What Are the Best Route Planner Apps for Delivery in 2024?
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The best route planner apps for delivery in 2024 are not difficult to find. The trick is to identify your route planning needs before starting your purchase journey. By doing so, you will narrow down the selection by business-specific criteria. Read on to discover how to find the best route planner apps for delivery in 2024.
The route planning app market is growing fast, with a lot of options to choose from, including:
- Delivery systems or delivery management systems
- Fleet management software
- Route planning software
- Driving route planners
- Free route planners
- Route optimization software
- Driving route optimizers
- Route planner apps for delivery drivers, field sales, etc.
- Fleet routing software
- Route management software
- Truck routing software
- And a lot more!
Each of these routing solutions offers different features to accommodate different routing scenarios. That’s why it’s important to know exactly what you need. Some of these route planner apps are more suitable for small courier businesses with small vehicle fleets. Others can accommodate enterprise-level last mile carriers similar to FedEx, UPS, and USPS.
Sometimes, small delivery businesses need enterprise-level routing capabilities at an affordable price. If this is the case, you have to search for the best route planner for delivery with complex route planning features and flexible pricing.
When looking for the best route planner apps for delivery, there are a lot of things to consider – from fleet management needs, dynamic routing, and the number of delivery drivers to the number of warehouses, type of delivery, customer availability, etc.
Core Features of the Best Route Planner Apps for Delivery in 2024
Although every delivery business is unique and has different needs, when it comes to route planner features, there are some core capabilities that are a must-have. So, to plan the most time-effective and cost-efficient routes for delivery drivers, you need to find a route planner that has the following features and capabilities:
- Route optimization: It should go without saying that the best route planner app for delivery should be capable of optimizing routes. Route optimization will help you scale your delivery business, deliver more packages in less time, allocate your fleet resources better, improve customer satisfaction, and make more money.
- Dynamic routing: As opposed to static routing, dynamic routing enables you to make changes to routes that are already in progress and automatically sync the changes with your delivery drivers’ route planner apps.
- Cross-platform application: Your route planner should be available as iOS and Android apps and a web-based platform. This will give you the flexibility to plan routes and track the progress of your deliveries from anywhere and from any computer – without additional hardware upgrades required.
- In-app voice navigation: To keep your drivers safe and focused on traffic and not on their smartphones, the best route planner apps for delivery have built-in voice navigation.
- Team management and fleet management: A route planner with team management and fleet management capabilities will help you plan routes as per driver availability and vehicle capacity.
- Analytics and reports: To get full visibility into the costs and efficiency of your courier or delivery operation, you need to look for a route planner that collects and interprets routing data and logistics KPIs for you in an easily comprehensible, visual way.
- Live driver tracking: You should be able to track the progress of your delivery drivers at any given point in time – be it in real-time or as a recorded animated video of delivery cars on a map after the routes have been completed.
- Unlimited Stops & Free Trial: Before making any investments into a route planning software or app, make sure that it offers a free route planner unlimited stops trial. The free trial will allow you to see how your specific business will benefit from the selected route planner. The unlimited stops route planner will allow you to test the chosen routing software without any limitations and hidden costs.
What Are the Best Free Route Planner Apps for Delivery?
Sometimes, small delivery businesses and courier startups that have to visit less than 10 stops a day don’t want to pay to find a route. Planning routes for free is possible. However, there are some limitations you should be aware of when using a free route planner app.
On that note, the best route planner apps for delivery available for free are Google Maps, Waze, MapQuest, and RouteXL. Here’s a brief overview of the pros and cons of using each of the 4 best free route planners for delivery:
Google Maps – the Best Free Route Planner App for Delivery
Google Maps is the world’s most popular internet-based mapping service. The Google Maps route planner allows you to plan routes with up to 10 stops. This makes it ideal for courier startups that don’t have too many addresses to visit per day.
