Although Google Maps is a great navigation and mapping application, there are numerous Google Maps competitors that are just as good or even better. Your decision on a mapping tool will mostly depend on how you organize your travels and use your maps. Do you prefer to plan your excursions on your computer at home, or do you primarily use your phone for navigation and route planning?
You might be losing out even if you’ve used Google Maps for years. Try out a handful of these Google Maps substitutes to see if they might meet your mapping requirements better. The features of each Google Maps alternative are highlighted in the list below, along with all of their benefits and drawbacks, so you can pick the best mapping solution for your needs.
MapQuest
About as long as Google Maps has existed, so has MapQuest. It provides a mobile app as well as a web-based application. You can sync all of your navigation plans between the web and your phone if you have a MapQuest account. When it comes to looking up locations and getting directions, MapQuest functions much like Google Maps. Based on your IP address (if using the web) or the GPS in your phone (if using a mobile device), it will detect where you are right now. To see the route, simply enter a location and click Get Directions.
The directions are highly precise and include the distance, current traffic conditions, and even an estimated cost of fuel. You have access to zoom settings, satellite or traffic views, and share or print buttons via a hovering tool on the right. Actually, the MapQuest mobile app has more functions than the online tool. It provides more one-button location searching choices, including those for parking, schools, post offices, and hospitals. Additionally, it shows the local temperature right now.
Also Read:- How to Go Back in Time in Google Maps
Why it doesn’t match up to Google Maps
- MapQuest is inferior to Google Maps in that the map view is obscured by a number of really unpleasant adverts.
- Google Maps includes more functions than the route planner.
- The route doesn’t change as regularly and is a little less accurate than Google Maps.
What makes MapQuest superior to Google Maps
- Cost estimates for the directions are included.
- a convenient combination of a hotel search engine and a reservation system.
- Gas stations, grocery stores, coffee shops, shopping centers, restaurants, and motels may all be found using a single button.
- The scheduled trip path can be rerouted, which is more user-friendly.
Bing Maps
One of Google Maps’ main rivals is undoubtedly Bing Maps. But in order to compete, Microsoft doesn’t merely strive to mimic the Google Maps user experience. In its place, you’ll discover a modern, straightforward user experience. Along the top, there is a row of controls for sharing, traffic, directions, and other functions.
All of Google Maps’ capabilities, such as streetside, aerial, and road layers, as well as pedestrian and transit maps in addition to driving maps, are also available in Bing Maps. It is simple to add destinations along the route, print the map, and take it with you on your journey.
How Bing Maps surpasses Google Maps in quality
- Multiple layers are accessible, and maps are quite detailed.
- The user interface is up-to-date and simple.
- The edges of the map are covered with tools and features.
- Save locations quickly to your own library.
Why Google Maps is superior to Bing Maps:
- There is no mobile app available.
- No travel itinerary maker.
- Overall, there are fewer features and tools offered.
- The Bing Maps website can be used on your smartphone even though there isn’t a mobile app for it; nevertheless, it may take more data than other navigation apps.
Waze
On Waze’s website, there doesn’t appear to be any kind of web-based function at all. Up until you select the Live Map link from the menu, that is. Your smartphone experience is supposed to be supplemented by the web tool. You may plan routes and search for destinations using the Live Map. You can click on the map to drop pins or add destinations, and you can use the Waze Map Editor to create a custom map of any location.
Compared to most other navigational systems, the Waze smartphone app is entertaining to use. This is because to the social interaction it provides amongst users (referred to as Wazers). You may instantly send police or traffic alerts, hazard warnings, interesting locations, camera photos, and requests for roadside assistance.
How Waze outperforms Google Maps:
- driving experience that is more social.
- Better alerts regarding collisions, speed traps, and other issues.
- integration with your music apps on your phone.
- Trip planning via mobile and online with set departure timings.
- View nearby users and engage with them.
Waze is worse than Google Maps because:
- Maps are less detailed on mobile and the web.
- The mobile navigation view has a cartoonier appearance.
- Comparable to other navigational aids, it has a lot less functions.
Maps.me
Maps.me is the antithesis of other mapping services, which just have a website and no mobile app. This service only exists on mobile devices; there is no corresponding website. It is, nevertheless, one of the few mapping programs that allows offline navigation. By downloading apps when you’re connected to your home Wi-Fi network and using those maps when you’re on the go, you can save money on your mobile data plan.
Additionally, it doesn’t require a lot of storage. With only 21 MB of storage required on your phone, you may download generic maps of the entire USA. When you create more precise route plans, you will need to download more comprehensive maps.
- includes traffic and subway layer information (subway layer functionality is not shared with other online mapping tools).
- Learn about the local companies and attractions.
- For your travel destinations, download free travel guides.
- Places can be bookmarked and kept in the cloud.
Why Google Maps is superior to Maps.me:
- Has in-app advertisements that are modest.
- Only map addresses may be searched for, not specific companies.
- Compared to Google Maps, a lot fewer features.
Here WeGo
Although this navigation service may not be as well-known or well-liked as Google Maps or MapQuest, it does have some distinctive characteristics of its own. Although the Here WeGo smartphone app is well known, there is also a website that is useful if you want to spend some time before your trip planning. The user interface for the online map is clear and uncomplicated but packed with useful features, such as numerous route alternatives like taxi, transport, or even car-sharing routes. The number of layers is identical to Google Maps, and they include transit, traffic, satellite, and landscape.
Because the Here WeGo mobile app is its crowning achievement and where you should be using it most frequently, you won’t find sophisticated route planning or any additional bells and whistles like you may find with Waze or MapQuest. It is easy to use. You may quickly switch between satellite, transit, traffic, and classic views. You can specify your home location when you initially launch the app. Next, enter your destination and turn on the navigation system to begin your journey.
For minimalists who don’t want a lot of distractions from their navigation software, the website and the app are ideal. You simply set your destination and leave using the app. I’m done now.
What makes Here WeGo superior to Google Maps:
- Plotting a route and starting to navigate must be faster.
- a sizable, simple-to-use mobile navigation panel.
- less noise while in navigation mode.
What makes Here WeGo inferior to Google Maps:
- No additional route planning tools or Google Maps features.
- It is more challenging to include stops along the way.
- There are much fewer functions than in products like Google Maps.
