Whether you are planning to drive around the city or go for hiking or cycling in the wild, navigation apps are really handy to have a hassle free journey. This is indeed a great option to get clear directions and knowledge about traffic-free routes to reach a specific destination on time. Moreover, it is good to be prepared when you step out of your abode, especially when travelling to a new or not so familiar place.
There are lots of apps for iOS and Android platforms that help you stay informed about the traffic and related details throughout the journey.
Some of these apps even give you up-to-date live traffic details, weather condition and shortest routes to your destination. While your eyes are glued to the road, these incredible apps can be a great companion.
Here we are sharing some of the best navigation apps for android and iOS that can make your travel hassle free and easy going.
| MapFactor Navigator | OsmAnd | Sygic GPS Navigation |
| Polaris GPS Navigation | MAPS.ME | Komoot |
| Ride with GPS | Waze | Citymapper |
| Scout GPS | HERE WeGo | Maps |
| MapQuest | Drivemode | Navmii GPS |
1. MapFactor Navigator – GPS Navigation Maps
This is one of the best rated free offline navigation apps on Google Play with several millions of trusted users. Install this brilliant app and you can navigate without an internet connection in more than 200 countries.
More than just navigation options, it comes with extensive features like speed limits, camera warnings, intuitive voice turn-by-turn navigation in diverse languages, and other useful features.
App Features
- Offers voice navigation in various languages
- Gives speed limit and camera warnings
- Features routing modes for car, bus, truck, pedestrian, bicycle
- 2D/3D mode allows realistic visual maps display
- Offers customisation possibilities and remote commands
Rating: 4.6
Installs: 10,000,000+
2. OsmAnd — Offline Maps, Travel & Navigation
This is an excellent offline navigation application with access to the free, worldwide, and high-quality offline maps. The app lets you create and manage GPX tracks, use contour lines visualization and altitude info and offers voice and visual offline navigation.
You can easily make a choice between car navigation, cycle navigation or directions in the pedestrian mode.
App Features
- You can choose to show speed limit, and get reminders if you exceed it
- Turn-by-turn voice guidance leads you along the way
- Driving routes get rebuilt whenever you deviate from them
- Lets you share your location so that your friends can find you
- You can easily search destinations by address or geographic coordinates
Rating: 4.6
Installs: 5,000,000+
3. Sygic GPS Navigation & Offline Maps
It is one of the world’s most downloaded offline GPS navigation apps that are loved by millions. The app lets you store offline 3D maps on your phone and access it without an internet connection on the go.
You can just connect your phone to your car’s screen and stay focused on the road.
App Features
- Offers free map updates multiple times per year
- You can use your car’s touch screen, knobs, or buttons to control the app
- Advanced safety features make driving in unfamiliar territories easier
- Save money on roaming charges with offline maps
- Park easily with parking place suggestions and live info about prices and availability
Rating: 4.6
Installs: 50,000,000+
4. Polaris GPS Navigation: Hiking, Marine, Offroad
Install this all purpose navigation app on your device and turn your phone into a powerful GPS navigation system. It is an excellent backup or replacement for your handheld dedicated GPS satellite navigation unit.
This hiking, off road, nautical and trail GPS app is a great choice when you go out for outdoor adventures.
App Features
- Sailing, boating and all marine navigation charts in Polaris are free
- It is known for stability, reliability and flexibility
- Easily find hiking trails, camping locations and much more
- All maps are shown with high detail and large, easy to read labels
- App is even used by land-sea search and rescue and military personnel
Rating: 4.5
Installs: 1,000,000+
Download: Android
5. MAPS.ME: gps navigation, backpacking, off road trails
Supporting iOS, Android and even BlackBerry devices, Maps.me is another detailed offline navigation app used by many. The app relies on OpenStreetMap project to fetch the important geolocation data.
Reviewers have admired it for its use while travelling across the country and for the additional information it offers for rural areas away from the city.
App Features
- OSM is an open-source alternative to popular map services
- Check out updates on traffic info and fastest driving routes in 36 countries
- Offers fast, detailed offline maps with turn-by-turn navigation
- Maps are updated by millions of OpenStreetMap contributors daily
- Lets you save locations you love and share them with your friends
Rating: 4.5
Installs: 50,000,000+
Read Also : 24 Best GPS Tracking Apps 2021
6. Komoot — Cycling, Hiking & Mountain Biking Maps
This amazing app doesn’t work as a typical navigation aid for drivers. It is dedicated for people looking to indulge in outdoor adventures such as cycling, road trips, hiking, backpacking, or mountain biking.
It lets you create your own outdoor experience by offering a planning tool, turn-by-turn navigation and offline maps.
App Features
- App offers turn-by-turn voice navigation
- Download your planned outdoor adventures and save topographic maps with one tap
- It seamlessly syncs across every device
- Easily track your rides and hikes with GPS and save them
- Lets you contribute photos, tips and highlights to the community
Rating: 4.5
Installs: 5,000,000+
7. Ride with GPS – Bike Route Planning and Navigation
It is an amazing bike route planner, turn-by-turn voice navigation, and tracking app for cyclists, runners, and hikers. This can be a great bike ride companion with options to plan, navigate, track, record, and share your activities.
It comes with support for Bluetooth sensors and a world class library of routes in every area.
App Features
- Elevation profile updates in real time and shows elevation gain
- Smart auto-pause ensures you have an accurate ride history
- Live logging provides real-time feedback from friends, family, and coaches
- Reliably navigate and record your next ride using minimal battery
- Easily track your performance over time and beat your own goals
Rating: 4.4
Installs: 1,000,000+
8. Waze – GPS, Maps, Traffic Alerts & Live Navigation
Saving you from getting lost with up-to-date map, Waze is a community-driven app that is updated constantly by millions of active Waze users.
