Upper Route4Me Badger Maps Apple Maps inRoute RoadWarrior MapQuest Zeo Route Planner Roadtrippers Circuit Route Planner Upper (4.4) Best Route Planner App for iPhone Starting price $19.99 Free trial 7 days Key features Plan routes in a click, Optimize routes, Import Data About Upper App Upper is the top iPhone route planner app that allows you to plan and optimize your routes in just a few simple steps. It doesn’t matter what type of business you are running, it must be chaotic for you to plan routes manually, right? So, it would be best for you to try the Upper app. With the Upper application, you can seamlessly perform operations like route planning, scheduling, optimization of routes, collecting proof of delivery, and sending notifications to your customers. You can smoothly plan and schedule deliveries, pickups, and jobs to accomplish. Features Simply import CSV or Excel file to add hundreds of stops at a time Plan and optimize routes based on time or distance as per your preference Assign service time and time window to help driver deliver on-time Prioritize urgent deliveries and delight your customers Real-time live traffic congestion, weather conditions, as well as avoidance zones (highways, traffic, ferries, bridges, etc.) are considered for effective route optimization. Effortlessly duplicate any previously created routes to use them again or modify them to fit new needs. Schedule optimized routes in advance for weeks Drivers can collect proof of delivery with photos, notes, and e-signatures Send automated and customizable customer notifications through Email or text Get highly accurate estimated times of arrival at all of your stops Allows you to make last-minute changes on the go without any hassles Plan and schedule pickup and delivery in a single route Automatically identify incorrect and duplicate addresses Add unlimited contacts and create routes directly from the contact book With the reverse route feature, no need to re-plan the entire route again With the multi-selector tool, make quick modifications even after routes are optimized Curbside delivery option to make pickups and deliveries smoother Get highly detailed reports and analytics to improve business operations Support via Email, chat, and telephone What People Say About Upper Route4Me (4.4) Best For Logistics Services Starting price $9.99 Free trial 7 days Key features Plan unlimited routes, Keep track of progress, and Turn-by-turn directions About Route4Me Route4Me is a well-known platform for route planning and has dedicated apps for iOS, Android, and PC, making it very usable across different devices. A key feature of Route4Me is that it can stay pretty functional despite having zero connectivity to the internet. This can make it especially useful if you deal with a lot of rural areas where the cellular signal is not all that strong. The delivery route planner app also comes with features, such as proof of delivery and geofencing, to help you track the progress of your deliveries. You can also explore top Route4Me alternatives. Pros Route4Me is great in terms of connectivity as it connects with GPS apps with a single click. Stops can be moved and rearranged even when a route is being carried out, making it easy to accommodate last-minute changes. Route4Me provides real-time tracking of vehicles and deliveries, enabling businesses to monitor the progress of routes. Matteo. G Very easy to use with a fantastic interface that doesn’t require any kind of training. Platform speed is very high, and API availability makes Route4Me the standard de facto about route planning systems. Cons There is very limited support for issues, as the only way to submit a complaint is by raising a ticket which usually ends up being inconclusive. Sometimes, when the site is under heavy load, it cannot process requests properly and often crashes completely. Users with intricate routing requirements may need to assess whether Route4Me can handle their specific needs. Stacy. S Sometimes I can’t get a job to show up on the route where it is supposed to. When I need to rearrange the jobs it will throw one job way out in left field so to speak and all but ignore it. And then I have to report it as a problem on the map so customer service can fix it for me Badger Maps (4.6) Best Choice For Field Sales Reps Starting price $59 Free trial 4 days Key features Plan and optimize routes quickly, Track your team’s progress About Badger Maps If you are looking for an iPhone route planner app Badger Maps may be the best choice, as it is purpose-built for field sales. Its ease of use and utility make it so appreciated by sales executives looking for the quickest way to complete their sales trips. Using Badger Maps app, you can create a route plan by just using your finger to touch the areas on the map that you want to visit. These innovative yet easy-to-use features are what give Badger Maps its reputation among customers and its position on this list. Here are the top alternatives of Badger Maps. Pros Sales teams can have greater success in generating leads using Badger Maps because it allows you to filter areas depending on previous sales records. Route planning can be done with ease as Badger Maps enables you