Updated: January 3, 2022 / Home » The Web » Web Tools, Services, and Resources
Google Maps is perhaps the best online mapping program available for the public, not only it is rich in information, the data provided are more up to date with good driving directions, however, accuracy of data can be somewhat misleading since anyone can edit the map and submit the information.
😭 😍 😂
Sometimes, the satellite map is outdated, and the other thing I noticed is the lack of door numbers for the rows of houses, which can be easily found with Here maps. There are pro and cons with various maps, if you can’t find the information on Google Maps, always try the alternatives.
↓ 01 – OpenStreetMap | Global
OpenStreetMap is built by a community of mappers that contribute and maintain data about roads, trails, cafés, railway stations, and much more, all over the world. The project aimed squarely at creating and providing free geographic data such as street maps to anyone who wants them. It is a free editable map of the whole world. It is made by people like you. It allows you to view, edit and use geographical data in a collaborative way from anywhere on Earth.
↓ 02 – Yandex Maps | Russia / Ukraine / Turkey
Yandex is a Russian multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services and products. Yandex.Maps gives you access to maps of over 1800 cities and towns right in your pocket. Find addresses and companies. Plan your journeys in a car or on public transport taking current traffic conditions into account. Keep tabs on what’s happening on the road as you travel – view traffic jams, road closures or accidents on your way.
↓ 03 – Bing Maps | Global
Bing Maps (previously Live Search Maps, Windows Live Maps and Windows Live Local) is a web mapping service provided as a part of Microsoft Bing suite of search engines and powered by the Bing Maps for Enterprise framework. It uses the same data after Microsoft bought Here from Nokia. Bing maps frequently update and expand the geographic areas covered by their imagery, with new updates being released on roughly a monthly basis. Each imagery release typically contains more than 10TB of imagery.
↓ 04 – Michelin Maps | Global / Europe
A wholly owned subsidiary of the Michelin Group, ViaMichelin designs, develops and markets digital travel assistance products and services for road users in Europe. Launched in 2001 and drawing upon a century of Michelin experience in the publication of maps and guides, ViaMichelin provides services designed for both the general public and for business. The ViaMichelin website provides mapping coverage for 7 million kilometers of roads and streets across more than 42 European countries.
The website is available in many languages, and its on-line hotel reservations service features more than 60,000 hotels across Europe. Visitors to the site gain access to an exclusive database of Michelin Guide content and listings including 18,000 tourist site recommendations and ratings for 62,000 hotels and restaurants, as well as additional travel services including traffic and weather updates, on-line car-hire booking and a database of speed camera locations, updated regularly and available to download free of charge.
↓ 05 – MapQuest | Global / USA
MapQuest (stylized as mapquest) is an American free online web mapping service owned by AOL. Currently, MapQuest uses some of TomTom’s services for its mapping system and also data from OpenStreetMaps. MapQuest provides some extent of street-level detail and/or driving directions for a variety of countries. Users can check if their country is available via a pull down menu on the MapQuest home page.
↓ 06 – Wikimapia | Global / Property Investment
Wikimapia is a privately owned open-content collaborative mapping project that utilizes an interactive “clickable” web map with a geographically-referenced wiki system, with the aim to mark and describe all geographical objects in the world. I find their service is geared towards property investors as the detailed grid shows what is currently being developed and future development.
↓ 07 – Here | Global / Driving Directions Maps
Formerly known as Nokia Maps, HERE is a company which provides mapping data and related services to individuals and companies. It is owned by a consortium of German automotive companies (namely Audi, BMW, and Daimler).
What makes Here maps unique is the availability of door numbers on the map, making it easier to locate a house as opposed to Google Maps, where you get to see the street address and nothing more beyond that. HERE WeGo has offline maps of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Canada, Australia and more than 100 other countries around the world. Download the map you want and you’re set!
↓ 08 – Baidu Maps | China / Hong Kong / Taiwan
Baidu Maps is available only in the Chinese language, it offers maps only of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, the rest of the world appearing unexplored or with minimal information. Due to the great firewall of China, the citizens do not really have full access to other maps, thus making the locally made maps more detailed and accurate with the latest information.
