Google Maps and TomTom GO are two popular navigation apps. Google Maps is an all-rounder, and TomTom GO offers great features for driving.
How do both stand against each other? Let’s find out in Google Maps vs. TomTom GO comparison.
Routing
TomTom GO collects data from over 400 million cars, updated every two minutes. Google Maps collects data from various sources such as Android Phones and Google Maps.
I went for a test drive. TomTom GO was slightly behind in traffic, but the ETA was similar.
Winner: Tie | Score: Google Maps: 1 | TomTom GO: 1
TomTom GO overtakes this round because it offers over 100 voice options in many languages. Google Maps has around 70 voices.
Winner: TomTom Go | Score: 2
Comparison: Waze vs. TomTom GO
Reporting features
Reporting is one of the most critical sections of Google Maps vs. TomTom GO because reporting tools show the actual power of a navigation app.
Winner: Google Maps | Score: 2
Transit options
There is no comparison in transport options because Google Maps is the clear winner. The all-rounder nature gives it an edge when it comes to transport modes.
| Transport Type | Google Maps | TomTom GO |
|---|---|---|
| Car | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Bicycle | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Public transport | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Taxi/ride-share | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Walk | ✔️ | ✔️ |
The app also shows the live transport vehicles’ location in some cities, helping users leave their houses at the right time.
Winner: Google Maps | Score: 3
Google Maps allows downloading some kilometer area at a time. You can download many locations on your device.
The app automatically updates the maps after some time, and you can go offline by tapping the offline button in the left menu.
TomTom GO requests to download the whole country’s map when you open the app for the first time.
The company is bringing new features to download a specific area, but ETA is unknown. You can also download the other nation’s maps.
Winner: Tie | Score: Google Maps: 4 | TomTom GO: 3
Contributions
A non-comparable feature of Google Maps is contributions. Users can contribute by reviewing and rating places, uploading photos, and answering questions.
The more you help, the more points you get. The points can be used to go to events organized by Google worldwide.
Read next: Sygic vs. Google Maps
Other features
Google Maps
Businesses
See reviews, ratings, and photos of millions of places.
Street view
Real-time street view can be activated while walking.
Public transport
Suggests whether public transport is busy using past data and real-time user feedback.
Busy area
Google Maps suggests if an area is busy.
GPS time
The app shows the GPS arrival time even when the phone’s time differs.
Phone’s sensor auto mode
Google Maps uses the phone’s sensor to enable the night mode. For example, the dark mode activates while driving in a tunnel.
TomTom GO
3D
TomTom GO 3D interface (looks super cool).
Vehicle type
Change vehicle type during navigation.
Common features
Availability
Both are available for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
Night mode
Night mode is available in both.
Lane suggestion
Both offer to show the lanes on the top and suggest which lane the driver should be in.
Paid nature
To enclose, TomTom GO offers 50 miles (75 kilometers) for free each month. After that, you will not use the app until you purchase or wait for the kilometers to reset.
Which one is to use where
The advantage Google Maps has is that it is free. You won’t find many differences in navigation if you live in a developed country.
TomTom GO will benefit more in a new city as it will inform about the safety cameras.
But, at the same time, Google Maps will help you find places and see ratings and reviews. So, it depends on what you want the app for.
Score: Google Maps: 4 & TomTom GO: 3
Links
Summary
The final score for Google Maps vs. TomTom GO is 4 over 3. Google Maps is old, and because of the giant tech company behind it, it is always up-to-date.
This is it for this article. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below to discuss more.
Madhsudhan Khemchandani has a bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering (Honours). He has been writing articles on apps and software for over five years. He has also made over 200 videos on his YouTube channel. Read more about him on the about page.
Pros for TomTom.
The map zooms in when you approach a junction making it easy to see which exit you need. Google Maps doesn’t do that.
If you install your own Point Of Interest (POI) files it is easy to search for one POI in a long list. Typing in part of the name brings up a match of all the POIs which match. Google Maps presents you with a long list to scroll through to find the correct one which can take a while. No quick way to search.
Pros for Google Maps
It’s free!
It’s very quick to recalculate a route if you take a wrong turn. TomTom can take a while if you’re in a town and you could miss your next turn while it’s thinking.
Map updates and traffic are free. Not all TomToms have lifetime map updates and traffic.
It’s an app on your phone which means you only have to carry your phone with you and not an extra device.
Many cars are now including Android Auto in their dashboards which is great if you have an Android phone. Google Maps displays on your dash.
What a great quick comparison. Thanks, Bruce. This comment will help other readers.
Really, the only important point here is that they’re virtually the same and one is free. makes the choice a no brainer really.
my 2018 Subaru legacy has tomtom navigation and in 2022 i can’t do map updates. Keep getting error message. I have contacted Subaru about this and it is still unresolved going on a month now. I have tried another browser too. The download takes 1 hour and 10 minutes to laptop then it goes to a USB drive and then to the car. Problem is keep getting error message. I am on Step 11 of the Update but can’t get past the download part. My car dealer is short handed and doesn’t have the time. they can’t even answer their phone. Phone mailboxes are full. they have been bought 3 times out of the last 4 times. Not exactly a confidence builder.
@Karen, I agree. Tom Tom updates are always a nightmare such that my device remains out of date.
Loved TomTom but not at £19:99 a year or even the £12:99 they just offered me for a third year.
Google maps is great but some features like average speed would be a bonus
Brilliant and very helpful comparison
Helped me in believing I’m good with google maps for now 👍🏻😊
Thank you
I have both Google Maps and Tom Tom. Having discovered the power of Google Maps I rarely use Tom Tom. A big plus with GM is it shows everything you might need where you are, shops, cinemas, garages, etc, and all easy to find. Enter your destination before leaving and I find the need for a web connection rare. And it’s free! Win, win.
I have used Google Maps on CarPlay, but now that TomTom GO is available on CarPlay and as I have been a TomTom device user for 12 years, I am pleased to pay the AU$29.99 for the app.
I spend a lot of time doing long car trips in Australia and other countries (Ireland, UK, USA, Canada, Germany, France, Norway, NZ) I find I need to plan all my routes on the MyDrive website before leaving home and saving them to my devices.
A great feature is that when routes and places are planned and saved on MyDrive, they also end up on the TomTom GO app, and are therefore ready to go on CarPlay.
On my recent 5 week trip to USA and Scotland I had 80 pre-planned routes saved to the GO app and were available on CarPlay for the 3500 km of navigation we did.
One slight annoyance is that My Routes are on the phone app, but are missing off the CarPlay version of the app. So the routes must be selected on the phone first, then will play well on CarPlay, just they can’t be selected on CarPlay. More an annoyance rather than a deal breaker.
@Brian Watts,
same here, had been with Tomtom over 10 years, hard to switch to another device