Top 10 free route planner apps with unlimited stops

Route planning is essential for managing deliveries or efficiently navigating a list of stops. The right app can save you time, cut costs, and boost productivity.

There are tools available for all budgets. Many free route planner apps (but without offering unlimited stops) have great features for small and medium businesses or individuals. We’ve reviewed more than 30 free route planner apps, to see whether they offer unlimited stops capability to help you have the best overview. We’ll explore their positive features and drawbacks, not just the costs, and if they provide a great starting point without upfront expense.

Criteria to consider in choosing a route planning app

Selecting the right route planning app depends on your requirements for managing deliveries or organizing personal trips. Here are key elements to evaluate:

• Multi-stop planning
• Route optimization
• Easy-to-use interface
• Device flexibility
• Integration capabilities
• Offline functionality
• Restrictions and additional costs

10 free route planner apps

1. Google Maps

Google Maps is one of the most widely used navigation tools, offering turn-by-turn directions, multi-stop routing, and real-time traffic updates. You can add a maximum of 10 stops, which means you’re left with 8 stops since you need to include the starting address and the end address to compute the route.

Pricing: Free for personal use. Businesses can integrate with Google’s API at additional costs.

• Pros: User-friendly interface, real-time traffic updates, works on most devices.
• Cons: Limited multi-stop routing, not specifically designed for delivery optimization, as you need to manually adjust the stops without taking into consideration the delivery interval or other constraints.

2. Waze

Waze is a community-based navigation app where users contribute to adding real-time traffic updates or road hazard alerts, making it ideal for navigation and short-distance trips. You cannot add more than the start and end stops in Waze.

Pricing: Free for all users.

• Pros: Collaborative, real-time app that works on most devices.
• Cons: No built-in multi-stop optimization for deliveries, limited offline functionality.

3. Apple Maps

Apple Maps is a default navigation tool for iOS users, providing turn-by-turn directions, real-time traffic updates, and an intuitive design.

Pricing: Free for all iOS and macOS users

• Pros: You can add up to 14 stops, more than its direct competitors, and has a user-friendly interface.
• Cons: Limited to iOS devices, and not specifically designed for delivery optimization.

4. RouteXL

RouteXL is an online route planner, the first in our list to offer route optimization capabilities. However, these capabilities are limited to free users.

Pricing: Free for up to 20 stops per route. Available paid plans to bypass the free plan restrictions.

• Pros: User-friendly interface, real-time traffic updates, works on most devices.
• Cons: Limited multi-stop routing, not specifically designed for delivery optimization.

5. RAC Route Planner

RAC Route Planner is an ideal app for UK users planning personal or business trips. It’s integrated with major UK providers to help its users plan for bad weather or road closures.

Pricing: Free for personal use and up to a 10-stop limit

• Pros: Ability to export routes to GPS devices.
• Cons: Available only on web only version, not as a mobile app.

6. MyRouteOnline

MyRouteOnline turns a list of addresses into an optimized route.

Pricing: Free for navigation, if you need to optimize your route you have only 6 stops available in the free tier.

• Pros: It’s easy to add stops from an Excel file.
• Cons: The free version has strict limitations on addresses and requires sign-in to use the most basic features.

7. MyWay Route Planner

MyWay Route Planner is a very straightforward app for creating and optimizing multi-stop routes. You can add up to 15 stops per route and optimize up to 10000 miles.

Pricing: Free for up to 15 stops.

• Pros: Simple interface for creating multi-stop routes, mobile devices friendly.
• Cons: Optimization capabilities are basic compared to premium apps.

8. Speedyroute

Speedy Route is a route-planning software that will allow you to enter multiple stops and get a route between them.

Pricing: Free for 10 stops or less and only 3 route calculations.

• Pros: Simple to use and easy for small-scale delivery planning.
• Cons: No mobile app; web-based only even in paid versions.

9. AA Route Planner

AA Route Planner is a web-based service that provides users with detailed driving directions, live traffic updates, and information on nearby amenities. It is particularly useful for planning routes across the UK and Ireland.

