Route4Me Alternatives: Route Planners For 2024

Route4Me is one of the original route planning and route optimization tools, with a strong existing user base. It has a well-developed marketplace of add-on modules so it’s easily customizable to different needs, from last-mile delivery businesses to field sales and service.

In this article, we’ll talk about the major strengths and weaknesses of Route4Me, and how it stacks up against its competitors.  Then, we’ll look at the best Route4Me alternatives for different business needs. 

Choosing route optimization software can be difficult because everybody promises the same things: streamlined operations, lower costs, a better customer experience, and so on. Everybody has a mobile driver app for Android and iOS, and live tracking of deliveries. But when you try to dig beneath the surface, it’s surprisingly hard to find concrete information. Each route planner app is different under the hood, they have different pricing models, and they meet different business needs. 

To add to the confusion, software review sites tend to group last-mile delivery management, e-commerce shipping, third-party logistics (3PL), and fleet management all into the same category. That makes it hard to filter out what’s actually relevant.

So to make it clear: Route4Me is specifically built to streamline the last-mile delivery process, and to a lesser extent field sales and service routes. Those will be our focus in this article. Long-distance shipping, 3PL operations, and fleet management are outside our scope. 

We’ll cut through the confusion, based on information from a few different sources:

• Company websites.
• Published customer reviews on independent sites like Capterra and G2. 
• Our own tests of Route4Me alternatives. 
• Information we’ve heard privately from customers.

Route4Me’s main strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

Route4Me’s major strength is its flexibility. Customers can mix and match modules to create a software solution that suits their needs. For example, you can add on modules for:

• Curbside pickup
• Avoiding left or right turns
• Allocating stops to time windows
• Field service and field sales routing

Although its website looks a little outdated, some users report that Route4Me’s actual user interface is relatively simple and friendly — especially if you’ve never used route planning or delivery management software before. 

There are also a number of different options for adding address data: Route4Me offers the usual copy-paste and Excel or CSV upload, but also direct import from Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, Xero, and Quickbooks​​​​​​. You can even scan printed documents to extract address information.

Territory assignment is another strength. You can carve your delivery or service area up into different zones and assign each to a regular driver. This helps drivers become familiar with their territories and delivery routes, which can save a lot of time. 

Here’s what actual customers say:

We have different routes every day and this has sped up the routing process greatly. Easy to use and train new employees. — Jacob A, midsize Warehouse Manager.

Route4Me has allowed us to streamline a huge part of our business saving us hours of work a day. The support is quick, helpful, and always available. — G2 verified user, SMB.

Weaknesses

Route4Me’s modular structure does make it flexible, but many of the add-on modules are features that come standard in other routing software. Both Routific and Circuit, for example, build in the ability to schedule driver breaks out of the box. With Route4Me, it’s a paid extra. 

Route4Me is expensive. Its base tier costs $239 a month — and that’s without any route optimization! The cost of extra modules can add up fast, too. Many of the most commonly used modules are free, but others cost — a lot, in some cases. The curbside delivery module, for example, is $799 a month. 

Finally, Route4Me’s actual route optimization is weak. Its algorithm produces short, mathematically efficient routes: but the shortest route is not necessarily the best route. That’s because routes have to be driven by actual humans, and what looks good to an algorithm can look crazy to a human. Route planning apps with poorly developed route optimization algorithms often produce criss-crossing routes that loop back on themselves, or routes where two addresses on the same block will be served by different drivers.

There are other problems with Route4Me’s route optimization:

• Route4Me assumes that all routes are the same: starting from the same point, with the same start and end times, identical vehicles, and so on. So if you have morning and afternoon routes, or routes starting from different depots, it won’t serve you well. There is a “mixed vehicles” add-on, but it doesn’t solve the whole problem.  
• In our testing, Route4Me made inaccurate ETA estimations. For example, on one route section that Routific and Google Maps both estimated would take 18-19 minutes, Route4Me estimated just 10 minutes. Underestimating journey times can lead to lots of overtime, late deliveries, and a very poor customer experience.
• Users report that vehicles are sometimes sent to the wrong addresses.This can be an indication of poor geocoding.
• Route4Me automatically optimizes its routes to use the minimum number of vehicles, and this setting can’t be changed. This makes things awkward if you have your own fleet and drivers — Route4Me could leave one driver sitting idle while another works overtime.

