Google Maps Pricing, Features, Reviews & Comparison of Alternatives

Pros
What I liked most about this software is the gamification of the user experience. Even if I know where I'm going, I want to use Google Maps because it enhances my experience. I am a Beta Tester of the app so I also get to experience some new features first hand which is awesome. Accurate traffic, real-time updates on construction work, great suggestions for alternative routes and gives you the option to choose the fastest or shortest route etc. I love the ability to add stops along the way and it perfectly forecasts the estimated detour. Can use Google Assistant directly from maps which helps me avoid distraction and focus on the road as well.

Cons
Recently, it has gotten overwhelming with a bit too many features that it is causing more confusion than help. It has like a home screen now where you can control your media and listen to music or podcasts or radio etc. make phone calls and write text messages all from within Google Maps without having to go to other apps manually. It is great because it reduces the time and effort but at the same time it is more inviting to do those things which you shouldn't be doing when driving in my opinion. Other thing I've noticed is the performance. It hangs and freezes a lot these days and makes my phone super slow which doesn't happen at other times when I'm not using Google Maps. The GPS/location marker sometimes is inaccurate and doesn't update in real time which causes you to miss some turn at critical times.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
I find it really strange Maps is free, when I can safely say a large majority of users would've been willing to pay for it. The wealth of data at our fingertips is unimaginable. Whether you like to drive, take transit, walk, bike, or rideshare, Maps has you covered. Even combinations of most of these modes with transit works (save for biking). Ride times are very accurate, transit arrival times are very accurate, traffic data is accurate. Warnings for road closures, bus route deviations. Searching for restaurants, hours, menu, reviews, images. It really is my little travel advisor. I love that they keep making it better. They recently added music playback integration in the app itself, along with walking + transit even if walking took a long while, eg. if it was a 1hr walk they would previously just show rideshare as an option. All in all, likely my single most used app. Great job devs

Cons
I wish there was a way to keep being able to look up places without exiting your ongoing trip for modes besides transit, eg. If you have a walking trip going but you want to search for food in a particular area you have to exit your trip, do your thing, then restart the trip. This works seamlessly for transit though

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
When I'm on the go, I typically use my map apps built into my iPhone, but I occasionally will use Google Maps when searching on my computer. The pro of Google Maps is a lot of companies use it. Typically when you click on highlighted map address online (Yelp, facebook, etc), the default is google maps.

Cons
The big con about Google Maps is that the routes it provides are not always the quickest, or best routes. I used Google maps a lot when I lived in a rural area (and it was great for that), but now that I live in a very populated area with roads constantly changing or going under construction, the maps aren't as useful. Google Maps doesn't seem to quite know all the quicker routes and definitely doesn't take in consideration lights. Not knowing the area, Google maps once told me it was 7 miles from somewhere, but it didn't consider that I would hit every single red light along the way and the 7 miles took nearly an hour. I would also find myself using Google maps and notice that several people ahead of me will make the same award path and I do, and realized we're all likely using Google maps. It would literally take these strange paths thru neighborhoods, with speed bumps, and uturns, heavy potholes, even gravel roads and same strange turns as the people in front of me for miles. Just because there is a road there, doesn't make it the best option, but I guess Google can't determine areas that have speed bumps or gravel roads yet. Google maps isn't as intuitive as Waze which will give you minute by minute updates and alt routes to take. My biggest con with Google maps, was on a personal level. I moved to a new home. Completely new address that hasn't ever been in a system yet. We had our address set up with the PO for months, and it took Google nearly 8 months for them to get our address in their system. We had to share our address using coordinates with friends and family for months because Google wouldn't update their maps. You can submit a change or incorrect address, but you cannot add a new address easily. And when you do, you cannot see the progress of your change, like if Google has actually reviewed it or not, or the ETA on being approved. Being that so many companies use Google maps, it was difficult to order things online and have them shipped to my home. Many businesses didn't recognize my address as being valid since they rely on Google maps so heavily. It would be nice for Google, as large of a company as they are to offer some sort of customer service option or an easier way to contact them. Their FAQ and guides for adding new map addresses is lacking.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 5/10

Pros
Google maps are simple to use, very self-explanatory, gives many options of travel as well as levels of view. Allows you to share your location or for others to share their location with you. You can search for a particular gas station or store along your current set route. You can enter in more than one destination and Google Maps will display the routes and you can rearrange the stops to put them in any order you need no matter what order they were entered.

Cons
I remember at one time there was a feature where other users could mark Google Maps to let others know where there was an accident, police presence, or slow traffic. That was EXTREMELY helpful, yet they took it away. Destination, road updates, and business information are not always up to date and there is nowhere to offer corrections for investigation.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Google Maps is an optimal GPS app that gets you where you need to go. The layout and UI are great for any user. Plus it has some bells and whistles like recommending restaurants to the user.

Cons
Sometimes you get locked with routes that aren't safe. You'll end up crossing 4 lanes of traffic and foregoing a traffic light which adds to the stress of driving.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 8/10