10 Best Google Maps Alternatives You Should Try

Google Map is arguably the most popular map application and this should come as no surprise because of Google’s stronghold on web surfing and navigation e.g. Google Earth, but you would be wrong to think that there aren’t alternatives that are just as cool and in some cases, even cooler.

Today, we bring you a list of the Best Map & Navigations Apps that you can use instead of Google Maps. They all feature a modern UI that is easy to use and offer almost any functionality you might want when driving within a familiar city or trying to get lost in strange terrains. They are arranged in no particular order.

1. MapQuest

MapQuest is a reliable source for maps and driving directions with a history that spans back as far as 1967 when it was founded by an R. R. Donelly and Sons division and then later bought by yours sincerely, AOL.

MapQuest allows you to find route choices alongside business on your chosen route coupled with directions and location suggestions – all of which you can share, save for later, add to favorites, share, or print.

What’s even cooler is that you can book flights, hotels, rental cars, and prepare for vacations with this app.

Grab it from the Google app store for free here.

2. Maps.Me

Maps.Me is an awesome map & navigation app that allows users to download complete maps (e.g. a whole country map) in order to easily use them offline without losing any feature functionality. It is open-source, allows you to share locations and hiking routes, easy to use, and complies with the latest GDPR regulations.

Maps.Me is perfect for traveling the world while offline, finding new tourist cites, hospitals, businesses such as shops and hotels, educational centers, etc. It is completely free to download from the Google PlayStore.

3. HERE WeGo

HERE WeGo is a tremendous map app brought to you by the 30-year technology company that goes by the name “Here“. It offers driving directions, business locations, traffic information, and extra route info for bikers, pedestrians, cyclers, and public commuters.

One cool thing about HERE WeGo is its ability to inform you of the traffic conditions of different routes alongside automatically calculated time delay to reach your destination given your current location and commute method. Grab HERE WeGo free of charge from the PlayStore.

4. Waze

Waze is different from other apps on this list in the sense that it is currently owned by Google and apart from offering a mobile map, traffic information, and GPS. Waze has a dedicated community of users who report road incidents on their route in real-time.

Waze doesn’t offer information of businesses along your chosen route since its focus is to simply get you from point A to the next. Download it free of charge from the Google PlayStore.

5. OsmAnd

OsmAnd is an open-source offline mobile map & navigation application that is designed to work offline with roaming charges even when abroad.

It offers users several features including turn-by-turn voice guidance, automatic re-routing, highly detailed map viewing, several view modes, a beautiful UI, and constantly updated trip routes and traffic information.

Grab OsmAnd from the Google PlayStore.

6. Bing Maps

Bing Maps, formerly MapBlast.com is a cool map application currently owned by Microsoft and used in the MSN Maps and Directions as well as in Microsoft MapPoint and as expected, it offers a ton of nifty features.

It gives users driving, walking, and transit directions and you can even decide to avoid busy highways, locate business e.g. hotels, tourist attractions, shops, etc. along the way. It also features different views and maps modes e.g. bird’s eye, aerial, and road views, and you are free to print, share, and bookmark locations.

Interested in using Bing Maps, download the Bing search engine from the PlayStore, launch it and click the Maps option.

7. Sygic Maps and Navigation

Sygic Maps and Navigation is a beautiful Android, Web, and iOS map application that offers recommendations from Trip Advisor, location-tailored travel guides, respects GDPR regulations, and nifty parking spot suggestions.

Evidently, Sygic Maps and Navigation is among the most privacy-focused map app as it deletes security and system logs after a year, backups after 3 years, and app data after 3 months. It is completely free to download from the Google PlayStore.

8. OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap is a Wikipedia-inspired community-driven open-source project that makes the map of the world easily accessible to anybody who cares to use it since its invention in 2004. It currently has over 5 million users, doesn’t have ads, features an offline mode, and complies with GDPR rules and regulations.

OpenStreetMap runs in the browser but can be used in connection with mobile apps such as MAPS.ME, OsmAnd, Navit, Magic Earth, ZANavi, etc.

9. Citymapper

Citymapper is a web, Android, and iOS map application that is relatively unconventional in the sense that it focuses on helping users through various traffic routes. It contains an often-updated database of public transport routes for using the bus, subway, bicycles, etc. in all supported cities together with the option to add locations to a favorites list.

Citymapper is completely free to download and use from the Google PlayStore.

10. BackCountry Navigator

BackCountry Navigator is a simple map application designed for hikers and travelers who typically venture into strange terrain unguided. This map app excels even where Google Maps doesn’t as it offers users a detailed land topography of their location from sources including USTop, NOAA RNC, and OpenCycleMaps coupled with GPS waypoints, and manual entry for long/lat coordinate values

BackCountry Navigator is free to download and use from the Google PlayStore as a demo version but the main app is in the form of its Pro version which sells for $11.99.

Did I mention your favorite Google Map alternative or it didn’t make it to the list? Drop your suggestions and criticisms in the comments section below and don’t forget to mention the features they offer that make them worthy of mention.