Apple AirTags vs Bluetooth trackers: A $2 alternative put to the test

Apple AirTags vs Bluetooth trackers: A $2 alternative put to the test">

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The day that the Apple AirTag arrived was a big day for me. This one product brought to an end one of the biggest frustrations in my life -- wasting time looking for things that had been "misplaced" by… ahem… someone. Within hours, I had AirTags on my keys, in my wallet, my rucksack, and even on things like my electric bike -- and I never looked back.

AirTags also opened the floodgates for third-party finder tags, from fobs to wallet cards, from a range of companies, some already in the tech space and some complete unknowns. I've standardized on the AirTag because Apple's solution just works for me (especially because companies like Elevation Lab make some great holders for these tags), but I've lost count of how often I've been asked if there's any difference between AirTags and third-party tags, including those cheap tags you can pick up for a few bucks. There's only one way to find out: do some testing.

One of the main ways that I've found that tags differ is the range over which they'll work. Yes, they all use a form of Bluetooth called Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and under ideal conditions that tech has a range of 100 to 400 feet (30 to 120 meters) in open, unobstructed conditions. The Apple AirTag came in first on this list.

Bluetooth range was consistently 100 to 130 feet (30 to 40 meters) with a clear line of sight, and 50 to 65 feet (15 to 20 meters) indoors. And when using precision finding (a feature that's exclusive to Apple hardware), this would work out to around 180 to 200 feet (55 to 60 meters) with a clear line of sight, and indoors (with two walls between me and the tag), it was good to about 50 feet (15 meters). The Nomad Tracker Card Pro wasn't too far behind.