1v1 Pricing Showdown
Fleetio vs Samsara
Side-by-side pricing breakdown for Fleet Management Software decision-makers
Prices in USD, verified from the United States. Regional pricing may vary.
When choosing between Fleetio and Samsara for your fleet management software stack, the right answer depends on three things: your budget, the specific features you actually use day-to-day, and your tolerance for renewal-price increases. Below we lay out the prices each vendor advertises today (verified against their live pricing pages), the plan limits that decide whether they'll fit your team, and the features that differ between them.
Fleetio starts at $5/mo; Samsara starts at custom pricing. The cheaper headline price isn't always the cheaper total cost — renewal pricing, per-user fees, and overage charges can shift the math. Use the plan-by-plan tables below to model your actual spend.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| software only model unique | UNIQUE — software-only per-vehicle pricing (no hardware lock-in) | — |
| oem telematics integration | Integrates with Ford Pro Intelligence + GM OnStar + Stellantis Connect + Toyota/Lexus Connect + other OEM telematics | — |
| transparent per vehicle pricing | $4/$7/$10 per vehicle tiered pricing | — |
| vehicle inspections | All plans | — |
| maintenance management | Essential limited / Premium full | — |
| service tracking | Professional+ | — |
| work orders | Professional limited / Premium full | — |
| vehicle groups unlimited professional | Up to 4 subgroup levels Professional / unlimited Premium | — |
| custom fields 50 professional | 50 Professional / unlimited Premium | — |
| automations 5 40 | Professional 5 / Premium 40 | — |
| advanced api access premium | 250 API requests/min Premium | — |
| no eld no cmv compliance | NO ELD — not for commercial motor vehicles requiring FMCSA compliance | — |
| no hardware lock in | Switch software without replacing hardware | — |
| independent vendor | Not owned by hardware vendor (Samsara/Motive/Verizon) | — |
| 100 vehicle cap standard tiers | All tiers cap at 100 vehicles — enterprise custom beyond | — |
| ipo 2021 iot public company | — | Samsara IPO 2021 (IOT) $8B+ market cap — public company category leader |
| bundled hardware software model | — | Hardware (GPS + Vehicle Gateway) + Software subscription bundled |
| ai dash cam category leading | — | Samsara AI Dash Cam is category-leading AI dashcam technology |
| eld fmcsa compliant | — | ELD certified for commercial motor vehicles |
| iota integrations | — | 200+ integrations |
| real time gps tracking | — | All deployments |
| fuel monitoring | — | All deployments |
| driver behavior scoring | — | Harsh braking + acceleration + speeding + distracted driving |
| route optimization | — | Standard capability |
| geofencing | — | Standard capability |
| iota reporting | — | IFTA fuel tax automation |
| connected equipment heavy machinery | — | Samsara expansion product for construction/agriculture heavy equipment |
| connected sites security | — | Expansion product for site security monitoring |
| premium pricing post ipo | — | Samsara reported 10-20% price increases post-IPO per customer feedback |
| installation 50 150 per vehicle | — | Hardware installation cost separate |
| 3 year contracts standard | — | Typical contract length 3 years with hardware financing |
Affiliate links — you pay the same price
Dive Deeper
About the fleet management software category
Fleet Management Software in 2026 is dominated by hardware-inclusive enterprise platforms (Samsara, Geotab, Verizon Connect, Motive) with subscription+hardware bundles ranging $25-60/vehicle/month vs Fleetio's unique software-only per-vehicle pricing at $4-10/vehicle/month. Published rates: Fleetio Essential $4/vehicle/month annual ($5 monthly), Professional $7/vehicle/month annual (Most Popular), Premium $10/vehicle/month annual. Custom-quote only: Samsara (hardware + software bundled, industry estimates $25-50/vehicle/month all-in for ELD + GPS + dash cams + AI dashcams), Geotab (GO device hardware + MyGeotab software, industry estimates $25-45/vehicle/month), Verizon Connect (GPS + dash cams + ELD, industry estimates $25-45/vehicle/month), Motive (formerly KeepTruckin — hardware + ELD + AI Dashcam + fleet management, industry estimates $35-60/vehicle/month). Major category developments 2024-2026: KeepTruckin rebranded to Motive (2022) reflecting broader fleet platform positioning. Samsara IPO 2021 (IOT) $8B+ market cap — public company fleet platform leader. Geotab private with 4M+ vehicles under management (largest fleet software footprint globally). Verizon Connect part of Verizon Communications (NYSE VZ). Fleetio independent software-only model disrupting hardware-inclusive incumbents. Category reflects diverse fleet segments: commercial trucking (semi-trucks + long-haul), delivery fleets (last-mile + regional), service fleets (HVAC/plumbing/electrical vans), utility fleets (electric/gas/water service vehicles), construction fleets (heavy equipment + pickups), government fleets (municipal vehicles + emergency services), rideshare/taxi fleets, rental fleets. ELD (Electronic Logging Device) compliance mandated for commercial trucks by FMCSA — requires hardware + software integration. Non-CMV fleets (service vans, utility trucks) typically don't require ELDs but benefit from GPS tracking + fleet management. AI dashcams category-exploding 2023-2026: Samsara AI Dash Cam + Motive AI Dashcam + Lytx DriveCam detect driver distraction + drowsiness + harsh braking + collisions with AI-powered coaching. Typical fleet management deployment: GPS tracking + route optimization + geofencing, fuel monitoring + efficiency tracking, driver behavior + safety scoring, vehicle maintenance + preventive scheduling, ELD compliance + hours-of-service (HOS) tracking for CMVs, dashcam video recording + AI safety alerts, integrated dispatching + mobile app, IFTA fuel tax reporting, accident reporting + claims documentation. Target users: small fleets (5-25 vehicles, 1-5 employees), mid-size fleets (25-200 vehicles), large fleets (200-1,000 vehicles), enterprise fleets (1,000-10,000+ vehicles), government + public sector fleets, trucking fleets (CMV + FMCSA regulated).
