By Christina Carpio
Posted in Sales Productivity, Sales Software / Tools, Sales Management
By Christina Carpio
Posted in Sales Productivity, Sales Software / Tools, Sales Management
According to a recent INRIX study, the average American driver spends approximately 51 hours each year stuck in congested traffic, resulting in an average cost of $869.
For those of you whose livelihood is dependent on the routes you drive, making use of a driving route planner is a must. They allow you tosave time planning your daily routes and get the most out of your day — even when you encounter the unexpected.
The HubSpot State of Sales report found that salespeople only spend around two hours a day actually selling with at least one hour a day spent on admin tasks. A driving route planner can cut back on the time spent working on these admin tasks.
Some otherkey benefits of using a driving route planner include:
- Route optimization to cut planning time, driving time, andfuel costs
- Driving directions and real-time traffic updates to guarantee you're always onthe fastest route
- The ability to adjust your schedule at any moment and stay on track
We've put together the definitive list with the 10 best driving route planners for you to choose from.
Let’s check them out!
Best Driving Route Planner
- When should you use a Driving Route Planner?
- How do you choose the right Driving Route Planner?
- The 10 Best Driving Route Planners
- Badger Maps
- Google Maps
- Waze
- MapQuest Route Planner
- Roadtrippers
- My Route Online
- RouteXL
- Speedy Route
- Mappr
- Maps.me
- Conclusion
- FAQs
When should you use a Driving Route Planner?
Mapping routes for driving is likely something you don’t have to worry about in most day-to-day activities. But, when your job involves visiting customers, delivering goods, or dealing with logistics, using a driving route planner is absolutely essential.It can be your secret weapon as you go about your workday, reducing the time you spend behind the wheel by 20%.
If you work in industries such as outside sales, delivery services, and field service, you are regularly dealing with dozens of customers on any given day. By automating and optimizing your routes with a driving route planner, you have one less tedious job to worry about, allowing you to focus on the more pressing elements of your work.
A driving route planner can also be great if you’re planning a fun long road trip with your friends or family on the weekend!
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How do you choose the Best Driving Route Planner?
Driving route planners are not one-size-fits-all, so the best route planner for you will depend on a number of factors, such as the size of your business, your budget, your business goals, and so on.
Maybe you are only running a small business operation that doesn’t have to drive long and complicated routes. In this case you could get away with using one of the free options on the list.
But what if you are a larger operation that has to deal with long routes with multiple stops? In this case investing in a paid driving route planner could be worth it.
The list below covers the best driving route planners on the market categorized by different use cases, as well as providing a brief overview of what sets each route planner apart from the others. With this information, you’ll be able to choose the best option for your specific use case.
What's the benefit of using a route optimization software designed for field salespeople when you already have Google Maps? Selling 25% more and driving 20% less.
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The 10 Best Driving Route Planners
- Badger Maps - Best for field sales and field service teams
- Google Maps - Best for road trips
- Waze - Best for daily commuting
- MapQuest - Best for simple routes
- Roadtrippers - Best for road trips
- My Route Online - Best for logistics and trucking
- Route XL - Best for logistics and deliveries
- Speedy Route - Best for timeboxing and location reordering
- Mappr - Best for delivery
- Maps.me - Best for road trips and traveling
1. Badger Maps
Price: $58/month Business, $95/month Enterprise (7-day free trial & 30-day team pilots available)
Best for: Field sales repsand field service teams
Main Features: Route Optimization, Visualize, Prospecting, Check-ins, Follow-ups
Capterra Rating: 4.6
Badger Maps is a driving route planner designed specifically for field teams.Outside salespeople and field service teams will get the best results by using Badger Maps for their route planning.
With capabilities such as route optimization, lead generation, map visualization, and automated data gathering from the field, Badger Maps helps you save time on your daily planning, maintain better relationships with customers, and get organized.
Teams have reported that they sell 22% more and drive 20% less when using Badger Maps, in fact, the average team of 10 reps sells $936k more the year they start using the app.
"After getting Badger Maps, weekly meetings per rep jumped from 12 to 20. This led to a 22% increase in annual revenue."
Brad Moxley Business Development Manager, Cutter & Buck
In addition to its routing features (multi-stop route optimization, live traffic updates, and turn-by-turn driving directions),Badger Maps integrates seamlessly with many CRMssuch as HubSpot, Zoho, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, Insightly, NetSuite, and many more, allowing you access to valuable information in the field.
Badger Maps also allows you tostreamline your route planning, freeing you up to focus on the more important aspects of your job.
