Google Maps against Waze
Google owns both and keeps them separate because they solve different problems. Maps is a general-purpose map with navigation attached. Waze is a live driving assistant built on continuous reports from other drivers. The difference shows up most sharply the moment you lose signal.
Where they diverge
| Google Maps | Waze | |
|---|---|---|
| Offline maps | Yes, download by area | No, needs a connection |
| Walking and transit | Yes, both good | Driving only |
| Live hazard reports | Some | The core of the product |
| Rerouting around traffic | Good | More aggressive |
| Places, hours, reviews | Comprehensive | Minimal |
| Battery use | Moderate | Higher |
| Interface while driving | Dense | Simpler, larger |
The two, and the offline specialists
The general answer: offline areas, walking, public transport, and place information nothing else matches. Slightly slower to react to traffic than Waze.
Best-in-class for a commute you drive daily. Hazard and police reports from other drivers, and rerouting that acts sooner. Useless with no signal.
Fully offline navigation from open map data, with far more detail on trails and small roads than either. A steeper interface and no live traffic at all.
Organic Maps. The friendliest fully offline option: download a country, navigate with no connection, no account and no advertising.
Offline navigation with a more conventional satellite-navigation interface, if that suits you better than a map app.
HERE WeGo. Offline maps by country and good public transport directions.
Moovit. Public transport first, with live arrivals in thousands of cities.
Citymapper. The best transit app in the cities it covers.
2GIS. Detailed offline city maps with building-level business information.
MapFactor Navigator. Free offline navigation using OpenStreetMap data.
Which for which journey
- A daily commute with variable traffic
- Long motorway drives
- Anywhere with an active local user base
- When you want early warning of hazards
- Travelling abroad
- Walking or public transport
- Finding a place rather than a route
- Rural areas with poor coverage
- Anywhere you might lose signal
Waze's usefulness scales with how many people near you use it. In a large city it is excellent. In a rural area or a country where it never caught on, it is a worse map with fewer features.
Preparing for a trip
- Download the offline area before you leave Maps, your profile, offline maps, select the region. Areas expire after about a month, so refresh rather than reusing last year's.
- Star the places you will need Hotel, airport, station. Saved places work offline.
- Check the download actually covers your route The default area is smaller than people assume, and a route can leave it.
- Add a second offline app for anywhere remote Organic Maps or OsmAnd have detail on small roads and trails that Google does not.
Waze for a commute in a city that uses it. Maps for everything else, and download the area before you travel.
Frequently asked questions
Does Waze work offline at all?
No. It needs a connection for the map and for everything that makes it useful.
Do offline maps include navigation?
Yes, turn-by-turn driving directions work offline in Google Maps. Live traffic does not.
Which uses less data?
Google Maps with an offline area downloaded uses almost none. Waze is continuous.
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