to quickly draw a route by just using your finger and tapping on map points. BadgerMaps has a proven track record for offering great customer service to its customers whenever they encounter any issues with the system. Chris. M “BadgerMaps gives you a visual of all your customers and prospects and help you map out a route quickly and easily. It saves a ton of time, and you don’t miss the chance to call on customers/prospects that you did not even realize were right around the corner of where you are. Cons The Badger Maps routing software offers a laggy experience, especially when you are creating longer routes with a lot of stops. There have been incidents where the loss of recorded data has been frequent for some users with the notes feature. Badger Maps’ offline functionality is limited, and users may require an internet connection to access certain features or map data. Steve. D Badger has had a poor ability to keep notes that I have entered reliably. I have been frustrated losing key info on numerous occasions. I stopped reporting the issue because it kept happening so often. I do have to keep separate notes with key contact data because I cannot trust that the info will be there when I need it from Badger. The red map points of accounts I have on the map will often have to be tapped several times for the account to be accessed. The action will either stop and not load, or the app will switch to the blue Google badge. Apple Maps (2.7) Mapping Service App Starting price N/A Free trial Free Key features Plan and optimize routes quickly, Custom check-in reports About Apple Maps In this list of all the best route planners for the iPhone, you can’t forget Apple Maps, which comes pre-installed on your iPhone and is free. Even though it is free, it does not disappoint much as it allows you to add up to 15 stops compared to the Google Maps route planner, with 9 stops. But again, Apple Maps does not do any route optimization to give you the fastest route for multiple stops, making it unsuitable for improving your delivery efficiency. You also cannot use it while you’re offline, unlike Google Maps, which again takes a hit on usability. Pros On all Apple devices, Apple Maps is preinstalled and completely free to use, making it the most accessible routing solution for Apple product users. The route planning capacity of 15 stops per route from Apple Maps is higher than that of other standard navigation apps like Google Maps at 9 stops. It provides clear and easy-to-understand directions, making it accessible to users of varying technical expertise. Rb4havoc At first, when I transitioned to Apple Maps, I did have a few quirks, but I think they get ironed out the more you utilize the app. It’s really great that you can now add stops as well (use Siri if you need a specific stop other than generically provided ones), and it does it so seamlessly at times. It was so seamless that I didn’t realize it was added until I requested the same stop, then decided to look at my route and saw it had me going to the same destination twice. Cons The app freezes up randomly and changes the path of navigation, which can affect the efficiency and viability of the shown route. The turns that are shown on the navigation path are inaccurate and even dangerous in some instances. Apple Maps has limited street-level detail or accuracy in certain regions or locations compared to other mapping services. Led65 Does anyone at Apple even care about this app? Judging by the current 2.7 rating, I’d say they obviously don’t care even a little bit. I’ve had issues with the apps listed before, but nothing like Apple Maps. I’ve never seen a GPS freeze up so often and completely. What makes it even worse is its winter, so to have to do a u-turn or just to stop again after you depart to get your GPS actually to give you timely directions it’s definitely not ideal winter driving weather. I guess if I ever use this app again, I will have to sit in the parking lot until I am sure Apple Maps is actually working instead of frozen as always. But honestly, I guess I will stick with Google and Waze and just disable this app. inRoute (4.6) Best for Individuals and Businesses Starting price $4.99 Free trial 1-Week Key features Plan your perfect route, trip, or adventure, Turn-by-turn voice navigation About inRoute inRoute is a route planning app that is exclusive to Apple products. This exclusivity does make it different when compared to other route planning apps that are usually available on PC and Android. inRoute allows you to add in and optimize up to 150 stops to your route. It also lets you optimize the routes based on elevation, weather, and the curviness of the route. It also shows you nearby gas stations, hotels, restaurants, and more. Despite all these features, users do complain about the confusing interface that can be hard to use. Pros In case you want to avoid bad weather on your trips, inRoute makes your route customizable based on weather conditions. To ensure that your data stays accessible on all of your devices, inRoute is synchronized with iCloud to prevent any loss of data and transfer it to other connected devices. The software allows efficiently handles routes with multiple stops, allowing