It shows accurate data in real time on travel times, fuel prices, traffic and more, all fed by its users. Interestingly, it lets you add your friends and see them in the app map so that you know when they are likely to reach you.
App Features
- It performs instant routing changes to avoid traffic and save you time
- Choose from a variety of voices to guide you while you drive
- Pay less for gas by finding the cheapest gas along your route
- Get ETA based on live traffic data
- It alerts about traffic, police, hazards and more on your drive
Rating: 4.4
Installs: 100,000,000+
9. Citymapper: Public Transport Navigation & Maps
For users looking to travel around a city, Citymapper is indeed a worthy option. The app is available in selected cities around the world and gives you real-time information about routes, bus and train schedules, and walking directions.
The app is a great option for regular commuters as it is an up-to-date informer on projected traffic during your commute time.
App Features
- Instantly compare all travel options in real-time across all transport modes
- Lets you compare cab fares, hail a ride, grab the closest car share or hop on a shared bike
- Gives you Live wait times and ETA
- Share your live trip with your friends
- Find the best route by comparing all transport modes
Rating: 4.4
Installs: 10,000,000+
10. Scout GPS Navigation & Meet Up
This is one of the convenient navigation apps for finding places easily in no time. Scout GPS Navigation and Meet up helps users to find locations; discover routes and takes the role of a wonderful car navigation app.
It gives you real-time traffic updates and allows you to share location with all of your friends and also view their actual location.
App Features
- Pick your route and share your ETA easily with one or more contacts
- Real time traffic and live speed updates help you find the best and quickest route
- Easily send one-touch voice chat or text messages to your Meet Up group
- Receive notifications when traffic is slower than usual on your daily commute
- Scout shows when Meet Up attendees are on the move with real-time ETAs
Rating: 4.4
Installs: 5,000,000+
11. HERE WeGo – City Navigation
This is a brilliant navigation app that makes your travel around the city effortless and hassle-free. The app offers detailed routes and directions, turn-by-turn navigation guide and shortest ways to reach your destination.
As you take a drive around the city, Here WeGo is the most preferable navigation app. It has voice-enabled turn-by-turn guide that sets you free from distractions along with offline usability.
App Features
- Offers public transit information for 1300+ cities across the globe
- Lets you compare the travel modes to destination and choose the best
- Easily navigate with detailed routes, turn-by-turn guidance and related information
- See the cost for public transit tickets and cab fares, find places to park and know about traffic delays
Rating: 4.3
Installs: 10,000,000+
12. Maps – Navigate & Explore
Popular all across the world, Google Maps deserves a top place in navigation apps. It is the most updated app and has mapped the entire world in its database, including new lanes and roads, bypasses and routes.
Laced with offline capability, it also allows users to save maps and use it without internet data. It gives personal recommendation when you reach a location such as places to eat, feast, drink and stay based on your tastes. Google Maps is overall an unbeatable app by far in this niche.
App Features
- Beat traffic with real-time ETAs and traffic conditions
- Create lists of your favorite places and share with friends
- Save time with automatic rerouting based on live traffic, incidents, and road closures
- Discover local restaurant, events, and activities on the go
- Offers offline maps to search and navigate without an internet connection
Rating: 4.1
Installs: 5,000,000,000+
13. MapQuest: Directions, Maps & GPS Navigation
This amazing app keeps you updated with directions while you look for driving and walking routes. It comes with outstanding feature of Live camera to check existing conditions before you hit the road. It has been among the top 10 preferred navigation apps for Apple users.
App Features
- Offers up-to-date satellite imagery and maps
- Real-time traffic updates help you find the fastest ways to your destination
- Features multipoint routes so you can include more than just one stop
- Gives optimized routing to help you save time, gas and money
- Search and explore nearby points of interests like restaurants, bars, gas stations and hotels
Rating: 4.1
Installs: 10,000,000+
14. Drivemode: Handsfree Messages And Call For Driving
This awesome application follows a unique approach in helping users with navigational routes as they drive around. Considered as an all-in-one safety app, DriveMode is more like a handy interface placed over your phone screen.
It comes with a user friendly interface and is equipped with large screen buttons and convenient voice commands for handy accessibility of useful information.
App Features
- Overlay your favorite music player on top of a navigation app
- Get personalized recommendations over time based on your activities, calendar, and favorite places
- Ignore calls or messages in “Do Not Disturb” mode
- It can be configured to automatically launch when you start driving
- Reply to a message or text using voice commands
Rating: 4.1
Installs: 1,000,000+
15. Navmii GPS World (Navfree)
Finding places for users is made easier by Navmii GPS World navigation app. Driver-friendly and convenient, the app enables hassle-free direction guide with touch-free operations.
Users can focus fully on driving while the app gives you updates on live traffic, navigational routes and driver analytics. The app also hosts information contributed by its user community.
App Features
- Combines voice-guided navigation, live traffic information, local search and points of interest
- Gives real-time traffic and road information
- Search using postcode/ city/ street/ points of interest
- Maps are available for more than 150 countries
- Offers local place search powered by TripAdvisor, Foursquare and What3Words
Rating: 3.8
Installs: 10,000,000+
Download: Android, iOS
Read Also : 15 Best Car Rental Apps 2021
Conclusion
These top navigation apps are all designed to assure utmost comfort throughout your journey by offering precise directions and by acting as a substantial guide. These apps let you plan your route with multiple waypoints. Some apps even notify you about speed cameras and signal the current speed limits to help you have a safe travel.
The best part of these navigation apps is the options to discover alternative routes that avoid the traffic jams and save considerable time on the road. Try one or two of them while you travel to a familiar destination and see how it actually helps and then decide on the right app that suits your specific needs.