Looking for a reliable SpotOn vs Halo collar comparison? After testing both GPS fence systems for 4 months with my boundary-testing Lab, I discovered crucial differences that go beyond the marketing hype. While both brands tout AI-powered features, our extensive field testing revealed one clear winner for reliable containment and training effectiveness. In this hands-on review, I’ll show you exactly why SpotOn GPS Fence dog collar prevented 98% of escape attempts and why that matters for your dog’s safety.
Strip away the fancy tech jargon and AI buzzwords – what really counts is real-world performance. Having created over 50 different boundary configurations and logged 200+ training hours, I’ll break down exactly how these premium GPS collars compare in reliability, ease of use, and value. Plus, I’ll share how to save up to 75% on your SpotOn GPS Fence purchase before the current promotion ends.
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| Halo Collar 4 $25 OFF
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Our SpotOn vs Halo Collar Video Review
SpotOn vs Halo Collar: Which One Comes Out on Top?
When I was younger, my mini Dachshund – she was 12 pounds of fury – she’d see packs of geese, each one 5 times her size, and she’d BOLT after them, barking like a deranged carnivore.
And then, on other days, she’d slyly slink off, looking back over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching. We turn around, and she’s gone, we’re freaking out. A collar like this could have been helpful.
But, if I were to attach a collar around my dog’s neck that could potentially hurt them, and hopefully protect them from getting hit by a car, then I’d want to be pretty damn certain that I could count on that collar.
SpotOn vs Halo 4: Unboxing
Alright, here’s a Halo dog collar vs SpotOn comparison in terms of the accessories as well as the collar itself.
What’s Inside The SpotOn Box?
- Collar
- Tool to tighten prongs and test the static correction.
- You get this charging base which plugs right into the wall and where the collar sits right in it and it stands right on your counter.
What’s Inside The Halo Box?
- Collar
- Crimping tool. If you have a lot of extra collar straps, you can cut off the extra and re-crimp the cut end.
- A magnetic piece that plugs into a USB-C cord to charge the collar.
- The Halo beacon.
My notes on the collar designs…
The SpotOn dog collar is pretty sturdy, perhaps a little bulky, but well-designed. Halo is a little more compact than the SpotOn, perhaps a little more sleek. Both collars can be easily adjusted according to your dog’s size.
Setting Up The Apps
So, as you might expect, both Halo and SpotOn collars work with smartphone apps and they’re pretty easy to set up. It takes about 5 or 10 minutes with each one.
First, you set up a profile for your dog, then link the collar to the app over Bluetooth, and connect your subscription if you’re using one.
Take note, you have to do some GPS initialization, so you take it outside and make sure you’re getting a nice strong signal. Then you’re pretty much good to go.
Halo throws an awful lot of training materials at you, I find it to be a bit much. SpotOn’s training resources are a bit more straightforward and digestible, but I’m sure that’s a matter of personal preference.
Setting Up The Fences
To set up fences, Halo and SpotOn collars offer two methods to dog owners. The first is to simply draw the fence on a map, the second is to walk the fence boundary holding the collar in your hand.
The big difference here when comparing SpotOn vs Halo dog fence is that the former drops fence posts automatically as you walk, whereas with the latter you have to physically tap the button each time you want to drop off fence posts. I like the automatic fence dropping that SpotOn GPS collar offers a lot better, it’s much more user-friendly, but Halo’s system is not the end of the world.
Now, SpotOn recommends at least half an acre to use their fence, whereas Halo claims the fences can be as small as 250 ft.² I’ve tested that and the Halo is simply not reliable enough for fences that small in my experience. Honestly, I doubt either of them could do a 250-square-foot fence, but SpotOn has definitely performed better for me in these small-fence situations. It still gives me reliable alerts, warnings, and corrective feedback. However, note that you can definitely notice that GPS drift when you’re using such a small fence.
I like SpotOn’s more conservative stance on fence size here. Basically, they say that once you account for GPS drift, leaving appropriate space between hazards like roads, and maintaining minimum fence boundaries, you’re going to want a half an acre for your dog to roam free and truly feel free.
One more thought on making fences is that I do think SpotOn’s GPS-based keep-out zones at home zones can be useful. You can customize your SpotOn dog fence and zones to any shape and size you need with the proviso that they need to be at least 30′ x 30′.
