How Much Does a Car Tracker Cost in the UK? Fitted Prices and Subscriptions Explained
A Thatcham approved car tracker costs from £185 supply and installation for a Category S7 system, or from £295 for a Category S5 system, and every one of them also needs a monitoring subscription. Add the first year of monitoring and the lowest cost S5 option we fit comes to £484.95. The two S5 trackers we offer, the Meta Trak S5 Tracker and the ScorpionTrack S5, will both meet an insurer's request for an S5 tracker, and which one costs less depends on how long you keep the car.
If you are paying for security anyway, our recommendation is the Meta Trak S5 DEADLOCK, a tracker and immobiliser from £469 supply and installation on exactly the same subscription terms as the Meta Trak S5 Tracker. Adding an immboilsier is the important part as its the aftermarket immobiliser thats prevents your vehicle from being stolen via modern digital theft techniques whereas simply installing a tracking system only aids in recovery of your vehicle after a theft has already taken place, a tracker is a recovery product whereas an aftermarket immobiliser is a theft prevention product. Your factory immobiliser can be bypassed easily with modern theft technique thats why a combined tracker and critically an aftermarket immobiliser is what we always recommend to our customers. Below is every system we fit with its first year and three year cost, who you pay for monitoring, and what the extra money buys when you spend more.
What each system costs, in one place
Every figure below is supply and installation by our engineer at your home or workplace. For the Meta Trak systems, your first monitoring term is chosen on the product page and paid to us at checkout. For ScorpionTrack, you pay us for supply and installation, then buy the monitoring plan from ScorpionTrack after the fit, at the rates shown on our product pages. The three year totals use each brand's 3 year plan.
Meta Trak S7
Thatcham Category S7 tracker
Supply and installation
From £185
Monitoring subscription
£119.95 for 1 year or £329.95 for 3 years, paid to us at checkout
First year total
£304.95
Three year total
£514.95
ScorpionTrack S7
Thatcham Category S7 tracker
Supply and installation
£185
Monitoring subscription
Paid to ScorpionTrack after fitting: £139 for 1 year or £329 for 3 years
First year total
£324
Three year total
£514
Meta Trak S5 Tracker
Thatcham Category S5 tracker
Supply and installation
From £295
Monitoring subscription
£189.95 for 1 year or £499.95 for 3 years, paid to us at checkout
First year total
£484.95
Three year total
£794.95
ScorpionTrack S5
Thatcham Category S5 tracker
Supply and installation
£375
Monitoring subscription
Paid to ScorpionTrack after fitting: £155 for 1 year or £345 for 3 years
First year total
£530
Three year total
£720
Meta Trak S5 DEADLOCK
Thatcham S5 tracker and engine immobiliser
Supply and installation
From £469
Monitoring subscription
£189.95 for 1 year or £499.95 for 3 years, paid to us at checkout
First year total
£658.95
Three year total
£968.95
Meta Trak S5 DEADLOCK E-TEC or Meta Trak S5 DEADLOCK PRO
For electrified cars on the E-TEC list, or for maximum protection
Supply and installation
From £599
Monitoring subscription
£189.95 for 1 year or £499.95 for 3 years, paid to us at checkout
First year total
£788.95
Three year total
£1,098.95
Meta AUTOBLOK
Immobiliser only, no tracking
Supply and installation
£349
Monitoring subscription
None
First year total
£349
Three year total
£349
Look across the figures and two things show. At the entry level, the two S7 trackers finish within £1 of each other over three years. And the step from a tracker on its own to a tracker with an immobiliser costs less than it first appears, which is covered further down.
Why a Thatcham S5 tracker costs more than an S7
Thatcham certifies the two as different products. Category S5 covers Vehicle Tracking Systems and Category S7 covers Asset Location Systems. The practical gap is driver recognition: an S5 system checks whether whoever is moving the car carries an authorised driver tag, so the monitoring centre can be alerted while the car is being taken. An S7 system has no way of telling the owner from a thief, and its job is to locate the car once it has gone. That extra capability is what you are paying for in both the fitted price and the subscription.
If your insurer has asked for an S7 tracker, an S5 system goes beyond that requirement, because S5 is the higher Thatcham category. The reverse does not work: a policy that names S5 cannot be met with an S7 system, however much it saves. Our complete Thatcham S5 tracker buyer's guide covers the categories in more depth. Check the exact wording in your policy, or send it to us, before you choose on price. Our full range of Thatcham S5 trackers is listed in one place.
Monitoring subscriptions: who you pay, and when
This is where most of the confusion about tracker prices comes from, because the two brands we fit handle it in opposite ways, and the immobiliser only option has no subscription at all.