businesses to input numerous destinations. Garminuser By far, this is the best travel planning app to take with you on the road. Cool features like specifying what time you plan to leave each morning to allow you to look at a long trip and see what dates you’ll be in a certain city. iCloud synchronization gives you the same info on all your devices. Export to another inRoute user a standard GPX file and all that info is included. Add non-route waypoints that give you a nice location map of a city you’re visiting without drawing the route through each point. Cons Adjusting the route or planning it in general on inRoute is confusing for new users due to the layout and functioning of the interface. Because inRoute is an Apple-exclusive product, you cannot use it on devices that do not belong to the Apple ecosystem. Advanced features in inRoute, such as weather forecasts or route optimization for more than five stops, may require a premium subscription, which comes at an additional cost. Lilsismin I downloaded this app hoping it would help me plan the best route for my 1600-mile road trip. What I need this app doesn’t offer. Specifically, it doesn’t show you where the halfway mark is. I need to know these to help me plan for gas stations etc. Moving pins and changing pins is cumbersome and not at all easy. Basically, this app helps people create a pretty map, and that’s it. If you need help planning, good luck cuz you’re on your own with an old paper fold-out map or an Atlas. RoadWarrior (4.5) Best For Field Sales Representatives, Delivery Drivers, and Other Professionals Starting price $14.99 Free trial 7 days Key features Optimize routes quickly, Bulk address import About RoadWarrior RoadWarrior offers both a mobile app for drivers and the RoadWarrior Flex plan for dispatchers, making it suitable for both individuals and businesses alike. The mobile app is very similar to the Flex plan, as it allows you to plan a route with up to 200 stops. It is available on iOS and Android platforms and has a web app for dispatchers. The multi-platform support makes it ideal for team operations where different devices are used. Here’s a detailed review of the RoadWarrior app. Pros Teams that are new to RoadWarrior should not have any hassles with onboarding as the app is user-friendly for users to optimize routes quickly. RoadWarrior is an affordable route planning option for businesses that are just starting out, as their plans are capped at $14.99 per driver. The premade integration with Fed-Ex and Ontrac allows drivers to upload their manifests directly into their route plan. Mrcoia This app is great, I would imagine it does exactly what it’s intended to do very well. As far as applying it to a courier service like Ontrack, FedEx, UPS, etc., it could be improved. I would only make a few changes; first, I would make it so that you can hit one button and enter the address by voice. As it is now, I have to hit the search button, then I have to hit the microphone button, this might sound trivial, but when you have over 200 packages every morning, it adds up. Cons The advanced plan has a limit of 200 stops to add to a single route which can prove to be inadequate if you have a lot of stops and multiple drivers. The app fails to recognize your subscription status if you log in from a different device, making you pay again for the subscription. Bnelsonn333 When I needed to sign into my premium account onto a different device when I first started my monthly again, I had my main phone break, and I had to use my backup phone for work, and I signed in and ended up having to pay AGAIN for my premium status on the same account email everything. It was rather irritating, to say the least, because at the time, I had to have my close friend send me money three times through Venmo so I could pay it again due to a couple of other stupid issues with my husband and I’s Venmo and Apple accounts(it ended up taking money for other things before the payment needed for road warrior), and it became a very big annoyance for me that day. MapQuest (4.5) Best For Individuals and Professionals Starting price N/A Free trial N/A Key features Navigation, Locating places of interest About MapQuest MapQuest is a mapping and navigation app that has got everything that you would want to find on a map at your disposal. It shows you everything that is near your vicinity instantly, including gas stations, restaurants, ATMs, grocery stores, shopping centers, and more, with just one click. MapQuest has a completely free version that lets you add up to 26 stops on your route which makes it great for users with a limited number of locations to cover. However, MapQuest is mostly exclusive to the United States and Canada, making its usability less outside of these two nations. Here are the top MapQuest alternatives. Pros Users do not have to pay anything to enjoy the benefits and capabilities offered by MapQuest, as it is completely free to use. MapQuest offers a user-friendly interface with easy-to-understand maps, directions, and navigation features. MapQuest provides real-time traffic updates, helping users avoid congested areas and select alternative routes to save time. Milakitten I can use my