↓ 09 – QQ Tencent Maps | China / Hong Kong / Taiwan
Owned by Tencent, the maker of WeChat, it is the world’s first SuperApp where one can do everything with just a single app, from gaming to mobile payment, from booking taxis to social media. Tencent Maps (formerly Soso Map Service) is a desktop and web mapping service application and technology provided by Tencent, offering satellite imagery, street maps, street view and historical view perspectives, as well as functions such as a route planner for traveling by foot, car, or with public transportation. Android and iOS versions are available.
↓ 10 – Bhuvan | India
A free map service by the Indian Government via Geoportal of Indian Space Research Organisation. Apart from visualization Bhuvan provides timely disaster support services (domestic and international), free satellite data and a products download facility, and rich thematic datasets. Bhuvan is using a crowdsourcing approach to enrich its maps and collect point of interest data. It also acts as a platform for hosting government data (example – Karnataka Forest Department datasets).
↓ 11 – Geoportail | France
A government-run public service mapping, it covers the whole French territory with detailed information and up-to-date data. Though the French service has sometimes been described as a competitor or rival to Google Maps, it is different from Google’s mapping service (launched one year before in February 2005), since they have different objectives.
Geoportail makes some unusual cartographic sources available, such as the renowned 18th-century Cassini maps and the Napoléonic-period Minutes État-Major, in addition to IGN road maps, administrative maps, topographic maps, cadastral and building surveys, public service utility maps, transportation maps, hydrographic maps, atmospheric and weather maps, geological maps, land use maps, maps of cultural sites, and much more.
↓ 12 – Qwant Maps | Global / Privacy Driven
Based and designed in Europe, Qwant is the first search engine which protects its users freedoms and ensures that the digital ecosystem remains healthy. Their keywords: privacy and neutrality. Qwant Maps is an open source project still in alpha which uses mainly OSM data to render its maps.
Recommended for you:
7 Best Internet Affiliate Marketing Programs – Make Money Online 8 Free Powerpoint Alternatives – For Online Cloud, Android And iOS 3 Instagram Hyperlapse Alternatives For Google Android
FAQs
Is there a better map system than Google Maps? ›
Bing Maps
The interface is similar to Google Maps but cleaner and leaner without losing any features. There are layers to the maps – road, aerial, and streetside – plus public transportation and walking maps for those without a car. And there are even 3D views.
Google Maps
This is easily the best free online driving directions tool, thanks to Google's massive project to map public roads worldwide. On the app or website, click "Street View" for street-level visuals that can help you effectively pinpoint landmarks and locations.
- Waze.
- MapQuest.
- Roadtrippers.
- My Route Online.
- RouteXL.
- Speedy Route.
- Flightmap.
- Maps.me.
DuckDuckGo is perhaps the most popular privacy-friendly search alternative to Google. It combines multiple sources, including Yahoo!, Wikipedia, and its own web crawler to offer impressive search results. Additionally, it uses the Tor Network, which makes it even harder to track activity online.
Is Waze better than Google Maps? ›Both Google Maps and Waze have good parts, as well as their share of issues. Google Maps seems to be more reliable, accurate and has better real-time traffic, whereas Waze has a larger army of fans who think the app is amazing who love its voice prompts feature. However, updates caused issues for both apps.
What is the best free map? ›- Google Maps. 3 Images. Close. Google Maps is a built-in navigation app in most Android phones. ...
- HERE WeGo Maps & Navigation. 3 Images. Close. HERE WeGo is a worthy competitor of Google Maps. ...
- Sygic. 3 Images. Close. ...
- Waze. 3 Images. Close. ...
- OsmAnd. 3 Images. Close.
GPS: Maps uses satellites to know your location up to around 20 meters. When you're inside buildings or underground, the GPS is sometimes inaccurate. Wi-Fi: The location of nearby Wi-Fi networks helps Maps know where you are. Cell tower: Your connection to mobile data can be accurate up to a few thousand meters.