On average, sales and service teams using Badgerdrive 20% less and sell 22% moreby being able to meet with many more customers per week.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Optimized route building | Requires Internet connection |
| Ability to create custom check-ins | No mobile invoicing |
| Automatic weekly reports | Only available in English |
| Native mobile applications for iOS and Android | |
| Easy to use (and free training & resources) | |
| Great customer support |
Badger Maps reduces average drive time by 20% and frees up an average of 8 hours a week.
Sign up for a free trial todayorschedule a demoto see how you can use this driving route planner to your advantage!
Drive 20% Less. Sell 20% More.
TRY BADGER MAPS FREE
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2. Google Maps
Price: Free
Best for: Road trips that don’t involve more than 9 stops
Main Features: Routing, Turn-by-Turn Directions, Live Traffic Conditions, Street View
Capterra Rating: 4.7
Google Maps is a reliable and easy-to-use route planner for traveling by foot, car, bicycle, or public transport.
With Google Maps, you can create routes with up to 10 stops, receive turn-by-turn driving directions, and real-time traffic updates. Google Maps allows you to visualize the map in a number of ways including satellite imagery, aerial view, and a 360° interactive street view.
With Immersive view, a feature powered by AI, you can get a 3D, multi-dimensional experience view of a location, where you can preview bike lanes, sidewalks, intersections, and parking spots for your next journey.
Electric vehicle drivers can now conveniently locate charging stations using the app which provides up-to-date details on charger availability and charging speeds.
Google Maps is best at providing the best driving route from point A to point B,since it does not optimize routes with more than one stop, meaning for those working in industries such as outside sales or field services, they may need to look at other options for their route planning needs..
Learn how to use Google Maps to route multiple stops here!
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| User-friendly | Limited to only 10 stops |
| Free | Can’t set departure, arrival, or duration time |
| Reliable | Can’t track customer information |
| Helps you find the shortest route from point A to B | No CRM integration |
| Real-time traffic and incident updates | Lack of customization |
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3.Waze
Price: Free
Best for: Daily commuting
Main Features: Turn-by-Turn Directions, Traffic Notifications, Mobile Speed Checks, Carpool
Waze is a GPS navigation software that provides turn-by-turn driving directions and live traffic updates. Waze relies on user-submitted data to provide information on accidents, traffic jams, and speed/police traps.Waze has a lot of similarities with Google Maps which gives sense since it was purchased by Google in 2013.
However, whereas Google Maps serves as an all-rounder that caters to users who drive, walk, and take public transport, Waze is specifically designed with drivers in mind.
With Waze's trip planner, you can plan trips in advance and decide on the best departure time. Waze also has a carpool feature that allows you to pair up with users going in the same direction and split travel costs, while remaining on the quickest driving route.
They offer fun and engaging themes that you can choose from and even celebrity voices such as Morgan Freeman that provide you with directions as you drive!
They are currently beta-testing a new feature that informs users of roads that have a history of crashes, a useful feature for users looking for the safest route to their destinations.
Check out our blog to learn how to use Waze route planner to map multiple stops!
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Easy to use | Cluttered layout |
| Free | The app can be distracting |
| User-based Data for traffic, hazard, and police detection | Can only add up to 2 stops |
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4. MapQuest Route Planner
Price: Basic - $99/mo, Plus - $199/mo
Best for: Road trips and simple routes
Main Features: Real-time Traffic Updates, Point of Interest Search, Hotel Booking
Launched in 1996, MapQuest is the first commercially available driving route planner online. MapQuest is great for creating simple routes and locating destinations such as gas stations, restaurants, and grocery stores.
MapQuest provides real-time traffic updates and turn-by-turn driving directions. You can also use MapQuest to find and book hotels near you, which makes it a great route planner for road trips.
One drawback of MapQuest is that it only allows you to create routes with 26 stops, meaning it will struggle to compete with more industry-specific routing apps.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Free | Can only add 26 stops to your route |
| Reliable | Not designed for outside sales/delivery services |
| Easy to use | Difficult to plot multiple stops |
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5. Roadtrippers
Price: $4.99/mo
Best for: Road trips
Main Features: Turn-by-Turn Directions, Live Traffic Updates, Point of Interest Search
RoadTrippers is a web-based software application and mobile app designed to help travelers plan road trips with up to 150 stops.
It allows users to discover independently owned points of interest across the United States and Canada. You can use RoadTrippers to create a trip and then sync it to the RoadTrippers app to receive turn-by-turn driving directions and live traffic conditions.
Their database of more than 300 places allows you to add fun “detours” to your route.
BADGER PAYS FOR ITSELF WITH GAS SAVINGS
Sales Reps using Badger sell at least 22% more and drive 20% fewer miles.
