Article Summary
On average, Google Maps uses about 0.67MB of data every 10 miles and 0.73MB of mobile data for every 20 minutes. According to our research, it uses less than Apple Maps but slightly more than Waze.
Both Google Maps and Apple Maps have offline options so you can still get navigation without using any data on your trip at all.
There are a number of navigation apps available on the market, from Waze to Apple Maps, but one still seems to reign supreme: Google Maps. So which one is the best when it comes to data consumption?
We tested out Google Maps data usage against Apple Maps and Waze to find out which one used the least amount of mobile data.
How Much Data Does Google Maps Use?
| Average Consumption | |
| Data use: 10 miles | .67MB |
| Data use: 20 minutes | .73MB |
On average, Google Maps uses up just over half a megabyte of data for a 10-mile trip and 0.73MB for a 20-minute trip—which actually isn't much at all. Consider that streaming a single song (~3 minutes) uses up the same amount of data, sometimes even more.
If you're planning a multi-day road trip, of course, you'll want to calculate out just how many hours you'll need your navigation running for, as well as the other apps you may have going at the same time. If you're listening to Spotify or podcasts, for example, you may want to download your songs/episodes, or even download your mapped route ahead of time to save on data.
Google Maps vs. Other Navigation Apps
Navigation apps don't use as much data as you may think, especially for what they actually do and how useful they are. Here's how Google Maps' average data usage compares to two of the most popular navigation apps used today—Apple Maps and Waze.
Google Maps vs Apple Maps vs Waze
Surprisingly, Waze (which is also owned by Google) seems to be the best in terms of data usage when you compare the three, using less than half of the mobile data Google Maps consumes and significantly less than Apple Maps' data consumption.
Why is this surprising? Waze is a much more interactive app due to its crowdsourced makeup, offering up-to-the-minute alerts posted by other users on your route. It also constantly scans your location data for the fastest route, diverting you if a traffic jam occurs ahead. Yet apparently Waze has optimized its API to use the least amount of data required for these capabilities.
Can You Use Google Maps Without Data?
Yes! You can use Google Maps offline, which means you won't need to use any data at all while you're traveling. All you need to do is make sure you download the map, which will require internet access, before you start your trip. In fact, all three navigation apps give you an option to save maps for offline use
Using maps offline not only saves data, but also keeps you on track even when your cell signal is poor in remote areas. The downside to using offline maps that you won't get live traffic reports and updates or be able to find the quickest route depending on traffic.
Our Picks for Best Navigation Apps
Many rankings base a navigation app's quality on its accuracy of travel time, route suggestions, and ease of use. All three of our tested apps seem to be pretty dependable in these areas, so we picked our favorite apps based on two different criteria: data consumption, and accessibility and included features.
Best App for Data: Waze
Based purely on data consumption alone, Waze clearly beats out both Google Maps and Apple maps for economic mobile data usage. If you have a limited data cell phone plan, using Waze will help you avoid going over your monthly allowance, since it uses up such a small amount of data for each trip.
Keep in mind, though, Waze can be distracting with all of the notifications that pop up during your trip. While Google Maps and Apple Maps will both do the basics—find the best route, reroute if needed, provide turn-by-turn navigation—Waze takes navigation even further by:
- Allowing you to report accidents, cars stopped on the side of the road, police etc.
- Notifying you of any of the above and allows you confirm whether or not the notifications are still valid
- Showing your speed
- Showing you gas stations near you (and their prices)
Best App for Features + Availability: Google Maps
If you're not worried about how much data you use, Google Maps wins our top pick for its widespread accessibility and feature enhancements. It's available worldwide for both standard surface mapping as well as turn-by-turn navigation and supports 50+ languages. Its new "Translate for Maps" feature further helps you get around in foreign countries, such as to ask directions from locals or communicate with your cab driver. It also has indoor mapping for large public buildings and supports public transit directions and timetables.
Affordable Unlimited Data Plans
If you're sick of monitoring your data usage each month, why not switch to an unlimited data plan? All of the major carriers—AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile—have various unlimited data plans to choose from, as do the smaller carriers, like US Mobile and Cricket.
If you want to find the best unlimited data plan available, we review all plans and give you our pick for the best at the beginning of every. From time to time, carriers will even have special deals and promotions running to help you save even more money on your cell phone bill.
|
#1
|
Astound Mobile
Unlimited Data Plan
$0.00/mo
+ $14.99 Upfront
|
|
#2
|
Boost Mobile
Unlimited Plan
$10.00/mo
with AutoPay
|
|
#3
|
Lyca Mobile
Unlimited Plus Plan
$12.50/mo
Pay $12.50/month for the first 9 months<br>Regular rate is $49/month
|
|
#4
|
Cricket
3-Month Unlimited Plan
$15.00/mo
$45 advance payment for 3 months (equals to $15/month)<br>regular rate for 3 months is $120 (equals to $40/month)
+ $9.99 Upfront
|
|
#5
|
Google Fi Wireless
Unlimited Essentials for 1
$17.50/mo
|
How we reached our results...
To find out how much data each of these navigation apps use, we used an Apple iPhone 7 and took 10 trips using each app:
- Average travel time: 40 minutes
- Average distance traveled: 22 miles
Other things to note:
- Turn-by-turn navigation was used
- Sound navigation was turned off
- Waze notifications were turned on
- We used the My Data Manager app to monitor data usage of each app
- My Data Manager did not show Apple Maps as its own map, so the assumption was made that "Other" apps was showing data used by Apple Maps only (as all other apps were closed during these trips)
- Trips were taken during weekday peak hours (between 7:30am-9am and 5pm-6:30pm)
Lauren Hannula
Managing Editor
Find a better phone plan
Thousands of cell phone plans unpacked. All the facts. No surprises.