Halo really only offers their beacons for this sort of solution. Because they’re Bluetooth, they’re limited to circular zones and they can only be so large. More importantly, as I mentioned before, in my experience with them, they really haven’t worked great, or really at all for that matter.
Additional Features
Let’s do a little rapid-fire before we dive into boundary tests and fence performance.
SpotOn recently launched their off-grid mode, which allows you to set up fences even in places where you don’t have wifi or cell signal. So if you take your dog hiking somewhere really out there, like Alaska or the mountains out West, you can still bring your SpotOn with you and set up fences.
On the opposite side of the coin, Halo allows you to jump from cell carrier to cell carrier when you’re traveling internationally. I haven’t had the opportunity to test these out yet, if you have then let me know how they work in the comments.
Battery Life
After doing tests comparing Halo Collar vs SpotOn in terms of battery life, I’ve arrived at the conclusion that both are pretty similar. Neither of them is really gonna last more than a day. They’re the type of tools that need charging every day you want to use them.
If longer battery life is important to you there are other options out there but they’re not really the same sort of product class as either SpotOn or Halo.
Subscriptions
Halo does require a subscription to even use it, and I just got an email that they’re bumping it up to $10 a month for the lowest plan.
SpotOn offers a cellular plan as well, it’s optional, and the fence will work without it. But I think a lot of people are gonna want that cellular subscription for things like escape alerts, low battery notifications, live tracking, all those types of things.
SpotOn’s plans max out at about $10/month as of writing, and you can knock that down with a 1 or 2-year plan.
Boundary tests
Alright, so let’s talk boundary feedback and field testing.
My main takeaway is that the SpotOn GPS dog fence is very consistent with issuing distinguished boundary alerts, warnings, and corrections in a logical sequence so that your dog can really understand what the collar is telling them.
Now I was having some issues with it last summer where it skipped a beat. I talked with customer support and they swapped my collar out, the new collar has been working reliably just like I’m used to. I’ve even tested it during a Boston area blizzard, and it just holds the lines perfectly.
Halo has always been a bit glitchy with boundary feedback. The Halo Collar 3 has come a long way with the inclusion of an active GPS antenna. Prior to that, it was using a passive GPS antenna, so earlier models were working with much lower signal strength. I’m guessing that’s why I was seeing all those artifacts like not getting any boundary feedback at all, getting corrected with no warnings, and even getting corrected inside fence zones.
With the active GPS antenna, it works a lot better, but there’s still room for improvement. Sometimes it will work just fine, other times it will progress through the feedback steps when I’m not moving at all. And still, sometimes it will skip warning and boundary feedback and jump straight to that correction.
The logic of the Halo collar is just not as dependable as you get with SpotOn, and at the end of the day, that’s really the ultimate reason why I feel SpotOn is a better choice here. Interestingly, recent testing data from Spirent shows a quite similar picture of these two collars.
Price
SpotOn has come down quite a bit in price even since this time last year. SpotOn’s around $1000 now and Halo’s around $700 bucks as I’m writing. Obviously, they’re both expensive but I do think what you’re paying for here is a difference in quality.
The focus of SpotOn is quite clearly high-quality components, and excellent accuracy that’s really my impression of the product. Whereas Halo, it seems like they’ve always sort of been playing catch-up. It’s kind of like they built this product and now they’re trying to figure out how to make it work the way that they always wanted it to—and they’ve gotten a lot better. The Halo Collar 3 is so much closer to SpotOn than when I was testing the 2+, but there’s still room for improvement.
Just based on the sort of, foundations of these collars, I just have a much more settled feeling putting my trust in a collar like SpotOn than Halo. But hey, if you like the look of the Halo, it is a bit cheaper. The app offers a little bit more of an ecosystem, activity tracking, and those types of things. I can definitely see why you might want to go for it instead.
However, if a sort of high-quality product without so many bells and whistles is really what drives your decision—it’s what drives mine—I think SpotOn’s gonna be the product that you’re looking for.
Moreover, it’s definitely gonna be working better for those bigger yards, forested areas, and places where the reliability is going to directly impact your dog’s safety.
Don’t forget, you can grab a discount on either collar by clicking the links below.
Until next time dog lovers, keep those tails waggin’.