All in the name of getting you somewhere in the shortest amount of time. So doesn’t ask permission to alter your route mid-trip, and automatically offers up directions that get you around obstacles that have popped up. Waze is built around one thing, and one thing only: minimizing your time on the road and getting you to your destination as quickly as possible. Left: Google Maps Right: Waze (Image credit: Tom's Guide) A feature it pinched from Waze, we might add. And more recently it even started showing you exactly how much a particular route will cost, should you pass through any tolls. In other words Google Maps will take more than just your final ETA into account when it tells you where to go. That way you save on fuel, and are less likely to get into an accident. The service will now use a number of factors, including real time traffic conditions and number of traffic lights, to make the proposed route safer, and more eco-friendly. It may ask if you want to take an alternate route depending on how bad the traffic gets, but it’s not particularly aggressive about it.īut last year Google Maps changed the way it calculated its calculates its routes. Google Maps will flag traffic or obstacles it knows about on-screen, as does Waze, but the difference is Google will happily send you on the same pre-set route regardless of how things change.

Rather than finding the quickest single path to your destination and leaving you to it, Waze is always analyzing conditions to try and get you there the fastest possible way.īoth services can determine traffic conditions from the number of users on the road, but Waze actually does something about it. Waze, on the other hand, is built exclusively for car and motorbike users. Google can even alert you to obstacles or traffic along the way, and give you the option of taking a different path. You could walk, drive, cycle, or take the bus, and Google Maps has something to offer. You punch in a location, and it will find a way to get you there, no matter how you plan on doing it. Google Maps is your traditional navigation app. To the point where the “winner” depends entirely on how you get around. That being said, despite both being operated by Google, they are pretty different. Winner: Tie Google Maps vs Waze: NavigationĪt their core, both Google Maps and Waze will get you where you want to go.

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