The 11 Best Route Planning & Optimization Software of 2024

Are you looking for Routing Software for your business at reasonable costs? Read this review to pick the best Route Planning Software that would be your perfect destination partner.

Route optimization refers to making a plan for reaching single or multiple destinations in the quickest possible way while covering the shortest distance, and avoiding certain spots like toll booths, highways, places with high volumes of traffic, etc. (according to your preferences).

This approach allows for the maximum number of spots to be reached in a time frame.

The process in itself can take several hours to plan a route if you have hundreds of locations to be reached every single day. So, businesses are now taking advantage of the fleet routing software.

Routing Software: Top Route Optimization Tools

Businesses have repeatedly found this software highly profitable due to its ability to import hundreds of addresses and plan routes within minutes or seconds.

Besides this, they provide driver tracking tools, accurate ETAs, mileage tracking, customer notifications for order tracking, feedback collection, delivery photos, and more. Several businesses have reported that they have got significant returns on investment with the route planning software they are using.

Benefits of Route Optimization Software:

1. Saves plenty of time
2. Saves distance and fuel costs
3. Lets you track the driver anytime
4. Allows your customers to track the location of their order
5. Helps in increasing customer satisfaction
6. Collect feedback from the customers
7. Helps in increasing sales

Some interesting route optimization statistics:

• According to research, route optimization has proved to be immensely beneficial for businesses as it reduces fuel costs by 20%.
• Another report by Pitstop states that 28% of the fleets today are still not planned with the help of software.
• Multi Channel Merchant states that in a poll, it was found that 87% of the customers’ purchase decisions get inspired by delivery time.

Who is this Article for?

This article is for different types of businesses like those that deliver food, groceries, medicines, services, etc., to customers. Businesses of all sizes can get good information from this article.

We have included different types of software. Some are suitable for small businesses, some for large, some are best at offering good value for money, and some have an exceptional set of features.

We have come up with a well-researched list of the top best route planning software. You can find their features, prices, pros, and cons in the article.

We have also provided some links so that you can easily get access to their demos, customer stories, and ‘how to use’ videos. The comparison table gives a brief, quick knowledge about the top 5 of them. Read the article to find the software that’s perfect for your business.

List of the Best Route Planning Software

Listed below are some noteworthy route management software:

1. Samsara
2. GoMotive
3. Upper
4. Onfleet
5. MapQuest
6. Route4Me
7. MyRouteOnline
8. Routific
9. Badger Maps
10. Google Maps Platform
11. RouteXL
12. OptimoRoute

Comparing Some Top Route Management Software

Detailed reviews:

#1) Samsara

Best for being an intuitive, scalable platform for real-time fleet management.

Samsara is a leading, award-winning platform for route planning. It’s an American company that is committed to sustainability. They help businesses in fleet routing and in maintaining compliance with safety regulations.

The wide range of features offered by the platform makes it highly useful for businesses. Their customer support services are also good. Another plus point about the platform is that it offers customized pricing based on your specific needs.

Features:

• Tools for tracking vehicle location, route progress, and information about late or missed stops, instantly.
• Lets you share live tracking details with the customers.
• Automation for ETA alerts, route updates, and more.
• Offers advanced analytics and reporting tools.
• The platform offers tools for dispatchers to remotely re-route drivers according to their needs.
• Tools for tracking speeding, harsh braking/acceleration.

Pros:

• Multiple-layer security for your data
• Highly useful integrations
• User-friendly platform
• Real-time alerts
• Scalable platform
• Mobile friendly platform

Cons:

• No free trial.
• You are required to get a subscription of a minimum of 3 years with at least 3 vehicles.

Why we like Samsara: The platform claims to help you minimize route delays, optimize overall fleet performance, and maximize your ROI. They further state that their customers could save an average of 24 million gallons of fuel per year, with the use of Samsara.

It is a powerful platform that is secure and easy to use at the same time. The platform is suitable for businesses of many types and all sizes.

Price: Starts at $27 per vehicle per month.

#2) GoMotive

Best for: Use of AI and route optimization.

GoMotive offers you a complete fleet management package replete with hardware and software… all of which together work to streamline route planning. This software with all of its integrated features will let you manage your fleet operations across multiple locations. GoMotive particularly stands out for its use of an intelligent AI. 

This AI-powered application leverages machine learning models to automate various aspects pertaining to fleet management such as driver safety automation, compliance, and spend management. 

Features:

• Automated Compliance Management
• Driver Safety
• Tracking and Telematics
• Spend Management
• Simplified fleet inspection and maintenance. 

Pros:

• AI-powered
• Mobile app
• Easy to use
• Compliance assurance

Cons:

• The documentation can be complicated to navigate for some. 

Why We Like GoMotive: GoMotive has made quite a name for itself in the industry today as a phenomenal fleet management solution. Its feature-rich software alongside the integrated hardware offered, makes GoMotive one of the best route-planning solutions out there. It use of machine learning models and advanced AI alone makes the software worth purchasing. 

Price: GoMotive offers a custom quote based on the specific requirements of their client. A free demo is also available upon request.

#3) Upper

Best for being a powerful route planning software, that’s suitable for businesses of all sizes and types.

Upper is one of the best routing software out there. Their services are suitable for several industries, including Healthy Meal Delivery, Sea Food Delivery, Flower Delivery, Food Delivery, Pharmacy Delivery, Retail Delivery, and more.

Their support is available as live chat, email, technical consulting, and a dedicated support manager.

It is a popular software for routing that helps in planning routes in minutes and lets you make last-minute changes in the route very easily. The pricing of their feature set is commendable.

Here is a video that gives an overview of Upper:

Features:

• Tools for importing all stops with a single click.
• Automatically updates the ETSs, according to the traffic conditions.
• Tools for capturing signatures and photos.
• Send customized emails and text notifications to the customers.
• Tools for generating and downloading detailed daily, weekly, and monthly reports.
• Allows drivers to write notes for each delivery, which helps them provide more information to the dispatchers.

Pros:

• A free trial for 7 days
• Simple to use
• Driver apps available on iOS and Android devices
• Plan more than 500 stops at once
• Flexible pricing
• Highly useful integrations

Why we chose it for the #1 spot: Upper claims to reduce your gas bill by up to 40%. It has more than 5,700 happy customers from 75+ countries, including Wishlist Delivery, Essential Meal Delivery, Neill’s Homestore, and many more.

The platform has outstanding customer ratings and the range of features they offer is also good.

Price: Pricing plans are as follows:

• Essentials: $100 per month (for up to 3 users)
• Growth: $200 per month (for up to 5 users)
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

#4) Onfleet

Best for advanced end-to-end route optimization tools.

Onfleet is a powerful, scalable fleet routing software. Companies like Kroger, Alto, Raley’s, and Sweetgreen trust it. The platform has powered over 200 million deliveries and tracked over 500 million miles to date.

It is an award-winning platform that has customers from several industries, including Cannabis, Courier, Food and beverage, Grocery, Pharmacy, Retail, and more. With Onfleet, you get tools for dispatching and managing your deliveries effortlessly, while monitoring and controlling the business from unified dashboards.

Here is the demo of Onfleet:

Features:

• Provides automated AI-based ETAs.
• Tools for sending notifications to customers and collecting feedback.
• Chat with your team.
• Offers key insights that help boost business performance.
• Tools for visualizing success rates, on-time rates, service times, feedback scores, and more are available.

Pros:

• Integrations with Shopify, Square, and more
• Customizable integrations
• SOC2, GDPR compliant platform
• Guarantees 99.99% uptime
• User-friendly mobile apps for Android and iOS users
• A free trial for 14 days

Cons:

• A bit costly

Why we like Onfleet: Onfleet has over 1000 clients from 90+ countries. With Onfleet, United Supermarkets could increase their delivery capacity by 50%, and Imperfecto Foods serves more than 200K customers.

The customer reviews about the platform are good. Their data security and privacy features include encryption, role-based access, multi-factor authentication, and more. Their support is available through onboarding, knowledge base, chat, email help, and phone.

Price: Onfleet offers the following price plans:

• Launch: Starts at $550 per month
• Scale: Starts at $1,265 per month
• Enterprise: Custom Pricing

#5) MapQuest

Best for being a secure, easy-to-use route mapping platform, suitable for everyone.

MapQuest is an over 26-year-old, very popular, free web mapping services provider. They offer a web app that is compatible with Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Yahoo, Safari, and more web browsers, or you can use their Android/iOS applications for mobile use.

Find a video demonstrating how to use MapQuest route planner:

The platform is suitable for personal use as well as for businesses of all sizes. Their customer support services are also good. They offer flexible plans to suit everyone. FlyCleaners, Delta Dental, Sabre, and Papa John’s Pizza are some of their clients.

Features:

• Enables you to create a route with multiple destinations.
• Gives the gas (or alternative fuel) price estimate for your route.
• Find the quickest and shortest route to a location.
• Gives live traffic updates.
• Tools for finding nearby hotels, hospitals, ATMs, and more.
• Gives you information about the ETA for a specific location you enter.
• Gives you information about a location, including hours of operation, phone number, and Yelp reviews.

Pros:

• Available for free
• Supports multiple languages
• Shows you information about the temperature of a location
• Voice-guided navigation tools
• Lets you print a map for a route

Cons:

• Interrupting ads

Why we like MapQuest: MapQuest is a safe, free routing software. It does not sell your information to third parties, unlike its biggest counterpart, Google Maps.

The free plan allows you to get a route for up to 16 stops, and you can easily reorder another route for another stop. They also allow you to set preferences like avoiding highways, country borders, etc. We can say their free version is in itself useful, or you can opt for the paid plans for more advanced usage options.

Price: MapQuest is available for free. Paid plans are as follows:

1. Basic: $119 per month
2. Plus: $249 per month
3. Business: $499 per month
4. Business Plus: $949 per month
5. Business Enhanced: $599 per month
6. Business Plus Enhanced: $1,199 per month
7. Enterprise Plan: Custom Pricing

#6) Route4Me

Best for allowing you to optimize routes easily, within seconds.

Route4Me is one of the best route management software in the industry. It allows you to optimize routes for several locations within seconds. Many business types including Delivery, Pickup, Home services, Fleets, Field Sales, etc., can rely on their services for best results.

This fleet routing software is powerful and easy to use at the same time, which is its biggest plus point. Their customer support is available through email, phone, chat, and comprehensive help manuals and tutorials.

Here is a video demonstrating how to plan a route for 5,000 addresses with Route4Me:

Features:

• Real-time location tracking tools.
• Optimise routes for a number of locations and drivers within seconds.
• Lets you type, copy-paste, or upload your customer list.
• Sign-on-glass verification tool.
• All the mobile accounts of the drivers are always connected with your Route4Me account so that you can send notifications for changes and get real-time updates about addresses, orders, notes, pictures, videos, and modifications made by the drivers.
• Gives you detailed information about mileage, fuel costs, dollars saved, and more.
• Automatically update the ETAs after every check-in and check-out.

Pros:

• A free trial for 7 days
• Easy to use
• Runs on your smartphone or computer
• 24/7/365 support
• Many useful integrations

Why we like Route4Me: Several businesses have reported an increase in their revenue and a considerable reduction in time-to-delivery after using Route4Me. The astonishing customer reviews about the platform compelled us to add it to our list.

Their advanced route planning capabilities are praiseworthy. Another plus point about this platform is that it adopts eco-friendly methods of operation.

Here is a video that talks about some tips and tricks of Route Planning with Route4Me:

Price: Their price plans are as under:

• Route Management: $199 per month
• Route Optimization: $249 per month
• Route Optimization Plus: $349 per month

These prices are for a maximum of 10 team members. If you have more members, then you will have to pay $69 per month per extra team member.

#7) MyRouteOnline

Best for being an easy-to-use route planning software that offers good value for money.

MyRouteOnline is one of the best routing software which is compatible with PC, tablets, iPads, iPhone, and Android phones. Chef Ami, Mobly, Evaa Zorg Voor Transport, Love Furniture, Coultons Bread Limited, and Wilco are some of their clients.

I found the platform to be suitable for small to medium-sized businesses. The platform is easy to use.

Learn the basics of MyRouteOnline with this instructional video:

Features:

• Plan multi-stop routes and assign them to drivers without any limit.
• Tools for uploading addresses from Excel spreadsheet or you can type them.
• Navigate with your Android or iOS mobile device.
• Tools for tracking deliveries.
• Save routes online export them to your PC, or send them to multiple email addresses or to apps like TomTom, Garmin, and Google Maps.

Pros:

• Lets you plan a route for 1000 addresses
• Plan unlimited routes at once
• Integrates with many apps through Zapier
• 24/7 customer support
• Free for personal use for up to 6 addresses

Cons:

• No free trial

Why we like MyRouteOnline: The platform has got some very impressive reviews from its clients. The customer support services they offer are nice.

With MyRouteOnline, you will get good value for your money, which is a big plus point. Plus, the option to import addresses saves a lot of time. I would say the software is amazing.

Price: Price plans offered by MyRouteOnline are:

• Basic 50: Starts at $24 per month
• Classic 500: Starts at $49 per month
• Premium 1200: $99 per month
• Professional 6000: Starts at $399
• Business 15000: Starts at $799

#8) Routific

Best for being an easy to use, powerful, and highly scalable platform.