Here’s what their customers say on independent review sites:

I don't think the optimization is the best. — Kofi A, SMB Director.

The optimization is off always. I have stopped using it for that. — Vaughn A, SMB President.

Occasionally routes to incorrect address. — Lori P, SMB customer service. 

Route4Me pricing

Route4Me starts at $239 per month without route optimization. 

Single-driver route optimization starts at $319 per month, and if you want to optimize multiple routes at once, the price is $479 per month.

Additional modules like SMS customer notifications, curbside delivery, or field service routing are add-ons that will increase the cost. 

The price includes up to 10 team members, with extra team members costing $86 per month. 

There is a 7-day free trial with unlimited functionality.

Top Route4Me alternatives

1. Routific: For the best route optimization

Routific is designed specifically for small- to medium-sized businesses that do local deliveries. The last mile is notoriously the most expensive part of the supply chain, and that’s where more efficient routing can have a massive impact on profitability.

Based on our testing, we’re confident that Routific offers much more sophisticated route optimization than Route4Me.

In particular: 

• Our routes are clean and untangled. There is less of the criss-crossing that annoys drivers and undermines their faith in a route management app.
• We have more accurate traffic prediction and ETAs based on machine learning. 
• Routific can accommodate mixed route types, including routes with different start times and heterogeneous vehicles.
• Unlike Route4Me, Routific gives you a choice of what to prioritize during route optimization. Do you want to use the minimum number of vehicles, balance workloads across a number of drivers, minimize the number of visits per vehicle, or choose the shortest overall distance? 

💡 Want to see for yourself? Check out our 7-day free trial, or contact our sales team for a demo of our more advanced features.

Other advantages of using Routific

1. We focus on medium-sized and small businesses, which means we pay special attention to being easy to use. 
2. Our customer service is superb, with a customer support team featuring real people (you’ll get to know Chris, Sophie, Caitlin and Jian). No bots! 
3. Our pricing structure is simple and flexible. Most of our features, including full-service route optimization, are available on our lowest price tier. We price per vehicle/driver and you can change at will, so you don’t pay for vehicles you don’t use.   

What Routific can’t do (yet)

• Multi-day planning
• Return to depot (although there are workarounds for this)
• In-app driver chat
• Barcode scanning
• Direct communication between drivers and customers

If any of these features are deal-breakers for you, then Routific is not the right choice for your business right now. 

Routific customer reviews

The ease of use, simplicity, and customer service is second to none. I have tried and demoed every routing tool out there and none come close to Routific with ease of use and simplicity. — Morgan H, SMB CEO

It's intuitive, it has awesome features like the client notifications, and everytime I had a question I was serviced in a very comprehensive and friendly fashion. They didn't stop until I said I was satisfied. — Jonathan K, SMB owner.

Platform was straightforward and easy to use for the admin and drivers. Clean and user friendly, functional and not ‘cluggy’ like some of the other platforms I have trialled. — Andy L, midmarket Managing Director. 

Routific pricing

• Starts at $49 per vehicle per month for route optimization and dispatching.
• $69 per vehicle per month for more advanced delivery management features like live GPS tracking, proof of delivery (POD), and API integrations. 
• $93 per vehicle per month for customer experience features like customizable SMS and email notifications and a real-time delivery tracker link.

2. Circuit for Teams: For a driver-first approach and great ease of use

Circuit was first of all a mobile route planning app for delivery drivers, later adding the Circuit for Teams platform to accommodate delivery businesses with multiple vehicles and drivers. This heritage is still reflected in its clean and user-friendly interface — but it does mean that features for larger businesses that need to plan multiple, complex routes can be lacking. 

Circuit’s main strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

Circuit’s original driver app has over 100,000 users around the world. This widespread adoption means a lot of drivers are already familiar and comfortable with it, which can make a delivery planner or dispatcher’s job a lot easier. 

It also means Circuit has the resources to keep developing and updating its software, so this is unlikely to be a choice that leaves you stuck in a dead-end a few years down the line.

