Your phone almost certainly came with a free driving directions app, and most of the good alternatives cost nothing either.
So which one should you use? It depends on what goes wrong on your drives.
Eight apps are ranked below for everyday driving, and seven of them are free to navigate with. If you drive for work, you’ll find route planners and mileage logs after those.
Best Driving Directions Apps, Ranked
Here are the eight navigation apps worth a spot on your phone, and who each one is for. Tap any of them to jump to the details.
Google MapsLive traffic, offline areas and up to 9 stopsFree2
WazeReports from other drivers, toll and gas pricesFree3
Apple MapsUp to 15 stops and offline maps on iPhoneFree4
HERE WeGoDownload a region, a country or a continentFree5
MapQuestIts website planner sorts up to 26 stopsFree6
TomTomTraffic and speed camera alerts, no adsFree7
Organic MapsEverything works offline, no ads, no trackingFree8
SygicOffline 3D maps, head-up display and dashcam$19.99 a year1. Google Maps
Best all-around app for driving directionsThe one to install first, on iPhone or Android.
Google Maps gives you turn-by-turn directions with live traffic and reroutes you around incidents and road closures. It can prefer the route that burns less fuel when the arrival time is about the same, and it shows an estimated toll price before you start.
Want the fine print? Offline use, stop limits and cost
2. Waze
Best for live traffic, hazards and speed trapsBest when traffic is the thing that ruins your drive.
Waze runs on reports from other drivers: crashes, construction, objects on the road, potholes, police and speed cameras. It reroutes you when traffic builds, and it shows toll pricing and finds gas stations and their prices along your route.
Want the fine print? Offline use, stop limits and cost
3. Apple Maps
Best for iPhone and CarPlay driversThe easy pick if you live on an iPhone.
Apple Maps plans up to 15 stops in one route and gives you lane guidance, and it shows speed limits and warns you about speed and red-light cameras. You can download maps and still get turn-by-turn directions for driving, walking, cycling or transit with no signal.
Want the fine print? Offline use, stop limits and cost
4. HERE WeGo
Best free offline mapsBest free pick when you know you’ll lose signal.
HERE WeGo is free and lets you download the map of a region, a country or a whole continent, then navigate with no connection at all. Online, it adds live traffic and updated arrival times, and it covers public transport in more than 1,900 cities.
Want the fine print? Offline use, stop limits and cost
5. MapQuest
Best free planner for a day of many stopsBest free way to put a long list of stops in order.
MapQuest’s Route Planner, a tool on mapquest.com, takes up to 26 locations and reorders them for you, by shortest time or shortest distance. You can type them in line by line, paste a list or import one. The phone app adds live traffic, gas price comparison and settings to avoid highways and toll roads.
Want the fine print? Offline use, stop limits and cost
6. TomTom
Best free app with no adsA clean, free app from a 30-year navigation company.
The free TomTom app gives you turn-by-turn directions with live traffic, lane guidance, speed camera alerts and hazard reports from other drivers. Its store listing says your navigation is never interrupted by ads or tracking.
Want the fine print? Offline use, stop limits and cost
7. Organic Maps
Best for privacy and zero signalThe private, fully offline option.
Organic Maps is free and open source, and it’s built on OpenStreetMap data. Search and voice-guided car navigation work with no connection, and it supports CarPlay and Android Auto. It shows no ads and does no tracking. It asks for donations instead.
Want the fine print? Offline use, stop limits and cost
8. Sygic
Paid pick for offline 3D mapsIt’s only worth paying for if you want its extras.
Sygic stores 3D maps on your phone and adds a head-up display, a dashcam and lane guidance. The catch is the free version. Sygic says it covers offline maps, search and route planning, but voice guidance and turn-by-turn directions need Premium+.
Want the fine print? Offline use, stop limits and cost
How the Driving Directions Apps Compare
Here’s how they stack up on cost, offline use, stops per route and car screen support. Every cell comes from the app’s own site, its store listing, or Apple’s and Google’s car screen pages, and “not listed” means none of them mentions it.
| App | Cost | Works offline | Stops in one route | Car screen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Maps | Free, shows ads | Saved areas, driving only | Up to 9 | CarPlay, Android Auto |
| Waze | Free, shows ads | No | 1 extra stop | CarPlay, Android Auto |
| Apple Maps | Free | Downloaded maps | Up to 15 | CarPlay |
| HERE WeGo | Free | Region, country or continent | Multiple | CarPlay, Android Auto |
| MapQuest | Free with ads | Not listed | Up to 26 on mapquest.com, sorted for you | CarPlay |
| TomTom | Free, no ads | Not listed | Not listed | CarPlay, Android Auto |
| Organic Maps | Free, no ads | Everything | Multiple | CarPlay, Android Auto |
| Sygic | $19.99 a year to navigate | 3D maps | Multiple | CarPlay and Android Auto with Premium+ |
Store ratings are one more signal. These are the scores each store showed when we read the U.S. listings on October 9, 2026.
| App | App Store (U.S.) | Google Play (U.S.) |
|---|---|---|
| Google Maps | 4.7 from 7.4M ratings | 3.2 from 19.6M reviews |
| Waze | 4.8 from 3.2M ratings | 4.3 from 8.93M reviews |
| Apple Maps | 2.2 from 64K ratings | Not on Google Play |
| HERE WeGo | 3.7 from 1.6K ratings | 3.2 from 501K reviews |
| MapQuest | 4.4 from 29K ratings | 4.5 from 74.7K reviews |
| TomTom | 4.6 from 3.1K ratings | 4.3 from 208K reviews |
| Organic Maps | 4.7 from 3.5K ratings | 3.8 from 23.2K reviews |
| Sygic | 4.5 from 57K ratings | 4.1 from 1.89M reviews |
HERE WeGo, TomTom and Organic Maps each have fewer than 4,000 App Store ratings, so read those three scores with that in mind.