| Pros of Using Google Maps as a Route Planner: | Cons of Using Google Maps as a Route Planner: |
|---|---|
| Up to date maps | Lack of route optimization capabilities |
| Route sharing option | Lack of route optimization capabilities |
| Traffic map layer | Having to arrange route stops manually in the desired order |
| Route planning for multiple transportation means (cars, public transportation, bikes, walking routes, flights) | Having to arrange route stops manually in the desired order |
| Street view | 10 stops per route limit |
| Displaying businesses and landmarks on the map | Lack of route customization features (business rules and optimization constraints) |
| Voice navigation | - |
| Turn-by-turn driving directions | - |
| Available as a route planner app and web mapping service | - |
| Accurate ETAs | - |
Waze – GPS, Maps, Traffic Alerts & Live Navigation
The Waze mapping service helps drivers avoid traffic jams, report incidents while on the road, and more. Furthermore, Waze routes are based on its users’ contributions and reports regarding live traffic conditions.
| Pros of Using Waze as a Route Planner: | Cons of Using Waze as a Route Planner: |
|---|---|
| Real-time traffic updates | Maximum 2 destinations per route |
| Road incidents, roadworks, and accidents on the map | Lack of route optimization features |
| Alerts for police speed traps | Lack of route optimization constraints |
| Voice navigation with the ability to choose from voices of beloved fictional characters or celebrities | - |
MapQuest Route Planner
The MapQuest route planner is superior to Waze and Google Maps in terms of useful features for startup delivery services. With the MapQuest route planner app, couriers and delivery businesses can upload customer addresses in bulk, optimize routes, and more.
| Pros of Using the MapQuest Route Planner: | Cons of Using the MapQuest Route Planner: |
|---|---|
| Supports uploading spreadsheets with addresses | The only route optimization option available is for a single driver |
| Round trip option | 26 stops per route limit |
| Avoiding highways, toll roads, and other road types | Pop-up adds |
| Multi stop route optimization | Cannot accommodate the complete needs of a growing delivery business |
| Voice-guided navigation | - |
| Real-time traffic map layer | - |
| Available both as a mobile app and web-based mapping platform | - |
RouteXL Route Planner
Another great option when it comes to the best free route planner apps is the RouteXL route planner. RouteXL has both free and paid versions. The free version is called RouteXL 20 and allows users to plan routes with up to 20 stops per route.
| Pros of Using the RouteXL free route planner: | Cons of Using the RouteXL free route planner: |
|---|---|
| Optimized multi stop routes | 20 stops per route limit |
| Bulk address upload (copy-paste) | Limited route customization options |
| Splitting addresses into multiple routes | Lack of driver and dispatch management |
| Unlimited number of routes per day | - |
| Multi-driver routes | - |
| Available as a paid version with extra features | - |
Any of these free route planners for delivery drivers could help any startup delivery business or small courier business kick start their delivery operation. However, route optimization should definitely be a decision-making criterion. When optimizing your routes, you could not only make the most of your fleet and workforce but you could also save money on fuel, reduce driving time, improve employee turnover, and increase customer retention rates.
When your delivery business gains traction and expands its customer base, your routing needs will become more complex. You will have to route more and more addresses, factor in more routing business rules, and upgrade to a high-end route planning solution.
What Are the Best Route Planner Apps for Delivery?
If you need to route more than 10 or 20 addresses per day, have to manage a complex organizational structure with delivery drivers, dispatchers, logistics managers, etc., and you’re looking for ways to grow your business, you need to consider investing in a complete multiple stop route planning solution. As your courier business grows, you might want to automate repetitive, low-value tasks and invest more time into more important processes.
Some of the best route planner apps for delivery will enable you to automate delivery notifications and alerts, workload distribution among your delivery drivers, route planning for repeat orders, and more. Here are some of the best route planner apps for delivery available in the market in 2024:
MyRouteOnline Multiple Stop Route Planner
The MyRouteOnline Multiple Stop Route Planner aims to accommodate the routing needs of delivery businesses, couriers, field sales, and more. It is available as a web-based route planning platform as well as an iOS and Android route planner app. When it comes to route planning, MyRouteOnline enables its users to plan routes with up to 350 addresses, set service times for each address, and set different optimization goals in order to minimize time, distance, or both.
Moreover, this route planner app offers territory planning possibilities, which come in handy for field sales and field services providers. Other features include:
- Fuel management
- GPS tracking
- Work order management
One of the downsides of using MyRouteOnline is the lack of reporting capabilities and live driver tracking. Moreover, the number of features offered is not very generous, making MyRouteOnline suitable for smaller couriers.