fingers to pinch and move the map around in circles, sideways, etc. like Apple Maps that is on my iPhone. Google Maps is difficult to make any of those finger gestures, which is a pain when you are driving at the moment. Plus, Apple Maps is a pain because it automatically switches routes on you as you drive further into the 1st route that you picked, and it’s stressful! Cons Only users from North America can use MapQuest as it is exclusive to the US and Canada and will not work in any other region. MapQuest cannot be used for any serious business applications as it is limited to only 26 stops per route. The MapQuest app does not perform well in areas that have poor cellular connectivity and thus is unsuitable for operations in rural areas. Chief Turtle 5 I live in a small town. There is one Street with the right direction on it and our Street with the wrong direction on it. When you travel north on the road, it is called North Street ( any name will do.) And when you get to the next town, you will be on the south side of town, but our Street is called north, then when you continue to drive north, you come to the north side of town, but it is called south. I have reported this problem, but I was told it can take six months to fix the problem. Zeo Route Planner (4.5) Best For Drivers and Courier Companies Starting price $16.99 Free trial 7 days Key features Auto assign stops as per driver availability, Track driver’s live location About Zeo Route Planner Zeo Route Planner has all the standard features you would want in a route planner app, such as route optimization and driver notes. It is supported on other platforms, such as Android and PC, which boosts its usability for fleets that use various devices for their operations. A feature that separates ZEO route planner from other competitors is that it provides live driver tracking for customers, too, rather than keeping it reserved for dispatchers alone. This feature could reassure customers and aid in your customer satisfaction and retention. Pros With the Zeo Route Planner, you can keep your customers at ease by providing your customers a live driver tracking link to let them see the status of their delivery. Zeo Route Planner ensures that your team is easily able to use the software and has a dedicated support team to help you in case you get stuck while using the software. 62dlow The Zeo route planner app works great and is simple to use, I run a monthly route but never in the same order, the 10 minutes it takes me to enter my route and optimize it from and back to my home normally saves me 60 to 90 minutes a day … I do hope one day a feature where I can enter an entire month of stops then lasso them into individual days would be awesome. Cons The app has issues with launching and crashes at random moments without any solid reason, which makes many users question its reliability for business operations. The customer support team is not instantly responsive, so users have to wait for the solution to their queries. The app has a manual process of uploading the delivery manifest each day from your system to Zeo. Shattered Rose The app is good and easy to use. I purchased a day plan twice, but not going to the 3rd time I tried to delete my previous route, but it won’t let me. Also, every time I launch the app it says something went wrong, and I try again later. So I really need an app that can function well. I hope the developers of this app will fix it soon because it needs some attention. Thank you. Roadtrippers (4.0) Best for Individuals and Travelers Starting price $29.99 Free trial N/A Key features Find local attractions, in-app RV navigation About Roadtrippers As the name suggests, Roadtrippers is built to plan the most efficient route for road trips. If you are the type to simply head out on your next adventure without planning in advance, then Roadtrippers is the best route planner app for you. All you have to do is enter the destinations that you have planned for the trip, and it will show you all sorts of information that could be of use. It shows you all the nearest fuel stations, camping spots, bars, and popular sights & attractions. Pros The app does its job of elevating your overall holiday experience and is great for finding local attractions that are often unexplored by travelers. Roadtrippers has multiple map systems supported, such as Waze, Google Maps, and Apple Maps, based on your preferences for navigation. It allows users to customize their trips by choosing different types of attractions and specifying preferred driving speeds and duration. Sheena. Y This app is fantastic! It helped me plan and experience one of the most incredible road trips and keep it a surprise for my older sister. We had a blast in the Fall of 2020, venturing through 15 states in the Northeastern United States. I used it for countless smaller road trips and got to see some gems that I would have driven by without ever knowing they existed, all because of this app. I love traveling, and I highly recommend this app. Note: I am a Google Local Guide, Level 10, so I have plenty of experience working with maps and finding attractions. Cons Roadtrippers only offers a yearly subscription plan which may not be worth