How to choose between fleet management software options
First: fleet type + regulatory requirements? Commercial trucking (CMV): Samsara + Geotab + Motive + Verizon Connect ELD-compliant required. Non-CMV service fleets (HVAC/plumbing/delivery vans): software-only (Fleetio) sufficient + cheaper, or light hardware tracking optional. Second: hardware + software bundle vs software-only? Software-only: Fleetio $4-10/vehicle/month (bring-your-own-device or mobile phone tracking + OBD-II adapter optional). Hardware+software bundles: Samsara/Geotab/Motive/Verizon Connect $25-50+/vehicle/month (vendor provides GPS device + dash cam + ELD + installation). For existing fleets with OEM telematics (Ford Pro + GM OnStar + Ram Telematics) — software-only layering possible. For new deployments needing fresh hardware: bundled platforms. Third: AI dashcam priority? Samsara AI Dash Cam + Motive AI Dashcam + Lytx DriveCam category-leading. Real-time detection of distracted driving + drowsy driving + harsh events with AI-powered driver coaching. For safety-focused fleets: Samsara or Motive. For cost-minimized deployments: Fleetio without dashcams. Fourth: fleet size + scaling? Fleetio Essential/Professional/Premium all cap at 100 vehicles per tier — for fleets beyond 100 vehicles, enterprise pricing tier required. Samsara/Geotab/Motive/Verizon Connect scale to 10,000+ vehicles with enterprise deployment. For small-to-mid fleets (5-100 vehicles): Fleetio software-only or hardware bundles flexible. For 100+ vehicle fleets: enterprise platforms. Fifth: ELD compliance (FMCSA)? Required for commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) crossing state lines. Samsara ELD + Geotab ELD + Motive ELD + Verizon Connect ELD certified. Fleetio does NOT provide ELD — for CMV fleets, must combine Fleetio software + separate ELD hardware provider. For non-CMV fleets: ELD not required, any software works. Sixth: IFTA fuel tax reporting? All major platforms support IFTA automation — critical for multi-state trucking + CMV fleets. Seventh: integration ecosystem? Geotab 4M+ vehicles with largest integration ecosystem (Geotab Marketplace 180+ apps). Samsara 200+ integrations. Motive 150+ integrations. Verizon Connect 100+ integrations. Fleetio 20+ integrations (focused accounting + maintenance). For broad telematics ecosystem: Geotab or Samsara. For maintenance-focused operations: Fleetio. Eighth: software-only advantage? Fleetio uniquely offers software-only per-vehicle pricing — for fleets with existing OEM telematics (Ford Pro Intelligence + GM OnStar + Stellantis Connect + Toyota/Lexus Connect + etc.), Fleetio layering preserves existing hardware investment. Dramatically cheaper than replacing hardware for full platform migration.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Which is better, Fleetio or Samsara?
- Samsara scores 9.3/10 compared to Fleetio's 9/10 in our analysis. Samsara ranks higher on features and value, but Fleetio may suit specific use cases — see the feature comparison above.
- Are there other fleet management software alternatives besides Fleetio and Samsara?
- Yes. Our [Fleet Management Software pricing comparison](/pricing/fleet-management/) page covers all major providers with daily-verified prices. You can also see the [cheapest fleet management software](/pricing/fleet-management/cheapest/) for budget-focused options.