How to Build a Pet Care App Like Tractive GPS: A Complete Guide

As a pet owner, how will you feel when you get access to track your pet’s every move, set safe zones, and even monitor health data from a smartphone? Of course, it will be great since it takes care of your beloved pets.

Tractive GPS, a pet activity-tracking app, is making this possible with its amazing features. As a result, entrepreneurs and businesses are eager to build a pet care app like Tractive GPS to target modern pet owners worldwide.

The reports indicate that the global pet care app development market is projected to cross 2.8 billion by the end of 2025. The market is growing due to the rising demand for smart pet GPS tracking apps and wearable devices.

Today, people want to monitor their pets’ health, location, and activity in real time, just like the Tractive GPS pet app does. As a result, the pet care and pet wearable market is growing rapidly.

If you’re an entrepreneur, business owner, investor, or even a pet owner who wants to create an app like Tractive GPS, you’re at the right place. Here is a comprehensive guide to pet care app development services, covering development steps, key features, costs, and monetization strategies.

Let’s get started by knowing some statistics on the mobile pet care app!

Pet Care App: Market Statistics

The pet care market is growing rapidly due to technological advances and modern pet owners. The information you see below was created following a thorough analysis of six key areas across 24 nations worldwide for a variety of segments, including app type, service type, animal kind, and subscription. Now let’s explore:

-> The pet care apps market is expected to grow with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9% between 2025 and 2034.

-> It is estimated to reach 4.7 billion by 2034, from 2.8 billion in late 2025.

-> The United States is the biggest market for pet care apps, and that market is estimated at USD 868 million in 2025.

-> The European pet care apps market, on the other hand, is estimated to be $784 million in 2025.

-> Southeast Asia’s pet activity tracking app is the fastest-growing pet care market, growing at a 6.1% CAGR.

-> The North American pet wearable market was $1.02 billion in 2023 and is projected to make $2.07 billion by 2030.

3 Reasons to Invest in a Pet Care App Like Tractive GPS

As an entrepreneur or investor, you must understand why to create an app like Tractive GPS. Well, Tractive GPS app development is not just a tech trend, but it’s a smart business move in a rapidly growing market. The demand for mobile pet care app services is rising, so now it’s the perfect time to invest.

Here are the 3 reasons why you should develop a pet care app like Tractive GPS:

1:Pet Tech Market is Booming

According to Forbes, 66% of US households own at least one pet, and 97% of pet owners consider their pets their family. The care for pets is enabling pet owners to look for pet tracking or GPS-enabled apps.

This makes entrepreneurs create a pet care app that helps millions of pet owners. The market growth from $2.8 billion to $4.7 billion in 9 years is proof that the pet tech market is booming.

2:GPS Features Dominate Pet Tech Usage

Do you know that over 50% of new pet owners under 35 showed interest in pet GPS trackers integrated with mobile apps? An app like Tractive GPS offers real-time location and safe zone alerts, which tap into what a large or tech-savvy demographic is actively searching for.

3:Smart Collars and Trackers Lead the Market

Smart collars and trackers are leading the pet care industry in 2025. They represented around 37.34% of pet tech revenue in 2024, and GPS accounted for 43.56% of the technologies used. That means your app idea isn’t niche; it’s in the center of the market’s core.

Milestones of the Tractive GPS App

Tractive GPS is one of the leading pet care apps in the world. Explore some facts about the application:

-> The company was founded in 2012 in Austria, Europe.

-> Tractive GPS has over 1.4 million and 400,000 active subscribers across 190 countries.

-> The application has made $94 million in 2023 from its 1 million subscribers.

-> In 2021, the company raised $35 million to scale operations and improve the battery life of the device.

Must-Have Features to Include in Your Pet Care App Like Tractive GPS

Top mobile pet care apps like Tractive GPS or Fi have been transforming the way pet owners track, protect, and care for their beloved pets. Features play a crucial role in providing services to the users. From GPS tracking to smart alerts, here are the top 10 essential features that you can integrate into your Tractive-like app:

1:Real Time GPS Tracking

The GPS tracking feature gives users the exact location of their pet. It updates every few seconds and shows the pet’s movement on a map to ensure pet owners never lose sight of their beloved pet, whether they’re in the garden or on the road.

