, and checkout adds tax and shipping. A help article lists $19.99 to ship a collar kit and $9.99 for accessories-only, while the shop says shipping is calculated at checkout. Halo ships to all 50 US states and to Canada except Quebec and Yukon, and the shipping article says it does not ship to US territories. Terms describe use in the United States, its territories, and Canada excluding Quebec. The collar does not need your phone’s carrier. The plan is the data.

Returns and the warranty clock

Fi’s return article gives 30 days from purchase. You pay return shipping. An RMA is required. Outbound shipping is not refunded. The homepage says a 1-month trial with a device. The billing article calls the hardware purchase a 30-day satisfaction guarantee and refunds an auto-renewal only inside 30 days of that charge. Warranty length depends on purchase date: one year while the membership stays active for purchases on or after 29 September 2025, two years for a short window just before that for Series 3+ and Mini, and six months for purchases from 17 October 2022 through 25 August 2025. Batteries are excluded. Orders of $100 or more ship free. Under $100, the shipping FAQ lists a $9 fee.

Halo’s terms, effective 12 August 2026, allow an unused, never-linked collar back within 90 days of purchase, minus $25 per collar for return shipping and handling. Checkout shipping is not refunded. Membership fees have a separate 90 days from signup. The warranty is one year from the first time you link the collar. Straps, cords, and beacons are not covered. A replacement has to see the old unit scanned within 14 days or a fee up to $299 can apply. That fee rule does not apply to Collar 3 and earlier.

Fi’s 30 days start at purchase, and you pay return freight. Halo’s 90 days are longer, subtract $25, and end once the collar is linked to an account. Screenshot the static setting, the battery unit, and the ship-to list. Country shipping matters because Halo’s help article excludes Quebec, Yukon, and US territories, while Fi’s coverage articles do not tell one story.