The Circuit driver app also includes a feature that helps drivers find each package inside their vehicle. At the loading stage, each package can be marked front/middle/back, left/right, and floor/shelf. This can help save a lot of time at each delivery stop.

Weaknesses

One of Circuit’s major weaknesses is an inflexible pricing model:

• The lowest pricing tier starts at $100 a month for two drivers, then there’s a step up to $200 a month for three drivers, as well as proof of delivery and customer notifications. This means that if you want these advanced features but only have one or two drivers on the road at any point, you’re locked into the higher pricing. 
• Pricing is per unique, named driver, so you’ll pay for your full roster of drivers even if not all of them are on the road at the same time. 

There are also some big gaps in its route optimization:

• You can’t edit routes once they’ve been optimized. Individual drivers can change stop order inside their mobile apps, but it’s not possible at the planning stage. 
• Routes are messy, with a lot of crisscrossing and overlap. 
• The tools for planners and dispatchers are lacking: There’s no timeline view, and it can be difficult to get an overall sense of how the day’s deliveries are going. 

Customer reviews

I love how easy Circuit is to use. It is user friendly and easy to understand. — Hannah H, SMB business owner.

Circuit is improving all the time. It is a great product for the price, and the team seems to actively be working to upgrade it. Their customer service is accessible and they listen and work to fix any issues that arise. — Katherine H, midmarket sales professional

For our business, and the amount of trips that we have per day we believe it's pretty pricey. — Tony C, SMB CEO

Overall the multiple clicks to add a stop, make changes to a route is a bit cumbersome. It would be nice to streamline that process. — Derek N, midmarket retail Manager

I do not like that sometimes when the routes are being created, they aren't always equally distributed between the drivers. Sometimes I have to manually adjust the route to better meet the needs of the drivers. — Mario M, non-profit Program Manager

Pricing

Circuit offers a 14-day free trial — although you will need to give credit card details to set up a trial, and it will auto-change unless you cancel.

There are three price tiers:

• Essentials: $100/month up to 2 drivers, then $40 per driver. No customer notifications or POD.
• Standard: $200 up to 3 drivers, then $60 per driver. POD and notifications included.
• Pro: $500/month up to 6 drivers, then $80 per driver.

3. Badger Maps: Best for field sales

Badger Maps is designed specifically for field sales teams, so it’s a great choice if deliveries are not your major need. It has all the usual features a route planner needs, like real-time tracking and a mobile app, but it’s the CRM features that make it stand out. 

Main strengths and weaknesses

Badger Maps shines when it comes to features designed to make life easier for sales and service professionals:

• Lead generation: Generate leads based on the user's location and target demographics.
• CRM integration: Badger Mapping can integrate with most popular CRM systems, including Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, Zoho, HubSpot, Insightly, and NetSuite.

Looking at online customer reviews, their customer service is also highly rated. Some users mention that the cost can be high for solo operators.

It’s hard to identify any major weaknesses for Badger Maps. Looking at the list of alternatives suggested by review sites, they’re mostly pure CRM products. Badger seems to have hit a sweet spot of filling a route-planning gap in CRM software. It’s not a product to consider for delivery management, but if your use case is sales calls then this is a clear frontrunner.

Customer reviews

I use this great service daily. Don't know how a person can cover a large territory any other way. The mapping and optimization it has lets me pick up three or more calls per day. — Fred L, midmarket Territory Sales Representative

The prospecting feature is a little dull to me unfortunately. I use seamless.ai for prospecting which gives me more detailed information. For example, I can find a person by their title at the company along with their email and cell phone number. — Daniel, Industrial Account Manager

Badger Maps Pricing

$49 per user per month for independent salespeople, or $95 per user per month for large companies.

4. OptimoRoute: For advanced route planning with return-to-depot functionality

OptimoRoute is a powerful routing app with a lot of flexibility, and some unique features — but it does take some time to learn and understand.

Main strengths and weaknesses

Optimoroute’s advanced routing functionality includes the ability to schedule reloading at a depot during the day, a feature other Route4Me competitors like Routific lack. Other popular features include:

• A "breadcrumb” feature that tracks vehicle movements, so dispatchers can compare the routes actually driven to planned routes. 
• Individual driver profiles include shift schedules (including breaks and overtime), start/end locations, skills, vehicle types, service areas you want them to stay in, and even cost and speed settings. This makes Optimoroute another good option for field sales and service organizations. 
• Customers can rate their delivery experience and leave comments.