Meta Trak tracking systems
The price shown on a Meta Trak tracking product is for supply and installation, and on the product page you add either a 1 year or a 3 year monitoring term, paid to us at checkout with everything else. That is why these products carry a From price. On the S5 systems, meaning the S5 Tracker and every DEADLOCK variant, the terms are £189.95 for 1 year and £499.95 for 3 years. On the Meta Trak S7 they are £119.95 and £329.95. When the first term ends, you renew directly with Meta Trak rather than with us, and the product pages currently list further terms at the same rates.
Budget for that renewal. A Meta Trak system does not operate without an active subscription, and every Meta Trak system that includes a tracker is covered by Meta Trak's lifetime parts and labour warranty for the original owner, with an active subscription.
ScorpionTrack
With the ScorpionTrack S5 and the ScorpionTrack S7, you pay us for supply and installation only, and we take no subscription. Once the system is fitted, you choose a plan and pay ScorpionTrack directly. Our product pages currently list the S5 plans from £13.49 a month or £155 for a year, up to £585 for a lifetime plan, and the S7 plans from £12.49 a month or £139 for a year, up to £499 for a lifetime plan. ScorpionTrack sets those prices, so check the current figures before you buy. ScorpionTrack products carry a 2 year manufacturer warranty.
Meta AUTOBLOK
The Meta AUTOBLOK has no subscription of any kind. It is a standalone engine immobiliser at a flat £349 supply and installation, with a 3 year warranty. It does not track the car, so there is nothing to monitor and nothing to renew.
Meta Trak or ScorpionTrack: which works out cheaper?
Neither wins on every measure. Over the first year, the Meta Trak S5 Tracker costs less: £484.95, against £530 for the ScorpionTrack S5 with a 1 year plan. Over three years on each brand's 3 year plan, the order reverses: £794.95 for the Meta Trak against £720 for the ScorpionTrack. ScorpionTrack also sells monthly and lifetime plans, while the Meta Trak first term is 1 or 3 years, so how long you expect to keep the car matters more than the headline figure.
Both are Thatcham Category S5 accredited, both will meet an insurer's request for an S5 tracker, and both are monitored 24/7. The differences worth weighing are in how each works day to day and in the warranty, and our ScorpionTrack S5 buyer's guide sets those out. On price alone, there is no wrong answer.
The £174 decision: tracker only, or tracker and immobiliser?
A tracker helps you get a stolen car back. It does nothing to stop the car being driven away. Insurers ask for one because a recovered car costs them less, and the number of cars that never come back shows why: QuestGates' analysis of DVLA figures, published in February 2026, counted 53,629 private cars stolen in the UK in 2025, with a recovery rate across stolen vehicles of 44.94 percent.
The Meta Trak S5 DEADLOCK is from £469 supply and installation. That is £174 more than the Meta Trak S5 Tracker, and it runs on identical subscription terms, so the difference is still £174 after one year, three years or longer. For that money you get an aftermarket engine immobiliser working alongside the Thatcham S5 tracker, which means the system is there to stop the theft as well as to recover the car. It is the tracker and immobiliser we recommend to most drivers, even where the insurer only requires a tracker.
The immobiliser earns its place because modern car theft goes through the car's own electronics. Relay attacks, cloned keys and messages injected into the CAN network all work by persuading the car's electronics that a genuine key is present, and the factory fitted immobiliser, which trusts those electronics, lets the engine start. Because the DEADLOCK's immobiliser takes no instructions from the factory CAN bus, a car that has been fooled in that way still will not start. The system includes a Thatcham CAT2E accredited immobiliser, explained in our Thatcham Category 2E guide, and the full case on factory security is made in our complete guide to vehicle immobilisers.
When it is worth paying more
A hybrid or electric car
If your car has an electrified powertrain, whether mild hybrid, plug in hybrid or fully electric, and its make appears on Meta Trak's E-TEC compatibility list, the Meta Trak S5 DEADLOCK E-TEC is most likely compatible and is the system we recommend, from £599 supply and installation. Its dual circuit immobiliser, unique within the Meta Trak range, is built to immobilise the start button. The exception is a car that can be put into drive with Ready showing on the dash without pressing the start button, which takes the standard DEADLOCK instead. The standard DEADLOCK can be fitted to any powertrain on any make and model, so if you are unsure, call 0330 133 3990 and we will check your car.
Maximum protection
The Meta Trak S5 DEADLOCK PRO, also from £599, is for customers wanting maximum protection. On top of everything in the DEADLOCK, it adds remote OBD port immobilisation, preventing connection and communication through the diagnostic port itself, so that port cannot be used to damage ECUs, take data or code new keys. If your car is electrified and its make is on the E-TEC list, choose the E-TEC rather than the PRO.