2:Virtual Fences and Safe Zone Alerts

This is one of the essential features that set up custom geofences around the owner’s home or walking routes. The application notifies users instantly when the pet leaves or enters these zones, giving peace of mind and preventing unwanted escapes.

3:Health and Wellness Monitoring

The health and wellness monitoring feature allows users to track their pet’s daily health data, like weight, heart rate, and activity levels. It helps owners to identify early signs of illness and ensures their dog stays healthy, which is the most important thing for owners.

4:Activity and Fitness Tracking

It monitors steps, playtime, and sleep patterns of the pet to understand your pet’s fitness routine. Pet care apps like Tractive GPS encourage healthier habits with daily activity goals and insights. This helps pets stay fit and active, which is crucial to their health.

5:Location History and Route Playback

Location history is one of the most crucial features of a pet care app because it allows owners to see where their pet has been. It will give owners ideas for understanding their pet’s favourite places, walking routes, and previous activities, for better insights into their behaviour and daily adventures.

6:Multi-Pet Profile Management

The multi-pet profile management feature enables managing multiple pets in a single app. Tractive GPS, like pet stores, has unique health records, photos, and tracking data, which is perfect for multi-pet households to stay organized and informed.

7:Lost Pet Mode

The lost pet mode is a crucial feature that must be integrated into a pet care app since it activates faster GPS updates and emergency alerts. It basically boosts tracking frequency to help you locate your missing pet quickly and safely in real time.

8:Integration with Wearable Devices

Pet wearable app integration is crucial. An app like Tractive GPS includes a feature that integrates with pet wearables for advanced data insights. It enhances tracking and health monitoring accuracy, making the application smarter and more connected.

9:In-App Vet Access and Reminders

It gets you several features like tele-vet consultations, scheduled appointments, and vaccination reminders. The in-app bet access and reminders feature simply pet healthcare and ensures you never miss a medical update.

10:Push Notifications and Alerts

Push notifications and alerts are basic but one of the most important features of a pet app because they keep you informed of boundary breaches, low battery, or unusual activity. The alerts ensure you always know what’s going on with your pet, wherever you are.

How to Build a Pet Care App Like Tractive GPS: A Step-by-Step Guide

Well, to develop a pet care app like Tractive GPS, you need to follow a few essential steps. It is very important to follow the right steps since it will determine your app’s success. From market research to launch and maintenance, here are the 7 must-have steps for Tractive GPS app development:

Step 1: Market Research

Conduct market research by studying the pet tech market and identifying the target audience, such as pet owners, breeders, or vets. Study competitors like Apple AirTag, GPS Dog Tracker, Whistle Switch, etc. Look at what to include in market research:

Step 2: Define Core Features

Decide on the key features of the mobile pet GPS tracking app once you’ve done market research and competitor analysis. You can do this by listing the core features, like

• Real-time GPS tracking
• Geofencing
• Health monitoring
• Push notifications
• Multi-pet profile management
• Lost pet mode

Find out whether you want to build a basic, mid-level, or advanced pet care app. A basic app includes fewer features; however, mid-level and advanced apps come with high-tech integrations.

Apart from that, add differentiators like AI-based health insights or wearable integration to make your app stand out in the market. Go for must-have features if you choose an MVP development.

Step 3: Tech Stack Selection

A pet care app development tech stack consists of databases, frameworks, programming languages, and other tools. To make sure the technology is appropriate for the project’s needs and long-term objectives, several criteria are taken into account while choosing the appropriate technology stack. Let’s explore each category and tools:

Frontend: React Native, Flutter, Swift (iOS), Kotlin (Android), HTML5, CSS3

Backend: Node.js, Python (Django/Flask), Java (Spring Boot), Ruby on Rails

Database: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Firebase Realtime Database

Cloud Services: AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Firebase

API and Integration: Google Maps API, Bluetooth API, HealthKit, GPS Tracking APIs

Wearable and IoT Integration: MQTT, BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), IoT Core, Fitbit SDK

Step 4: Design UI/UX

UI/UX is crucial to build a pet care app like Tractive GPS. This will determine how your app appears. Top app designers create a simple, interactive, and pet-friendly interface. While making this, it is crucial to focus on intuitive navigation, clear maps, and easy access to health stats.