it for a lot of users that are not frequent travelers. The app is reserved for users in the United States and does not have data for trip planning in any other nation. Roadtrippers heavily rely on internet connectivity for accessing maps, attractions, and route information. GeoRockGirl When it was free, it was awesome. I just logged in to plan a trip for my in-laws when they visit CA and drive up the coast.. but sadly found that the app now requires not just a one-time payment but a monthly or yearly subscription?! I get that developers need to make money, but this is a bit ridiculous. There is no reason to pay a yearly subscription if I’m only going to use it once or twice. Circuit Route Planner (4.7) Best for Delivery Businesses Starting price $19.99 Free trial 7 days Key features Multiple-stop routing, Time windows About Circuit Route Planner Circuit is one of the few companies that has managed to build a capable routing platform for both individual drivers and entire teams of drivers. Their iOS app for drivers is no exception as it empowers delivery drivers to perform better on the job. It supports multiple map systems and allows you to optimize a route with up to 500 stops which is great for longer trips. Additionally, you can add time windows and service times to be even more precise with your routing and to accommodate the needs of customers effortlessly. Check out top Circuit alternatives. Pros Users can get a 7 days free trial from Circuit to use the app and explore its range of features comprehensively. Circuit is an easy-to-use, affordable, and scalable app making it very easy to adapt to most work schedules. Circuit has a very dedicated customer support team to get instant answers to your questions about the app. Tony C We evaluated several different titles, and none of them were as easy to use for the Field folks as this. Landscaping has its own challenges, and technology certainly is one of them. This app worked. It just worked. After the demo, we went to an Industry specific routing app for landscaping, but the guys couldn’t figure it out. For the back, it’s very, very easy to use and configure Cons You must cancel the recurring billing 24 hours prior to the billing date for it to not deduct any charges from your bank account. The mapping feature should be more automated for it to be effectively used by drivers. The app sometimes is not able to start loading the stops onto the route plan, which may prove to be a massive hindrance during critical routing operations. GeoRockGirl Has days where it takes forever to enter stops – I feel this isn’t entirely on the app and might be a network issue, but I have days where it takes a few seconds to load a stop and days where I had trouble getting 1 stop entered (3-5 min to load). I would have to move around my truck until the signal was able to help load the stop I was looking for. I’ve used other apps with the same type of network and had 0 issues loading stops. Frequently Asked Questions Why are most route planners not available on the iPhone? Usually, those that are involved in the field of logistics use Android devices or work on PCs; this is why most route planners are built solely for those platforms. Though with the growing number of iPhone users, many companies are working on adapting their solutions to iOS. How do route planners benefit a logistics business? Route planners simplify the process of route planning and optimization, which saves a lot of time for both dispatchers and drivers. Given the shorter length of routes, your business can also expect to see faster delivery times with lower maintenance and fuel costs. Can I use one route planner for drivers using both Android and iOS? Yes, there are many route planners, such as the Upper Route Planner, that are capable of supporting both Android and iOS devices to allow for greater convenience. This eliminates the need to buy new hardware to accommodate existing business software. Conclusion It seems that every day more and more users are shifting from Android to iOS. Despite this, only a handful of route planners are available on the App Store. While there are not a lot of route planners that are supported by iPhones, the market still holds some options that may prove to be all that you need. However, seeing the market demand shift for more iOS-based apps, existing route planner brands are likely to launch iOS versions of their route planners. This only makes the possibility of seeing new route planners for iOS much greater and more impending. Regardless, there are already some route planner apps for the iPhone, such as the Upper, that come with innovative features to make your routing operations streamlined. Why not experience the Upper app on your own and explore a range of features and functionalities? Author Bio Rakesh Patel Rakesh Patel, author of two defining books on reverse geotagging, is a trusted authority in routing and logistics. His innovative solutions at Upper Route Planner have simplified logistics for businesses across the board. A thought leader in the field, Rakesh's insights are shaping the future of modern-day logistics, making him your go-to expert for all things route optimization. Read more. Share this post:
