Best key finder in 2024: AirTag vs. Tile vs. SmartTag vs. Chipolo | Tom's Guide

The best key finders will help make sure you never lose your keys again

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

The search for the best key finder just got some new options from a familiar place. New Tile key finders for 2024 have debuted, boasting several improvements such as extend rangers, louder alarms and a new SOS feature.

Considering that Tile make our top-rated key finder — the Tile Pro 2022 — we're expecting big things from the 2024 lineup of Bluetooth-based devices that can track down the location of everything from missing keys to lost wallets. We're in the process of testing all four new Tile key finders to see where they fit into our rankings.

Tile faces some pretty stiff competition and not just from its own trackers. Apple and Samsung both have key finders — the latest version of Samsung's SmartTag is particularly impressive, if limited to Galaxy devices. Meanwhile Google's Find My Device network is now live, and it can help users find lost items via their Android phones. (Tile, Chipolo and Pebblebee are among the key finder makers that support Find My Device.)

Even with the stepped-up competition, Tile has been the go-to choice for key finders, based on our extensive testing. I'll be putting the Tile Pro 2024, Tile Mate 2024, Tile Slim 2024 and Tile Sticker 2024 through the same testing protocol I've been using since I reviewed my first key finder in 2024. Stay tuned for our full evaluations.

In the meantime, I've tested a lot of different key trackers in recent years. Here are the ones that I think are deserving of a place at the end of your keychain — at least until we see how the new Tile devices perform.

Best overall

Best key finder overall

With a wide range, loud alarm and reliable performance, the Tile Pro is the best key finder to get for iPhones and Android devices alike.

Read more below

Best Galaxy key finder

Samsung's best key finder

Samsung's key tracker is more durable than before while offering better range and longer battery life.

Read more below

Best value

Best value key finder

It doesn't have the range of the Tile Pro, but the Tile Mate delivers strong key tracking performance for a lower price.

Read more below

Best for iPhone

Best key finder for iPhones

iPhone users will like the AirTag, which takes advantage of the Ultra Wideband chip in recent iPhones for more precise key tracking.

Read more below

Best alternative

Best key finder alternative

The Chipolo one boasts a replaceable battery, multiple colors and the best out-of-range alerts of any key finder we've tested.

Read more below

Smallest tracker

The simplest tracker

The Tile Sticker works best on objects with smooth services — think laptops, passports, and the like — letting you keep tabs on their location from your phone.

Read more below

View more products...

Best for wallets

Best for wallets

It lacks the range of other Tile trackers, but the Tile Slim has the perfect size and shape to fit easily into a wallet.

Read more below

Our expert review:

There's a new version of the Tile Pro out for 2024, but until we finish our testing, the Tile Pro 2022 holds down the top spot in our best key finder rankings. This Pro version offers a new look from past editions to better resemble a traditional key fob with a rectangular shape and rounded edges at one end. It's not as stylish as past Tile trackers, but it's still a very capable tracker.

The Tile Pro 2022 offers the best range of any key finder we've tested with a good, loud alarm. (The Tile Pro 2024 claims to extend that range even further.) A two-way find feature helps you locate your phone if you've misplaced it just by pressing the Tile logo twice on the key finder. And the Tile Pro's battery remains easy to replace after about a year of service.

After its initial released Tile added an anti-theft mode which makes it hard for thieves to scan for Tile's trackers. That increases the odds you'll be able to recover a stolen item. (Anti-theft mode is available for all the Tile devices included in our best key finder rankings.)

The Tile Pro 2022's time in the top spot may be short-lived depending on what we think of the Tile Pro 2024. But this older model sets the bar high for any key finder that's come after it.

Read our full Tile Pro (2022) review.

Our expert review:

The Galaxy SmartTag 2 is a big improvement over Samsung's original key tracker. It's got a better IP67 water resistance rating and a replaceable battery that can last 500 hours of regular use (and even longer if you use a power-saver mode). Samsung also built Ultra Wideband support into its tracker so recent Galaxy smartphones can take advantage of a compass feature in the the SmartThings companion app for more precise finding.

The SmartTag 2 delivered excellent range in our testing, allowing us to get several hundred feet away before we lost connection with our keys. The alarm could be louder, but neat additions like a two-way find feature let you locate a misplaced phone as easily as you can find your keys.

The SmartTag only works with Samsung phones, so owners of other Android devices or iPhones will want to consider another option. But if you have a Galaxy flagship released in the last couple years, this is a great accessory to have on hand.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 2 review.

Our expert review:

Tile made some great improvements to 2022 edition of the Tile Mate, which performs more reliably than its predecessor. We consistently reached 200 feet when range testing this Bluetooth-based tracker, which is pretty impressive. The Tile Pro is a more fully featured device, but the Tile Mate costs $10 less, making it a great value for bargain hunters.

A new version, the Tile Mate 2024, is now out, and it costs the same $25 as the 2022 edition. We'll see if the new key finder can match the range of the old one, though Tile says that range has been extended.

With the 2022 version, the Tile Mate no longer included a replaceable battery. Instead, you get a battery that's built to last for three years before you need to replace your tracker. At least the Mate's new design makes it better able to withstand dunks in water — like the rest of the Tile lineup, the Mate offers IP67 water resistance.

All Tile trackers work with both Android devices and iPhones, and the Tile Mate costs less than competing products from Samsung and Apple. That's why you should consider this key finder if you want a low-cost device that still delivers solid range and an audible alarm.

Read our full Tile Mate (2022) review.

Our expert review:

If you've got an iPhone, especially one of the more recent models, you'll want to try Apple's AirTag. This key tracker pairs with your iPhone over Bluetooth to help you track down lost items in the iPhone's built-in Find My app. If you've got an iPhone 11 or later, you can tap into the Precision Finding feature, which uses the U1 Ultra Wideband chip in newer Apple phones to provide more detailed directions on finding lost items. (The iPhone 15 models have a new U2 chip, but improvements there seem to mostly involve the Find My Friends feature.)

Precision Finding is impressive, but perhaps the best thing about Apple's AirTag is how easy it is to set up. Our AirTag paired easily with iPhone, and the Find My interface is a pleasure to use. (For more, check out our guide on what different AirTag chimes mean.) A new feature in iOS 17 lets you share AirTags with up to five other people in the Find My app.

AirTag still lacks a two-way find features to locate a misplaced phone. More worrying, privacy features on AirTag have needed fine-tuning, as alerts that an unauthorized AirTag is trying to track you have been slow in coming. Apple released updates to address the problem, and it's joining Google in backing a new specification that aims to better alert you to unwanted tracking by Bluetooth-based devices. Until that standard becomes formalized, we have a guide on how to tell if you're being unwittingly tracked by an AirTag and what to do about it.

Read our full Apple AirTag review.

Our expert review:

The Chipolo One key finder continues Chipolo's proud tradition of producing trackers with very loud alarms, making it easy to find the item you've misplaced. But the Chipolo One introduces an even better feature to the mix — out-of-range alerts that buzz your phone when you've left an important item like your keys behind.

All you have to do to get out-of-range alerts is toggle the feature on in Chipolo's app. (That's a contrast to Tile, which only includes such alerts as part of its Tile Premium subscription service.) When you've gone a certain distance from your Chipolo One, you'll get a notification on your phone and a loud beep or buzz. In our testing, Chipolo's out-of-range alerts appeared reliably and usually quick enough for us to turn around and retrieve our keys before we've gotten too far.

The range of the Chipolo One is a little disappointing, as we had a hard time keeping our phone connected to the key finder beyond 50 feet. That means the Chipolo One is best suited for finding in a small area like your home as opposed to more spread out locations. Still, at $25, the Chipolo One costs less than the Tile Pro and has better features than the similarly priced Tile Mate. We think its the best key finder alternative if you don't want to pay up for the Tile Pro.

Another version of the Chipolo One — the Chipolo One Ocean Edition — offers the same functionality, but is made from recycled plastic pulled from the ocean. It costs $5 more than the original Chipolo One, with $1 of every purchase donated to Oceanic Global, an organization that promotes ocean conservation efforts. The Ocean Edition seems to have disappeared from sites like Amazon, though Chipolo still sells it directly.

Read our full Chipolo One review.

Our expert review:

The idea behind the original Tile Sticker was solid — build a small, circular tracker that could stick onto surfaces of devices and objects other than keychains — but the execution was flawed. Tile clearly took that criticism to heart with the new Tile Sticker, as this version performs much more reliably. It's a better choice now for tracking things like laptops, passports and other valuables with smooth surfaces.

You still may find it jarring to have what looks like a little knob sticking onto those surfaces, but at least you'll have a tracker with an audible alarm and a wide reach — we got up to 170 feet away from the Tile Sticker in our tests. The Sticker also works with both Android devices and iPhones, and it includes Tile's two-way find feature for locating misplaced phones.

Not convinced by the Tile Sticker? Tile now sells adhesive Lost and Found labels that you can paste onto objects; if those objects are lost, anyone who finds them can scan the QR code on the adhesive label to look up your contact information for returning the lost item.

Like the other models in Tile's lineup of Bluetooth trackers, there's a new version of the Tile Sticker out. We're currently testing the Tile Sticker 2024 to see if it further improves upon its predecessor.

Read our full Tile Sticker (2022) review.

Our expert review:

Because its thin design — it's about the same shape as a credit card — the Tile Slim is uniquely suited to slip inside a wallet or purse so that you can track that item's whereabouts from your phone. But unfortunately the latest version of the Tile Slim is a step back from the predecessor that impressed so much.