Remember, a well-designed UX helps users feel confident monitoring their pets anytime and anywhere. Let’s see what an intuitive design offers:

• Intuitive and clutter-free navigation
• Clear maps and health dashboards
• Calming colors and pet-friendly icons
• Responsive across all devices
• Smooth animations and transitions
• Real-user testing for feedback

Step 5: Develop the App

Start the pet tracking app development process by building an MVP (minimum viable product) version for your pet care business. Top Android and iOS app developers develop backend APIs for real-time tracking and syncing wearable devices. Testing for GPS precision, data refresh speed, and alert accuracy is also essential to ensure the reliability and success of the mobile pet care app.

Developers also focus on data security and cloud integration to handle user and pet data safely. Here, the implementation of AI algorithms is also crucial for analyzing activity patterns and providing personalized health recommendations.

Step 6: Testing and QA

QA starts app testing once everything is done on the developers’ side. Conducting comprehensive testing is crucial for identifying bugs and errors. Testing includes functionality, performance, and security checks. Since pet data and locations are sensitive, ensure end-to-end encryption and compliance with global privacy standards like GDPR.

QA experts also perform usability testing to ensure smooth navigation and device compatibility testing across Android, iOS, and wearables. Moreover, beta testing with real users will also be done to gather feedback before launch.

Step 7: Launch and Maintenance

It is crucial to strategically deploy the app on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Do your part by promoting the application on social media platforms, pet communities, influencer collaborations, or paid marketing. Gather user feedback to improve the next version and add advanced features like AI-driven pet health analysis.

Examine the key steps to consider to successfully launch a pet care app:

How Does AI Enhance Pet Care App Development?

Artificial intelligence plays a crucial role in mobile app development, with no exception to pet care app development. From AI health tracking to smart chatbots, explore AI in pet care apps:

• AI Health Tracking

Analyzes activity, sleep, and eating patterns to detect early signs of illness.

• Smart Behavior Tracking

It helps owners understand mood, anxiety, or stress through real-time insights.

• Predictive Analytics

The feature suggest personalized care tips and exercise routines based on pet data.

• Image Recognition

It identifies breeds, health conditions, or food items instantly.

• Smart Chatbots

It offers 24/7 virtual vet assistance and guidance.

AI in pet care apps boosts engagement, accuracy, and overall user satisfaction, making pet management more intelligent and proactive.

Factors Affecting Pet Care App Development Cost

Before exploring the cost, it is important to understand the factors that influence the pet care app development cost. From app complexity and platform selection to UI/UX design and backend infrastructure, here are the factors that influence mobile pet care app cost:

App Complexity and Features

If you integrate advanced features like real-time GPS tracking, AI health insights, wearable device integration, etc., it may cost more because it takes more expertise and time to build. However, a basic or MVP version can be developed sooner with less money.

Platform Choice

Building an app for a single platform like iOS or Android may cost less; however, building an app for both iOS and Android costs more. Choosing cross-platform app development frameworks is the best way to reduce the cost and target both audiences.

UI/UX Design Quality

UI/UX design quality significantly affects the cost of pet tracking app development. Designing a clean, intuitive interface enhances user engagement but adds to design time and cost. Top pet care apps like Tractive GPS need interactive maps and dashboards, which demand top UI/UX designers.

Integration with GPS and IoT Devices

Integration of applications with devices like GPS collars, Bluetooth trackers, or smart sensors requires IoT development. Integrating hardware and software is a bit complex, which impacts costs and testing time.

Backend Infrastructure

Tractive GPS-like app development requires a robust backend system with real-time databases and cloud services to support live tracking and instant alerts. Using such technologies affects the cost to build a pet care app.

Development Team Expertise and Location

Hiring top pet care app developers in regions like the USA or Western Europe costs more compared to India or Eastern Europe. Developers with high expertise and experience deliver better long-term performance but require more money.

Also Read: How Much Does it Cost to Build an On-Demand Dog Walking App?

How Much Does it Cost to Build a Pet Care App Like Tractive GPS?

The cost to make an app like Tractive GPS ranges from USD 10,000 to USD 60,000, or even more. A basic pet care app costs you $10,000-$20,000; a mid-level pet care app costs you $20,000-$40,000; however, an advanced pet care app costs you $40,000-$60,000 or even more, depending on the complexity.

Get a better understanding of the pet care app development services cost and timeline through this table:

Building a pet care app from scratch takes time. If you want to build a pet care app like Tractive GPS quickly, you can choose a ready-made or white-label solution, then customize it later. These solutions are prebuilt applications that can be yours in 1-2 weeks. It can be customized and scaled as per your requirements as well.

