Tracking a vehicle’s location by GPS may seem like something suited more for spy movies than the family car, but there are good reasons you might want to consider investing in one.

For families with young drivers, a GPS tracker can track the location of their vehicle and teen driver for peace of mind and safety, and make it easy to react quickly in an emergency or even something as simple as running out of gas. For business owners, being able to know where their vehicles and employees are can help with efficient scheduling and productivity. And while a GPS tracker can’t do much about the recent rise in car theft, it can help with vehicle recovery.

Compact, easy to install and affordable, GPS trackers can address all of those concerns and more. Most either plug into your vehicle’s OBD-ll diagnostic port, are self contained using battery power or connect directly to the vehicle’s battery.

Popularity of these devices has soared in recent years, resulting in a variety of consumer benefits including reduced cost and more choices and features available to suit a variety of needs. Many trackers can be easily installed and set up in minutes, and are either powered by batteries or your car’s electrical system. But because these all use data networks to transmit information, a monthly subscription fee is required.

We’ve taken an extensive look at a wide variety of devices available, to determine which ones offer the best features and value. So whether this is your first GPS tracker or your fifth, one of these should be right for you.