No tracking needed
Where your insurer has not asked for a tracker and you simply want the car harder to steal, the Meta AUTOBLOK at £349 is the lowest cost route, with nothing to pay afterwards. The trade off is that it will not help you find the car if it does go.
Two things to check before you compare prices
The dealer's offer. If you are buying a new car, the dealer may offer a tracker at the point of sale. Ask for that figure with the subscription included and compare it with ours. Having a Thatcham accredited system supplied and fitted by us is normally the more cost effective route, and a Thatcham S5 system from us meets an insurer's S5 requirement in the same way. If your insurer has made a tracker a condition on a new registration, our guide to the insurer tracker requirement on a new 76 plate car covers that situation.
Your premium. Whether a tracker lowers what you pay for insurance is up to each insurer, and there is no standard discount. Insurers ask for a Thatcham S5 tracker mainly because of a car's value, backed up by theft numbers. Where a tracker is a condition of cover, the saving that matters is that the policy can go ahead at all.
How buying works
You choose the system on its product page, and for Meta Trak products the first monitoring term at the same time. We then contact you to book the fit, which is carried out at your home or workplace, anywhere in the UK, in an estimated 2 to 5 days. We agree the date with you rather than promising one before we have spoken. After fitting, the system is tested to confirm it is fully working. The certificate of installation your insurer needs is emailed to you by the product manufacturer after activation, and can sometimes also be found in the manufacturer's app.
For a second opinion on what fits your car and your budget, call 0330 133 3990 or try the advisor below.
Not sure which tracker and immobiliser setup fits your car and your budget?
Answer a few quick questions and get a tailored recommendation for your vehicle, from a compliant S5 Tracker to a full tracker and immobiliser setup with OBD protection. It takes about two minutes.
Thatcham approved | Free nationwide installation | Insurance accepted
Frequently asked questions
How much does a car tracker cost in the UK?
From £185 supply and installation for a Thatcham Category S7 tracker and from £295 for a Category S5 tracker, plus a monitoring subscription. With a first year of monitoring, the Meta Trak S7 comes to £304.95 and the Meta Trak S5 Tracker to £484.95. The ScorpionTrack S5 is £375 supply and installation, with its monitoring plan bought from ScorpionTrack after fitting. A tracker and immobiliser, the Meta Trak S5 DEADLOCK, is from £469 supply and installation.
Do car trackers have a monthly or yearly fee?
Yes. Every monitored tracker needs a subscription. For Meta Trak tracking systems, a 1 year or 3 year term is chosen on the product page and paid to us at checkout, and renewals after that are paid directly to Meta Trak. For ScorpionTrack we take no subscription: you choose and pay for a plan directly with ScorpionTrack after installation, and monthly plans are available. The Meta AUTOBLOK immobiliser has no subscription at all.
What happens if I stop paying for tracker monitoring?
A Meta Trak tracking system does not operate without an active subscription, and Meta Trak's lifetime parts and labour warranty is for the original owner with an active subscription. If a tracker is a condition of your insurance, letting the monitoring lapse may also mean that condition is no longer met, so check your policy before you let it run out. A ScorpionTrack plan is held directly with ScorpionTrack, so its own terms apply.
Why does an S5 tracker cost more than an S7 tracker?
Thatcham certifies Category S5 as a Vehicle Tracking System and Category S7 as an Asset Location System. An S5 system adds driver recognition, so it can tell when the car is moved without an authorised driver tag and alert the monitoring centre while the theft is under way. That extra capability shows in both the supply and installation price and the subscription. If your insurer has asked for S7, an S5 system goes beyond that requirement because S5 is the higher category.
Will fitting a tracker lower my car insurance?
That is for each insurer to decide, and there is no standard discount. Insurers ask for a Thatcham S5 tracker mainly because of a car's value, supported by theft numbers, since a recovered car reduces what they pay out. Where a tracker is a condition of cover, its main value to you is that the policy can go ahead. Ask your insurer or broker how fitting one affects your premium.
Is a tracker and immobiliser worth the extra over a tracker alone?
For most drivers, yes. The Meta Trak S5 DEADLOCK is £174 more than the Meta Trak S5 Tracker at supply and installation and uses the same subscription terms, so the gap stays at £174 whichever term you choose. A tracker aids recovery after a theft. The DEADLOCK adds an aftermarket engine immobiliser that takes no instructions from the factory CAN bus, so the car will not start even when its own electronics have been fooled into accepting a key.
Know what you want to spend?
Get a recommendation for your car, compare every system in the shop, or call us and talk the costs through.
Sources
- QuestGates, QuestGates analysis of DVLA data reveals UK's most stolen car makes and models in 2025, 11 February 2026. DVLA data obtained under Freedom of Information.
- Thatcham Research, Thatcham Security Certifications, product certification criteria.
Pricing accurate at time of publishing.