You can get a ready-made pet care app for less money. However, if you want to build from scratch with unique features, you can choose custom app development. The best way to launch a pet care app is to choose MVP, since, as an entrepreneur, investor, or pet owner, investing a high amount of money at the start is not the right decision.

MVP: It stands for Minimum Viable Product, a cost-effective way to launch your app faster with only the core features. An MVP helps you test the market, gather real user feedback, and validate your idea before full-scale investment. This is a more strategic step to build a profitable pet care app.

MVP version can cost between $10,000-$15,000+

Now, explore the pet GPS app monetization strategies.

How to Make Money from a Pet Care App?

Well, a pet GPS tracking app offers multiple monetization strategies that can help you turn your pet tracking app into a profitable business. From subscription plans to in-app marketing, here are the 6 ways to earn money from a mobile pet care app business:

1:Subscription Plans

This is one of the best strategies, offering a freemium version with basic features but charging for premium features like health analytics, live tracking, and extended history. A pet care app like Tractive GPS follows the same strategy, with paid plans starting from $5 a month.

2:In App Purchases

This flexible approach keeps users engaged and encourages small, frequent transactions that boost overall revenue. In-app purchases let users buy add-on features, digital pet accessories, and advanced training tools within the application.

3:Hardware Sales

Tractive GPS-like apps pair with IoT-powered devices like GPS collars or health tracking bands. Selling connected hardware creates a major revenue source through a one-time sale.

4:Affiliate Marketing and Promotions

Affiliate marketing is a great way to earn money through a pet health monitoring app. Tractive GPS-like app collaborates with pet products, vet clinics, or insurance providers. This allows earn commission when users purchase through your app’s referral links.

5:In-App Advertising

Integrate non-intrusive ads from pet-friendly brands, like food, grooming, or training services. With targeted placement and personalization, ads can provide a steady income without affecting user experience.

6:Pet Health and Vet Consultation Services

Offer on-demand tele-vet consultations or wellness plans through subscription or pay-per-use models. This adds high value for users and opens a reliable recurring income stream for your platform.

Top 5 Alternatives to Tractive GPS Like Pet Care App

Tractive GPS is an Austrian tech care app that is trusted by over 1 million pets across 100+ countries. The application attracts pet owners around the globe by offering real-time GPS tracking, health monitoring, virtual fences, and other features.

However, many pet owners search for alternatives to Traction GPS for different reasons. Here are the 5 Tractive GPS alternatives:

1:Fi GPS Dog Tracker

The Fi tracker device with the Fi app delivers GPS tracking, virtual fences, and activity stats directly to the user’s phone. The application is for both iOS and Android, which also lets owners share their pet’s location with family and friends.

2:Apple Air Tag

Powered by Apple, the AirTag integrates with the “Find My” app, which allows pet owners to track their pet’s live location across Apple’s vast network. The application is easy to use and shows accurate directions to your pet’s tag.

3:Petcube GPS Tracker

The Petcube application offers real-time GPS location updates, two-way audio, and motion alerts. It allows owners to interact with their pets, monitor activity, and receive instant notifications on their smartphones.

4:Whistle Switch

This device for pets works with the Whistle app and offers GPS tracking, daily health insights, and wellness reports. The main motive of this application is that it helps owners to set fitness goals for pets and get proactive health alerts.

5:Halo Collar

The Halo Collar app syncs with the collar device to manage customizable virtual fences, GPS tracking, and training guidance. The application provides real-time safety alerts to pet owners, which make it easy to monitor the pet at any time.

Why Choose Apptunix to Develop an App Like Tractive GPS?

Apptunix, a leading mobile app development company, specializes in pet care app development and GPS-enabled app development. We offer top pet care app developers who create feature-rich apps with real-time tracking, health monitoring, and other features.

Building a Tractive GPS-like app requires highly experienced developers and designers, as it’s a popular app, and we’re capable of delivering high-end digital solutions. We create MVPs to full-scale products, ensuring your app stands out with a seamless user experience and robust performance.

Whether you’re a startup or an enterprise, Apptunix helps you build a pet care app like Tractive GPS that pet owners truly trust.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s turn your pet tracking app idea into a market-winning product with a top pet care app development company like Apptunix. Remember, innovation doesn’t just happen; it gets unleashed.