WAZE or MAPS, Which Is Better?

The other day I was headed off on a road trip and brought up Waze to guide my way, but the ETA seemed awfully fast! So I brought up Google Maps and sure enough, that ETA seemed more reasonable.

Throughout the 217 mile trip I kept checking on Waze who had not changed its ETA, but as we got closer and closer to our destination, Maps was slowly downgrading its ETA closer to what Waze initially put forth.

It got me thinking which is better? How do they work? My theories were that Waze is crowd-sourced, and Maps pings off of traffic data from phones with Waze and Maps, while adhering to speed limits. My guess is something legal as Maps should not tell us to speed, but Waze is only reporting what our fellow humans has already done.

Unlike Maps, Waze users can announce things they encounter like traffic, accidents, cops, etc.

The different features exhibited by Waze includes

Live traffic reporting by users.
Various voice navigation options.
Monitors your current speed, shows your speed versus the speed limit
Remembers your commonly used routes, frequent destinations, and commute times.*
Aggressive re-routing on-the-fly that saves you time.
Motorcycle mode.
Traffic jam time countdown.**
Police notifications.
Spotify integration.
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*I've encountered inconsistency in this option.
**The countdown is great, but you have to multiply the time by at least 2 to get the real-time delay you'll experience.

Google Maps offers

Driving, biking and walking directions, in addition to public transportationn options.*
Voice navigation choices for driving, biking, and walking.
Ride-sharing integration.
Google Street View integration.
Turn-by-turn directions offered, even during offline mode.
Built-in Google search provides information on businesses**
Lane designation telling drivers exactly which lane to use before your turns.
YOu can add additional stops to your original route.
You can find your parked car since the app saves your parking location.
Navigation backlit change based on day/nighttime
Offline functionality.
***

*The walking timer seems to be geared to someone walking backwards on their knees.
**This is an amazing option, where you can search for things along your route, like gas or Starbucks. When you search for gas on your route or in your area, it shows you the gas prices.
***They have a light version that only determines your driving routes, leaving out all the extra functionality.

But both have their quirks and shortcomings too.

If Waze tells me to go one way, and I go another, it tries to get me back to my original route, even though my chosen route ends up being shorter and or faster.
Maps has been having some weird quirks too, taking me around parking lots instead of thru or across them. Or it takes me a street to my destination that has no driveway attachment to my destination. My suspicion is that the new AI they've installed a few years back is still learning it's way around.


Maps has a ton of different options while Waze is more like In-N-Out Burger, focusing on one thing. I like Maps when it shows you alternative route times as you pass intersections, or the option to choose alaternate destinations along your route.

Both have their flaws and both do great at what they do.

So Waze is community-based while Maps is more data driven.
Waze is just for cars, Google Maps offers walking, driving, biking options, and street view.
Waze needs a data connection, Google Maps can be run offline.
Google Maps has all kinds of info, menus, hours, and phone numbers, Waze does not.
Waze has real time while Maps only has a few tibbits of such.

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digitaltrends.com - waze-vs-google-maps
ridester.com - waze-vs-google-maps
lead image via Urban after Dark
urbanafterdark.com - waze-or-google-maps

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