Driving for Work? Add a Route Planner and a Mileage Log
A phone map app runs out of room fast on a delivery shift. How fast? Waze takes one extra stop, Google Maps takes 9 and Apple Maps takes 15. MapQuest’s website planner takes 26 and sorts them for you.
Past that, you’ll want a dedicated route planner. Spoke Route Planner, which used to be called Circuit Route Planner, maps a full day of stops into the fastest order with one tap. Its free version caps a route at 10 stops.
Then log your miles.
If you’re self-employed, the IRS standard mileage rate for business driving is 72.5 cents a mile for January through June 2026 and 76 cents a mile for July through December 2026. At 76 cents, 1,000 business miles adds up to $760 in mileage you can deduct, and a mileage app keeps the log for you.
Parking and tolls on business trips are deductible on top of the mileage rate, and the IRS expects records that back up the miles.
| App | What it does | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Spoke Route Planner | Sorts a full day of stops into the fastest order | Free for routes of up to 10 stops. Paid plans on the App Store are $9.99 and $19.99 a month |
| Stride | Tracks miles by GPS and builds an IRS-ready mileage log | Free |
| MileIQ | Logs your drives automatically | 40 free drives a month. Unlimited is $13.99 a month, or $11.66 a month billed annually |
| Everlance | Detects and logs your trips automatically | Free plan covers up to 30 automatically detected trips a month. Paid plans start at $10.99 a month |
Want more ways to get paid behind the wheel? See the top driving apps to make money, or compare what DoorDash drivers earn before you sign up.
Three Ways These Apps Cut What a Drive Costs
Fuel comes first. Google Maps can prefer the route that burns less fuel when it gets you there at about the same time. Turn on Prefer fuel-efficient routes in the navigation settings and choose your engine type.
Tolls are next. Google Maps shows an estimated toll price before you start. The estimate assumes you have a toll pass unless you turn off See toll pass prices. Waze shows toll pricing too and lets you avoid toll roads.
Then there’s the price of gas. Waze finds gas stations and their prices along your route, and MapQuest compares prices at nearby stations.
More: Apps that pay cash back at the pump and ways to save on car insurance.
Not Driving? Two Apps for Transit and Trails
Driving directions apps are built for cars. If you’re on a bus, a bike or a trail, these two do the job better.
| App | What it is for | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Citymapper | Bus, train and subway directions with live wait times in the transit cities it covers | Free to download. A CLUB subscription is sold in the app |
| Komoot | Hiking and cycling routes. Turn-by-turn voice navigation and offline maps work in the regions you unlock | Free account with one region free. The World Pack is $29.99 on komoot’s site, and a Premium plan is sold in the app |
How to Choose a Navigation App
You don’t have to pick only one.
Most drivers keep two: one for every day and one for the trip where the first one falls short.
- Start with a free one. Seven of the eight apps here cost nothing to navigate with, so try those before you pay for anything.
- Plan for dead zones. If you ever lose signal, download the map first in Google Maps, Apple Maps, HERE WeGo or Organic Maps. Waze won’t work without data.
- Count your stops. One or two stops works anywhere. For a day of ten or more, use MapQuest’s Route Planner on mapquest.com or a dedicated route planner.
- Check your car screen. Most of these apps work with both CarPlay and Android Auto. Apple Maps and MapQuest list CarPlay only, and Sygic needs its paid plan for either.
- Decide how much you want to share. If ads or tracking bother you, TomTom and Organic Maps both say they show no ads.
Driving Directions App FAQs
For most drivers it’s Google Maps. It’s free, works on iPhone and Android, shows live traffic, keeps saved areas working offline and takes up to 9 stops. Waze is the better pick when traffic and road hazards are your main problem, and Apple Maps is the easy choice if you use an iPhone with CarPlay.
Most are. Google Maps, Waze, Apple Maps, HERE WeGo, MapQuest, TomTom and Organic Maps all give you turn-by-turn driving directions at no cost. Google Maps, Waze and MapQuest show ads. Sygic is the exception on this page: its free version covers maps and route planning, and voice-guided navigation needs Premium+ at $19.99 a year.
Yes, with the right app. Google Maps lets you save an area and still get driving directions without signal, but not traffic. Apple Maps, HERE WeGo, Organic Maps and Sygic also work from downloaded maps. Waze doesn’t work offline at all, so download a map in another app before you drive somewhere with weak signal.
MapQuest’s Route Planner on mapquest.com takes up to 26 stops and puts them in order for you at no cost. Apple Maps takes up to 15 stops and Google Maps up to 9, in the order you set. Waze allows one extra stop. If you deliver for a living, Spoke Route Planner is free for routes of up to 10 stops, with paid plans for longer routes.
Google Maps, Waze, HERE WeGo, TomTom and Organic Maps work with both. Apple Maps and MapQuest list CarPlay. Sygic supports both, but only with its paid Premium+ plan.
GPS apps use your phone’s location to show where you are on a map and guide you to a destination with turn-by-turn directions. The good ones add live traffic, offline maps, routes with more than one stop and support for the screen in your car.
The Bottom Line on the Best GPS Apps
Install Google Maps first, add Waze if traffic is your daily problem, and download an offline map before any drive where the signal might quit.
And it’s all free.
If driving is how you earn, the money is in the tools around the map: a route planner that orders your stops and a mileage log that turns every business mile into a deduction.