MyRouteOnline has a pay as you go pricing model that starts at $29.95 (as of January 20, 2021).
Onfleet Driver
Onfleet Driver has more elaborate fleet management and routing features and capabilities, being suitable for both small delivery businesses and enterprise-level couriers. Furthermore, it is useful for many industries and is available as a web platform and as an iOS and Android route planner app. Onfleet allows cross-platform integration through its API and offers features such as:
- Team and fleet management
- Dispatch management
- Reports and analytics
- Live tracking
- Order scheduling
- Mobile signature capture
- Delivery tracking for customers
- And more!
The fact that you have to pay $349 per month to be able to optimize your routes puts Onfleet in the pricier route planner category. You need to input your credit card information to sign up for their free trial (as of January 20, 2021).
OptimoRoute Driver
OptimoRoute Driver is another up-to-the-mark route planner app for delivery. OptimoRoute has over 50 route planning features helpful for delivery businesses, field service providers, and outside sales teams, including:
- Dispatch management
- Team management
- Reports and analytics
- GPS tracking
- Delivery tracking for customers
- And more!
The OptimoRoute route planner can be suitable for both small couriers and large delivery businesses. The only con of choosing Optimo Route is their pricing. The pricing models can get a bit confusing. You have to pay per driver per month and the number of orders you can route at once varies from one pricing model to another.
The OptimoRoute pricing models start at $17.10 per month, per driver (as of January 20, 2021).
Upper Route Planner – Delivery Routes Made Easy
The Upper route planner is among the newly developed route planners. Upper offers features such as:
- Bulk address import (Excel spreadsheets)
- Route planning
- Route dispatching
- Duplicating routes
- Different route optimization options
- Avoiding different road types, etc.
Upper is suitable for small and medium-sized fleets at best. Their features list could not accommodate more complex routing needs. Furthermore, the pricing is not displayed on their website transparently, and you have to book a demo to get a price quote. Plus, the route optimization feature can get slow when routing multiple addresses (according to user reviews on Google Play from December 2020).
Routific Driver
Routific Driver is addressing the needs of small and medium-sized last mile carriers with multiple drivers. Aside from route planning and route optimization features, Routific offers in-app proof of delivery capabilities, live driver tracking, and route scheduling. It offers features such as:
- Dispatch management
- Driver management
- In-app signature capture
- Delivery tracking
- And more!
The Routific pricing models start at $39.00 per month, per vehicle (as of January 20, 2021).
Circuit Route Planner
Circuit Route Planner is available as a route planning web platform and iOS and Android route planner apps. It is suitable for delivery businesses of any size. The route planner app features include:
- Unlimited number of routes
- Routes with up to 500 addresses
- Route optimization
- Bulk address import (only on Android)
As opposed to its more complex route planner counterparts, Circuit offers features only for delivery management. It is not suitable for outside sales teams, field service providers, and other businesses that need specific features, such as territory mapping.
The cheapest Circuit pricing model available is $40.00 per month, but the price varies by country (as of January 20, 2021).
Route4Me Route Planning & Optimization
Route4Me Route Planning & Optimization is a complete routing solution suitable for any industry and any business size. The Route4Me Route Planner addresses all companies that have to route more than 10 addresses per day and are willing to make more money with the same fleet capacity and number of drivers.
When using Route4Me routing software, you can choose what features to pay for as per your specific needs. The pricing is flexible so you can build your own route planner from individual add-on features. Features and capabilities include:
- Route planning and route optimization
- Multi driver, multi depot routes
- Multiple route optimization constraints and business rules
- Team and fleet management
- Dispatch management
- Live driver tracking
- Customer portal for delivery tracking (similar to LaserShip tracker or OnTrac Shipping tracking)
- Delivery alerts and customer notifications
- Proof of delivery and signature capture
- Order scheduling and delivery scheduling
- Inventory management
- Analytics and reporting tools
- In-app barcode scanner
- And more!
Start Your 7-Day Free Route Planner Unlimited Stops Trial Today!
This list is by no means a complete overview of the best route planner apps for delivery. There are more routing solutions out there for you to discover. When looking for a route planner, you have to make sure that the one you’ll choose can handle your future business growth and specific route planning requirements. Look for flexible pricing and customizable feature modules so that you don’t have to pay for what you don’t need or use.
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