See the potential return on investment you can get by using Badger Maps with your field sales team.
CALCULATE YOUR GAS SAVINGS
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Can route up to 150 stops (paid option) | Only available for U.S. based users |
| Ability to discover points of interests | Not designed for outside sales/delivery services |
| Dated interface |
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6. My Route Online
Price: Starts at $29.95
Best for: Logistics and trucking
Main Features: Route Optimization, Data Import
Capterra Rating: 4.6
My Route Online is a a simple, no-frills planner that lets users map upwards of 350 stops per route.This driving route planner app is designed specifically for those working in industries such as trucking or logistics.
You can import a spreadsheet of all your addresses to My Route Online and create a route optimized by either distance or time. Once you have your route created, you can upload it to your GPS or mobile device to receive turn-by-turn driving directions.It also optimizes routes by either time or distance.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Simple and easy to use | Outdated UI |
| Maps upwards of 350 stops | Limited features for sales and field services |
| Great customer support | Slow route optimization |
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7. RouteXL
Price: Starts at $41.43/month
Best for: Logistics and deliveries
Main Features: Route Optimization, Data Import
Capterra Rating: 3.5
Route XL is a simple driving route planner that enables you to save time and money,with a free version that allows you to create routes up to 20 stops. With Route XL, you can import your list of addresses from a spreadsheet, e-mail, or simply copy and paste.
RouteXL can be confusing to new users, as its interface is not very user-friendly.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Free up to 20 stops | Difficult learning curve |
| Ability to add detailed info about each stop | Limited features for sales and field services |
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8. Speedy Route
Price: Small team - $69/mo, Large team - $99/mo
Best for: Delivery
Main Features: Timeboxing, Location Reordering
Capterra Rating: 3.9
Speedy Route is a globally available web-based route optimizer. Speedy Route has a simple interface and helpful features such as timeboxing, that enable you to reach your destinations by pre-set times. You can also re-order your locations at any moment, giving you full control over your route.
They do offer a free version, but only for those plugging in 10 stops or less.
Speedy Route’S UI does look a bit dated compared to other driving route planner apps. However, those who enjoy working with old-school maps seem to appreciate Speedy Route’s no-frills approach to mapping.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Easy to use | No Mobile App |
| Free up to 10 stops | Limited features for sales and field services |
| Outdated UI |
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9. Mappr
Price: Bootstrap - Free, Startup - $85/mo, Growth - $209/mo, Premium - $375/mo
Best for: Delivery services
Main Features: Route Optimization, Live Traffic Updates, Store Locator
Mappr, formerly calledFlightmap, is a great driving route planner toolfor delivery drivers. With Mappr, you can create optimized routes, provide real-time traffic updates to your customers, and create customized maps.
You can plan highly tailored routes with up to 200 stops per month per vehicle for two vehicles.
After creating your optimized route in Mappr, you can export it and upload it to a GPS device for turn-by-turn driving directions.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Easy to use | No free trial |
| Can provide real-time updates to customers | Limited features for sales |
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10. Maps.me
Price: Free
Best for: Road Trips, general traveling
Main Features: Offline Maps, Offline Search, Offline Navigation
Maps.me is an offline driving route planner app designed to help travelers navigate without the internet. Maps.me allows you to download maps and create routes for navigation by foot, car, bicycle, or public transportation.
The app also features a number of travel guides to help you explore your destination.
One downside is that Maps.me only allows you to add 5 stops per route. However, its great offline functionality makes it a great option for smaller routes in remote areas.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Free | Limited features for sales and field services |
| Offline Navigation | Limited to only 5 stops |
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Conclusion
Adding a driving route planner to your tool belt will ultimately save you both time and money. With all the options available, it’s guaranteed there is a route planner that will meet all your business needs.
If you’re looking for a tool that optimizes not only your route but your entire sales process, then Badger Maps is the perfect option for you.
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MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT DRIVING ROUTE PLANNERS
Can you map and plan a driving route on Google Maps?
With Google Maps you can create a route with up to 10 stops and receive either walking, driving, or public transportation directions to all your stops.
What is the best route planner for free?
Google Maps is the best free route planner. It’s highly accurate, user friendly, allows for 10 stops, and is at the forefront of the route planning industry. However if you are working in a professional setting in an industry that requires more complex route planning, it may be worth your while investing in a paid route planner.
What is the best route planner map?
Driving route planners are not one-size-fits-all, so the best driving route planner app for you will depend on a number of factors, such as the size of your business, your budget, your business goals, and so on.
Is Waze faster than Google Maps?
Google Maps uses slightly more data than Waze. Therefore, Waze typically loads and updates routes faster.
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