The problem is inconsistent range — we had a hard time staying connected to the Tile Slim (2022) anytime we got farther than 80 feet away. Considering the Slim is supposed to match the range of the Tile Mate and Tile Sticker, we can't help but be disappointed by that performance.

Given the issues we had with the Tile Slim, it may be worth considering Chipolo's wallet tracker. The Chipolo Card Spot costs the same as the Tile Slim but taps into Apple's Find My network to increase the chances of you tracking down a lost wallet or purse.

We're also in the middle of testing a new version of this Tile tracker, the Tile Slim 2024. Tile promises better range in this version, so we could well see this particular tracker climb in the key finder rankings once we post our final review.

Read our full Tile Slim (2022) review.

Here's the criteria to keep in mind when you're shopping for a key finder.

• Connectivity and range: The majority of the devices in our best key finder rankings connect to your phone over Bluetooth. That generally means ranges of 200 feet or so, though in our experience, many trackers top out at 100 feet. (That's just as well, as beyond a certain distance, it's hard to hear the alarm anyhow.) The Tile Pro is one exception, with a range topping 200 feet in our testing, and Samsung's Galaxy SmartTag 2 also had an extensive reach when we tested it. Both Apple and Samsung offer key finders that use Ultra Wideband tracking, which promises more precise tracking data.

• Alarm Sound: Check the decibel rating for the key finder. You'll want a good loud signal of at least 80 to 85 decibels so that you can hear your key finder over any ambient noise. In our testing, we've been impressed by the loudness of the Tile Pro as well as the Chipolo One.

• Other Features: Consider key finders that have two-way finding features, where you can press a button on the key finder to track down your phone. Some key finders also offer geofence features, where your phone will get an alert if your keys are ever out of range — the Chipolo One's out-of-range alerts are particularly impressive if you prize this capability.

• Battery Life: Look up how long the battery will last on your key finder. If it's a replaceable battery, count on about six months, though the Tile Pro (2022) promises a year's worth of battery life and Chipolo claims its new key tracker will go two years before you need to swap out a battery. Non-replaceable batteries should also last a year and offer a clearly defined replacement program for when your device is running low on juice. The latest Tiles claim to last three years if they have a non-replaceable battery.

• Tracking Multiple Items: Many of companion apps for the devices we've reviewed here support multiple trackers, so that you can keep tabs on more than just one item. (You can track a purse, too, or a wallet, in addition to your keys.) Some products, like Tile, even let you share your tracker with another user, so that both of you can pinpoint the location of your keys. (Tile Premium gives you the ability to share your Tile tracker with unlimited users.)

• Price: The average key finder costs between $20 and $30. A few, like the Tile Pro, cost $35, but offer longer range than standard key finders. You'll generally pay up for key finders with Ultra Wideband connectivity, which come in at around $30.

You'll also want to consider compatibility. The Bluetooth-based Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 2 will just work with Samsung's phones while the SmartTag Plus works with a more limited selection of devices. (Samsung phones dating back to the Galaxy S21 Plus, Galaxy S21 Ultra, and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra have the necessary Ultra Wideband connectivity as do more recent models like the Galaxy S24 family.) Similarly, to get the most out of Apple's AirTag, you're going to need an iPhone 11 or later (excluding both the 2020 and 2022 iPhone SE, as those phones lack an U1 Ultra Wideband chip.)

We put every key finder we review through a series of tests. To test the volume of the alarm, we bury the key finder in a clothes hamper filled with laundry and see how far we can walk away before the alarm becomes inaudible. We also check to how long the alarm sounds before shutting off.

To test range, we go to a public park and leave the key finder behind. We check every 10 feet until we lose the signal or can no longer hear the alarm. We also take note of how quickly the key finder re-establishes a connection with our phone once it's back in range. If a key finder promises a digital leash feature, we walk away, taking note of how long before we receive an out-of-range notification on our phone.

With some key finders now offering ranges beyond 100 feet, we also go to a local football field and check ranges on those trackers.

We consider the size and shape of each key finder. We also look at the ease of inserting a new battery into those devices with replaceable batteries; if the battery can't we replaced, we consider whether the key finder maker has a replacement program in place.

We also look at the design of the companion app for each key finder, and consider additional features such as two-way finding capabilities.

Here at Tom’s Guide our expert editors are committed to bringing you the best news, reviews and guides to help you stay informed and ahead of the curve!

Philip Michaels is a Managing Editor at Tom's Guide. He's been covering personal technology since 1999 and was in the building when Steve Jobs showed off the iPhone for the first time. He's been evaluating smartphones since that first iPhone debuted in 2007, and he's been following phone carriers and smartphone plans since 2015. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics, old movies and proper butchery techniques. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.

Justice Department may order a Google breakup — force it to sell Chrome, Android and more

The first USB4 2.0 cable has officially been certified — insane data speeds

Walmart slashes prices on robot vacuums — 7 deals I'd shop from $59