Despite some of these advanced features, Optimoroute falls short when it comes to actual multi-stop route optimization. We couldn’t test as thoroughly as we would have liked, because free trials are limited to 250 stops, but we did note some problems:

• Poor route quality, with lots of overlapping and crisscrossing routes. 
• It was difficult to adjust routes after optimization. 

In addition, customers who use contract drivers have told us that Optimoroute makes it difficult to adjust start locations. 

Pricing is also an issue. Their “Pro” pricing level has a limit of 1,000 orders per day, which is low for a medium-sized business. Here’s what Optimoroute customers have to say:

Customer reviews

Routing improved and streamlined, bottom line increased, product pays for itself many times over. — Jonathan S

OptimoRoute is a very robust delivery service App. You can organize your deliveries very quickly and the system has never failed a driver when they are on the road.  — G2 reviewer

The maps are outdated, and I almost ALWAYS have to fix the route. It marks roads that are not roads, are blocked off, or it will label a creek or wash (Arizona) as a road. — Eric H

The software can be complex to set up and use initially. The interface may not be as intuitive as some other route planning software, which could result in a steeper learning curve. — Edson Q

Pricing

If you sign up for a full year, pricing starts at $35 per vehicle per month with a limit of 700 orders, or $44 per month for up to 1,000 orders, real-time tracking and proof of delivery. Custom pricing for more complex needs is also available.

Optimoroute offers a generous 30-day free trial, but it’s limited to 250 stops so it’s hard to assess how performance will scale.

5. Onfleet: Best for larger businesses who also want on-demand delivery scheduling

Onfleet mainly serves mid-size to enterprise customers in the 11-1,000 users range. They’re a mature business with a strong user base.  

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Onfleet’s main strengths and weaknesses

Onfleet bills itself as a “complete toolkit for last mile delivery”. Standout features include:

• Automatic driver assignment for on-demand deliveries. This enables customer self-service and makes Onfleet a good option for courier businesses. 
• A live chat option inside the driver mobile app, so it’s easy for dispatchers and drivers to communicate without opening a new app or window. 
• Customers can also communicate directly with drivers, without sharing phone numbers. 
• Detailed driver analytics, including actual vs planned stop duration, and on-time vs late deliveries.

Onfleet’s main weaknesses are related to cost, ease of use and inconsistent route optimization:

• Most of the complaints we hear from Onfleet users are about poorly optimized routes, with lots of criss-crossing and inaccurate addresses. Compounding the problem, users report that it’s difficult to make changes to Onfleet’s routes. 
• The platform is complex and requires training to get started. There’s also no timeline view, which can make daily delivery management more difficult. 
• It’s expensive and their pricing is inflexible. The $500 per month starting price excludes many smaller businesses, and there’s a big jump to the next tier at $1,150 per month. This can leave some of their customers having to choose between paying for overages, or paying for capacity they don’t use. 

Onfleet customer reviews

Easy to use and our delivery drivers really appreciate the easy access to maps when they are delivering. Onfleet support has been great! — Dave H, small business Operations Director

Modern logistics platform for serious on-demand companies — James W, cofounder, midsize construction company.

Onfleet gives a ton of control to both the driver and the dispatcher. There is a large degree of freedom when it comes to assigning and completing tasks, creating different driver teams, and allowing drivers to contact recipients. — Marquise D, small business owner.

The route optimization is definitely not 100% and occasionally throws up some odd routes which would require amphibious delivery vehicles. — Brett K, midmarket Director.

Things that should be commonplace are considered extra add-ons which can increase your price. — Robbin C, midmarket Distribution Manager

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Onfleet Pricing

Starts at $500 per month with a limit of 2,000 pickup/delivery tasks. Barcode scanning, age verification and 5,000 pickup/delivery tasks start at $1,150 per month. Custom pricing is available for enterprise customers.

Onfleet does offer a 14-day free trial, but you will need to give your phone number and credit card details.