Founded in 2012, Routific is a trusted route optimization software today, as it powers over 6 million deliveries per month for over 1,000 businesses. They offer transparent pricing and allow you to scale operations very easily.

Watch this video to learn how Routific can assist you in creating a multi-stop delivery route using Google Maps:

It is an advanced routing software with a set of features that is highly useful for businesses of all sizes. The platform is GDPR compliant and takes appropriate measures to keep your data secure. Explore their site to know if Routific is the right fit for you.

Features:

• Real-time delivery tracking tools.
• Tools for capturing delivery proof with photos.
• Tools for sending SMS notifications to customers, including the delivery tracking link.
• Tells highly accurate ETAs.

Pros:

• A free trial for 7 days
• Easy to integrate
• Scalable platform
• Useful automation like ETAs and notifications

Cons:

• It’s a bit costlier than some of its alternatives.

Why we like Routific: Routific claims to create routes that are 40% shorter than manual routes and up to 15% shorter than even the other routing apps. I found the ratings of the platform to be excellent.

Businesses including Philips, Myers Produce, Doordash, Metro, and Greenhouse Juice Co. are some of their clients.

Price: Their price plans are as under:

• Essentials: $49 per vehicle per month
• Professional: $59 per vehicle per month
  

#9) Badger Maps

Best for being an easy to use, powerful routing software for mid to large-sized businesses.

Badger Maps is a leading, powerful, and award-winning route management software. They offer highly useful solutions for Sales Managers, Sales Reps, Sales Trainers, and Team Pilots.

Their customer support is available through email, phone, and onboarding training. They offer standard security features like SSL encryption, EU Safe Harbor Compliance, Custom Roles and Permissions, and Network Access Restriction.

Discover a video demonstration of Badger Maps:

Features:

• Tools for creating the fastest routes quickly.
• Tools for viewing and managing your route for the entire day are available.
• Offers deep analytical reporting tools.
• Tools for creating custom check-ins and including photos in them.
• Integration and 2-way synchronization with your CRM.
• Gives you information about mileage, travel time, and full-day time of your routes.

Pros:

• Personalized onboarding training.
• Useful integrations include Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics, ACT, SAP, Sage, Oracle, and more.
• Mobile apps for Android and iOS users.
• A free trial.

Cons:

• Can be a bit costly for small businesses.

Why we like Badger Maps: Badger Maps claims that their users can sell a minimum of 22% more and would have to drive 20% fewer miles with them. Some of the Fortune 500 companies, including Danaher, Siemens, and many more have stated that they love doing their business with Badger. I found the platform to be easy to use.

Price: Badger Maps offers the following price plans:

• Business: $49 per user per month
• Enterprise: $95 per user per month

#10) Google Maps Platform

Best for being easy to use and secure route planning software.

Google Maps is probably the most popular and easy-to-use platform for finding routes globally. It helps businesses find optimal routes for lower fuel consumption; provides routes that allow them to avoid toll roads and highways, collects information about route costs, etc.

They also help businesses in planning for long-term emissions reduction. They offer standard security features like encryption and access controls. Go through this link to find a video illustrating an overview of Google Maps.

Features:

• Tools for optimizing routes that have up-to-date traffic data.
• Lets you search for nearby restaurants, ATMs, Gas stations, and more.
• Lets you check the air quality.
• Gives accurate ETA.
• Provides several routes to choose to minimize fuel consumption.

Why we like Google Maps Platform: Google Maps offers 24/7 expert support. The platform is highly suitable for personal use and for small businesses, due to its flexible, affordable pricing and ease of use. I would not recommend Google Maps for large enterprises as it lacks more advanced features like sending notifications to customers for tracking their deliveries.

Price: They offer you a monthly credit of $200, you will be charged only if you use the platform beyond the limit. Contact them directly to get a price quote based on your requirements.

#11) RouteXL

Best for being a simple and affordable route planner for small businesses.

RouteXL is a simple route-planning software for startups and small businesses. The software is also good for personal use.

Their support services are available through user manuals and email. You can go through their website to watch a video showing how to plan a delivery route for multiple drivers on RouteXL.

Features:

• Allows you to optimize routes for a maximum of 200 addresses per route.
• Lets you plan unlimited routes per day.
• Allows you to share routes via email or social media, like Twitter and Facebook.
• Allows you to import addresses from Excel.
• Offers several map styles.
• Lets you print routes.
• Allows communication between the onfield drivers and back-office managers.