What is the most accurate driving map? ›In the end, we found that Google Maps was the most accurate predictor based on our driving, closely followed by Waze.
Which navigation app is most accurate? ›- Google Maps provides the most efficient route for biking, walking, and driving.
- Updates you about live traffic.
- Google Maps Offers street view, accurate ETA, and offline navigation.
- Open Google Maps in your web browser and view directions to your destination.
- Click “Details” in the menu on the left.
- Click the printer icon and select “Print including maps” or “Print text only.”
- This will open a print preview—click “Print.”
- From here, follow regular printing instructions.
What is the best way to map a route to multiple locations? ›
- On your computer, open Google Maps.
- Click Directions .
- Add a starting point and a destination.
- On the left, below the destinations you entered, click Add .
- To add a stop, choose another destination. You can add up to 9 stops.
- Click on a route to get the directions.
Route4Me route planner app
Route4Me offers services on a website as well as iPhone, iPad, and Android apps. It lets you enter up to thousands of stops, and then gives an optimized route listing, a map with route lines, and turn-by-turn driving or walking directions.
After you download an area, use the Google Maps app just like you normally would. If your internet connection is slow or absent, your offline maps will guide you to your destination as long as the entire route is within the offline map. Tip: Transit, bicycling, or walking directions are unavailable offline.
What is the best app for getting directions? ›Driving Directions
All three apps offer hands-free, voice-guided operation via Google Assistant or Siri on their respective platforms. If driving is all you're doing, Waze is the best option. Google Maps and Apple Maps will do just fine, but Waze is a cut above for driving to a new place from your current location.
Overall, MapQuest is slightly less accurate and has fewer features compared to Google Maps. Google Maps is more user-friendly than MapQuest. Both MapQuest and Google Maps are free to use.
How can I learn driving directions? ›- Take Frequent, Long Walks. Training your directional skills doesn't have to take place behind the wheel. ...
- Start by Studying a Map. ...
- Form Your Mental Map. ...
- Continuously Update and Test Your Mental Map.
- Mozilla Firefox.
- Apple Safari.
- Brave.
- Internet Explorer.
- Opera.
- Microsoft Edge.
- Chromium.
- Iron.
- Google. With over 70% of the search market share, Google is undoubtedly the most popular search engine. ...
- Bing. Bing, Google's biggest contender, rakes in 33% of U.S. searches and also powers Yahoo, the U.S.'s third biggest search engine. ...
- Baidu. ...
- 4. Yahoo! ...
- Ask.com. ...
- DuckDuckGo.
There are three main types of search engines, web crawlers, directories, and sponsored links. Search engines typically use a number of methods to collect and retrieve their results. These include: Crawler databases.
Does Google own Waze? ›Waze is a community-driven navigation map app that was acquired by Google (GOOG) in 2013. It is now a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google's parent company. Waze updates its users on the go to avoid traffic snarls, see where other users are on the road, and get recommendations on nearby restaurants and other amenities.
Is Waze completely free? ›
Waze is a free navigation app for Android and iPhone. It offers community-based traffic (i.e., traffic details from other Waze users), aiming to help you avoid traffic and always be able to take the best route to your destination.
Why do people prefer Waze? ›Real-Time Data
As a result, Waze provides its users with accurate directions, alternative routes, road hazards, and traffic incidents. In fact, the app collects the data automatically when it's open. Waze users can also submit traffic and accident reports, warning other drivers about possible obstacles.
RouteXL. RouteXL is a web-based route planner. It's free if you're planning delivery routes with 20 stops or fewer. If you need more than 20 stops per route, then RouteXL charges around $40.
What is the best free offline GPS navigation app for Android? ›Google Maps
This is the GPS app you almost certainly already have on your Android phone, but it's also an excellent offline GPS solution. You can preload your local area or specific regions so that navigation keeps working when your connection doesn't.
So right now, Google Maps is an incredibly accurate navigation solution that makes going from point A to point B not only faster but also safer and more convenient.
Can Google Maps be wrong? ›Google location history is not accurate 100%, it often goes wrong; if a place is wrong on your Timeline then you can edit the location from your timeline. For more details please visit the link. You can also Improve your location's accuracy on google maps, please visit the link for details.
What speed is Google Maps based on? ›Google Maps also uses posted speed limits and historical traffic patterns to estimate ETA. When you input your destination into Google Maps your original estimate is made based upon posted speed limits, current traffic conditions, and the distance between your starting point and destination.
What is the difference between Maps and Google Maps? ›Google Maps has the upper hand over Apple Maps. It has been around since 2005, giving Google plenty of time to add more features and correct issues. For example, Google Maps weighs navigation equally to landmarks. It has more features that help you plan trips, and mapping is better for small cities.
How accurate are Google Maps driving times? ›Google Maps, even though it won out in the app race, was not always on the mark. In general, Grabowski found it was 2-percent slower than its average estimated trip time on average. Not far off in terms of accuracy, but less accurate nonetheless.
How do I create a map for driving? ›How to Make a Custom Route in Google Maps - YouTube
What is the number 1 navigation app? ›
In 2021, Google Maps was the most downloaded map and navigation app in the United States, despite being a standard pre-installed app on Android smartphones. Waze followed, with 13.4 million downloads in the examined period.
Does Google Maps use data? ›The short answer. In the standard mode, the Google Maps app consumes about 5-10 MB every hour, both on Android and iPhone.
Does Google Maps have a route planner? ›Google Maps has a route planning capability. You can even plan a route for many locations using Google Maps. It can serve a variety of purposes aside from driving, such as walking and biking.
Why can't I print Google Maps directions? ›You can't print directions in Google Maps from your app directly, so you'll need to take a screenshot of the directions instead. The steps for taking a screenshot will differ, depending on your device. To take a screenshot on an iPhone or iPad, you'll need to press the side and volume up buttons together.
Can you print Google Maps? ›Print a map
On your computer, sign in to My Maps. Open a map. Print map. Follow the on-screen instructions.
RouteXL is a great route planner for multiple destinations. It helps individuals and businesses find the best multi-stop routes for pickup, delivery, and services. The free version of RouteXL allows up to 20 stops per route while the paid options allow up to 100 and 200 addresses per route.
Can Google Maps route multiple locations? ›Here's how it works: Just open the app, enter a destination, tap the corner menu, and then tap “Add stop”. To rearrange the order of your stops, tap and hold the stop you want to move and drag it to the position you want. Once you've added all your stops, tap “Done” and your multi-stop route is complete.
How do I make a Google map with multiple locations? ›- On your computer, sign in to My Maps.
- Open or create a map. A map can have up to 10,000 lines, shapes, or places.
- Click Add marker .
- Select a layer and click where to put the place. A layer can have 2,000 lines, shapes, or places.
- Give your place a name.
- Click Save.
Arguably the most popular navigation app in the world, Google Maps makes traveling to new places much, much easier. Both web-based and app service, Google Map provides comprehensive information pertaining to geographical regions and sites across the globe.
What is the best journey planner? ›- 14 Best Trip Planner Apps in 2022.
- Wanderlog. Wanderlog is your all-in-one destination for planning future trips, sharing travel guides, and blogging past trips. ...
- Skratch – Build your own Skratch map. ...
- Hopper – Flight & Hotel Deals. ...
- TripIt: Travel Planner. ...
- SYGIC Travel Maps Trip Planner. ...
- Packing Pro. ...
- Skyscanner.
Does Waze have a route planner? ›
Yes, Waze has an integrated route planner. Waze is actually one of the most popular route planners in the world, especially when it comes to simple routing. It lets you get the fastest route from point A to B, and you can also add a stop in between.
Will my phone GPS work without service? ›Can I Use GPS Without an Internet Connection? Yes. On both iOS and Android phones, any mapping app has the ability to track your location without needing an internet connection.
Does GPS work without internet? ›You can always use GPS on your mobile device regardless of an internet or cellular connection. As long as you have a charged smartphone with you, you can find your way around remote areas and foreign landscapes.
Can I use GPS without data? ›Yes, GPS works because it is completely independent of any WiFi or Cellular data connection. A GPS is just a radio that receives location data from satellites, so its radio is separate from any WiFi, Cellular, or Bluetooth radio. Pre-loaded maps need no internet connection to work.
Is Waze better than Google Maps? ›Both Google Maps and Waze have good parts, as well as their share of issues. Google Maps seems to be more reliable, accurate and has better real-time traffic, whereas Waze has a larger army of fans who think the app is amazing who love its voice prompts feature. However, updates caused issues for both apps.
Is Waze owned by Google? ›Waze is a community-driven navigation map app that was acquired by Google (GOOG) in 2013. It is now a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google's parent company. Waze updates its users on the go to avoid traffic snarls, see where other users are on the road, and get recommendations on nearby restaurants and other amenities.
Is TomTom better than Google Maps? ›If you're trying to decide between the two, think of it like this – TomTom is the better option for navigation and use if you're frequently on the road, as it has access to real time data. Google Maps has more features and is overall a more comprehensive option nowadays, though.
Which is more accurate Google Maps or Google Earth? ›According to Android Central, if there's a place you'd like to discover, Earth is the best program. Its satellite view is higher resolution and more complex than what you'll find in Maps. Google Earth also includes a full 3D rendering of its satellite data.
Which navigation app is most accurate? ›- Google Maps provides the most efficient route for biking, walking, and driving.
- Updates you about live traffic.
- Google Maps Offers street view, accurate ETA, and offline navigation.
Waze is a free navigation app for Android and iPhone. It offers community-based traffic (i.e., traffic details from other Waze users), aiming to help you avoid traffic and always be able to take the best route to your destination.
Why do people prefer Waze? ›
Real-Time Data
As a result, Waze provides its users with accurate directions, alternative routes, road hazards, and traffic incidents. In fact, the app collects the data automatically when it's open. Waze users can also submit traffic and accident reports, warning other drivers about possible obstacles.
You can report police sightings on Waze through the reporting menu, which is available on both iPhone and Android devices. Reporting police sightings or speed traps on Waze can help other drivers regulate their speed, avoiding both accidents and potential traffic tickets.
How does Waze know a car is stopped? ›Waze learns traffic patterns simply by drivers turning on the app. It tracks the speed of your car, "and even if you don't report anything on the traffic, we now know the speed of the driver behind you and can help spread out the traffic."
Do Google Maps work offline? ›After you download an area, use the Google Maps app just like you normally would. If your internet connection is slow or absent, your offline maps will guide you to your destination as long as the entire route is within the offline map. Tip: Transit, bicycling, or walking directions are unavailable offline.
How much does the TomTom app cost? ›Subscription Plans
Download our GO Navigation App and get a FREE trial. 1 month for 3.99. Billed monthly, cancel anytime. 12 months for 29.99.
Once active subscriptions have expired, the models won't become completely obsolete, but owners won't receive the most current information. “Your maps will become out-of-date and as such navigation will be less accurate,” TomTom told customers in an email (via BBC).
Are TomTom maps free? ›If you own a TomTom device, you can take advantage of TomTom updates free download options by installing the TomTom software and connecting your device, at which point you'll get any free map updates, as well as updates provided by other device owners.
What is the accuracy of Google map? ›GPS: Maps uses satellites to know your location up to around 20 meters. When you're inside buildings or underground, the GPS is sometimes inaccurate. Wi-Fi: The location of nearby Wi-Fi networks helps Maps know where you are. Cell tower: Your connection to mobile data can be accurate up to a few thousand meters.
Is Google Maps a GPS system? ›Like any navigation app, Google Maps uses the GPS location on your phone to determine where in the world you are. Every time you navigate somewhere, your location is stored in your profile. That might not seem so bad. After all, your navigation app needs to know where you are.
Is Google Maps reliable? ›If your smartphone has a limited data plan, Google Maps is the clear choice, thanks to its reliable offline maps. As long as you have your data on when you start your drive or when you need help rerouting, you can get to your destination with or without a connection.