Pricing: Free to use with no registration required.

• Pros: Offers route planning to avoid motorways and tolls.
• Cons: Primarily focused on the UK and Ireland, limiting its usefulness elsewhere; lacks multi-stop route optimization and it doesn’t offer mobile apps.

10. MapQuest

MapQuest is a versatile tool, useful for personal vacations, but also for small-scale delivery operations.

Pricing: Free up to a maximum of 26 stops for multi-stop routing.

• Pros: Fuel cost calculator included.
• Cons: Ads can be intrusive in the free version.

What are the limitations of free route planners?

Free route planning apps are a great starting point, but they don’t come with unlimited stops in the free version. All have some sort of limitations, either in displaying ads, limiting the number of stops, or even the number of times you can optimize the route. While the limitations can be very different from app to app, the most frequent are:

• Limited stops: Many free tools cap the number of stops per route, which may not be sufficient for businesses with specific and complex delivery needs.
• Basic features: Free apps often lack advanced functionalities like real-time tracking, route optimization algorithms, or integration with other software to accelerate processes in the business.
• No scalability: Free tools are usually designed for individual users or small-scale operations, making them unsuitable for growing businesses.
• Ads or interruptions: Many free versions are ad-supported, which can be distracting and reduce productivity.
• No dedicated support: Free apps typically offer little to no customer support, leaving users to resolve issues independently.

Upgrade to a paid route planning app

Upgrading to a paid route planning app provides access to advanced tools and features that can transform your operations. As a business owner, logistics manager, or dispatcher, you should consider upgrading to a paid software if:

• You want to have better routes
• You need to know where the drivers are
• You have more than 10 stops per route
• You have special requests (e.g. delivery time from customers)
• Route planning takes a lot of time
• You want to reduce costs

Great software can help you save hours and money every day. You should ask yourself how long you can use manual or free route planning apps before it becomes too expensive. Then you can compare the cost with a paid plan of a delivery software route planner. The features you should look for are:

• Unlimited stops: Handle complex routes without worrying about restrictions.
• Real-time tracking: Monitor driver locations and progress in real-time for better coordination.
• Advanced optimization: Save time and fuel costs with smarter route optimization.
• Customer notifications: Keep customers informed with automatic updates on delivery status.
• Seamless integrations: Sync with CRMs, inventory systems, or e-commerce platforms for end-to-end efficiency.
• Scalability: Adapt to the growing needs of your business with robust, enterprise-level features.

🛠 Pro tip: You can try out Logistia Route Planner for 14 days free! See for yourself how our route planning software can help you plan routes, monitor your drivers, and increase your bottom line.

What are the benefits of a professional route planner vs a free one?

A professional route planner software can offer a comprehensive solution tailored to the needs of the businesses and larger and more complex operations. Specifically, a professional route planning tool can help with:

• Efficiency: Advanced optimization algorithms help your business not only save time and reduce fuel costs, but also help your staff perform, be more efficient, and have more clarity.
• Customization: Tailoring routes is important to match specific operational needs, be it with vehicle capacities or routing with delivery intervals requested by customers.
• Automation: Automate manual tasks that consume time and resources, like dispatching, customer notifications, and proof of delivery.
• Insights: Get detailed analytics to track performance and make informed decisions, without disrupting the routes and work of your delivery staff members.
• Reliability: A professional route planner providing paid plans typically has a more robust, ad-free platform with dedicated support and personalization.
• Collaboration: Professional tools often include multi-user functionality, perfect for managing teams and fleets within the team.

Investing in a professional route planner helps streamline logistics and is a long-term positive investment. With only one tool you can improve customer satisfaction, and ultimately boost profitability, making it an essential tool for scaling your businesses.

In summary, if you’re just starting out a delivery business and have a few deliveries and just one delivery driver, one of these free route planner apps (but without unlimited stops) might be enough to get you up and running.

But when your business starts to grow, you’ll most likely need to switch to a more complex, robust route-planning software tool.