Further Reading => Most Popular ELD Devices of the Year

Why we like RouteXL: RouteXL is free for optimizing routes with 20 addresses per route. You can upgrade to their premium plans for routing more addresses per route. Each of their plans (including the free plan) allows you to plan unlimited routes per day.

The software looks a bit outdated and gives slow results. But you get good value for money.

Price: Pricing for premium plans starts at $41.43.

Their pricing is available in Euros. PayPal will convert it into your currency based on the exchange rate when you pay.

#12) OptimoRoute

Best for offering a wide range of route management features.

OptimoRoute is a feature-rich, award-winning route optimization platform. Businesses from over 30 countries trust OptimoRoute to plan millions of orders. This scalable platform is suitable for businesses of all sizes. Their customer support is amazing and you get a good value for your money.

Their services are suitable for plenty of business types, including Inspection services, HVAC services, Healthcare, Field Sales, Food Delivery, eCommerce, Cleaning services, Waste collection, Retail & Distribution, and more.

Features:

• Importing orders and optimizing routes for the drivers.
• Tools for real-time tracking of the driver’s location.
• Sending notifications to customers to inform them about the ETA.
• Tools for capturing digital signatures, photos & notes that help in claims resolution.
• Tools for collecting feedback from the customers.
• Real-time route modification, analytics, and integrating APIs.

Why we like OptimoRoute: OptimoRoute offers a free trial for 30 days. They offer transparent pricing; mobile apps for Android and iOS users; a free trial; customer support through FAQs/Forum, Phone, Email/Help Desk, and Chat; and an impressive set of features.

Price: Price plans offered by OptimoRoute are:

• Lite: $35.10 per driver per month
• Pro: $44.10 per driver per month
• Custom: Contact directly for prices

What to Look for in Route Planning Software?

The top features that you must look for in the routing software that you choose for your business must be intuitive, its mobile app for the drivers must be easy to use, the maps should be easy to navigate, you should get a good value for money and the software must give quick results, to avoid delays and customer disappointments.

You must choose the software that allows you (and the drivers) to download or print the route so that the driver can still get access to the route if he loses internet access or if the battery of his phone dies.

Limitations of Free Route Planners

Using a free route planner for your business may pose several limitations, for example:

1. You may have to deal with interrupting ads.
2. The usage might be restricted, such as having a limit on the number of routes you can order.
3. The GPS tracker may not be very powerful, which can lead to delayed deliveries.
4. You don’t get the advanced features like sending notifications to the customers, tracking ETA, collecting feedback, etc.

Free route planners are good for personal use as they can meet their needs easily. Startups with a few number of customers can also benefit from these free apps, but they won’t be getting the advanced features that can be very helpful in making their business look more professional to the customers.

When to upgrade to a paid route planning app?

If a business is using a free route planner, then they would need to upgrade, as soon as:

1. They scale their business.
2. Increase customer satisfaction.
3. Upgrade the quality of their services.

How We Selected These Software

We have picked the top software after analyzing various aspects of many of the software available in the industry. Those aspects are as follows:

• Capabilities of the software
• Ease of use
• Value for money
• Suitability for a specific business type (we have included apps suitable for different business types and sizes).
• Feature set
• Security features
• Integrations
• Scalability

Further reading =>> How to track a phone without them knowing

FAQs on Fleet Routing Software

Conclusion

Today, the number of vehicles on the roads is more than ever. This causes unforeseen delays in reaching our destinations. Just imagine the level of stress a delivery person has to face every day, who has to reach several addresses in a day, that too when he is not familiar with the address!

But, thanks to the Route Planning Software/Apps that have come to the rescue. They offer optimized routes (with avoided tolls, highways, traffic jams, etc.) so that the drivers can reach their destinations at the earliest, thus saving a lot of time and gas (or other fuel) costs.

Our study suggests that Upper, Onfleet, MapQuest, Route4Me, Samsara, MyRouteOnline, Routific, Badger Maps, Google Maps, RouteXL, and OptimoRoute are the best routing software in the industry today.

Suggested Reading=>>  Top free Cell Phone Tracker Apps

Research Process:

• Time Taken to Research this Article: We spent 36 hours researching and writing this article so you can get a useful summarized list of Route Planning Software with a comparison of the top 5 of them for your quick review.
• Total Routing Software Researched Online: 37
• Top Routing Optimization Software Shortlisted for Review: 11