The 5 Best Route Planning Software Solutions in 2023

Verizon offers a comprehensive solution that’ll help you optimise your fleet. Once you create a route with multiple stops, it will automatically reorder them to give you the shortest, quickest route. This is thanks to its innovative RouteCloud algorithm, which evaluates millions of routes using powerful cloud-based computers. If your drivers run into emergencies or you need to adjust assignments at the last minute, you can easily do so using the day-ahead view.

It uses near real-time tracking to show how your drivers are doing, highlighting any deviations from the plan so you can see what isn’t working and why. 

If you want more control over how you optimise your routes, then Routific might suit you better. Routific gives you two options for route optimisation: the shortest time or the shortest distance. You can also nominate which stops are of utmost priority, allowing your drivers to get to them first. 

However, if you do choose Routific, it is worth noting that you’ll be giving up Verizon’s complete fleet management solutions, which allow you to unlock its stellar set of features, such as driver behaviour monitoring, vehicle diagnostics, and fuel efficiency reports. Routific does not offer any of these features, yet you will be paying prices on par with Verizon, which is more expensive in the long run.

Our research identifies Netstar as the best for heavy vehicle fleets because of its built-in electronic work diaries. These work diaries, legally mandated by the Heavy Vehicle National Law, automatically calculate your driver’s work hours to avoid fatigue. However, Netstar also packs a punch for route planning. It utilises location data to optimise your routes and reduce driving time. It also incorporates telematics and on-point GPS tracking for all of your assets and vehicles and suggests the fastest routes for your drivers.

Like Verizon, Netstar is also a compact fleet management solution that offers assets that can optimise your routes and your entire fleet. However, Netstar falls behind with data updates. Its refresh rate is one to five minutes, a considerable difference from Inseego, which updates location data in real time. It’s worth noting, though, that Inseego does not provide traffic alerts like Netstar –- which is another essential factor for optimising routes as it helps you avoid heavy roads that can delay your deliveries.

We’d just like you to be aware of Netstar’s rolling contracts. Once your initial period ends, the contract will continue indefinitely, which may be suited to your budget. If you want to find the best prices for your fleet, try our free quote comparison tool. It’s a fast and easy way to compare tailored quotes from our trusted providers!

Inseego automatically creates the most profitable and efficient daily schedules for your drivers as they are tailored to your vehicles, drivers, and jobs. It calculates your delivery vehicle capacity and driver availability to generate optimised routes in minutes. A standout feature of Inseego is its seasonal forecasting. Customer demands change with the seasons, so Inseego improves capacity planning by providing a calendar view of all the data and resources you need to meet these demands based on historical data and future forecasts.

Unfortunately, Inseego doesn’t provide traffic alerts, which is also crucial for route planning. It helps you avoid heavy traffic, which can slow down the rate at which you accomplish your jobs. If this is a necessity for your business, we’d recommend Verizon because it uses Map Layers to show jam-packed roads and closed roads, allowing your drivers to avoid these areas.

But if you’re wanting real-time monitoring, Inseego’s advanced AI-12 dash cams do the job well. It can monitor your drivers in real-time to detect dangerous or distracted driving behaviours, like texting, smoking, or not wearing a seatbelt. This unique dash cam add-on earns Inseego its moniker as the best route planning software for improving driver safety. Inseego also offers complete fleet management solutions, like Verizon and Inseego, but misses out on vehicle management features, such as vehicle diagnostics, fleet maintenance records, and maintenance scheduling which are already available with Verizon. 

Onfleet offers the best delivery route planning software, as it helps you optimise your delivery routes to maximise productivity and efficiency. It utilises an integrated route optimisation engine that considers time, location, capacity, and traffic.

Another plus is that it has an innovative auto-assign engine that lets you handle on-demand and top-priority assignments. It can save you time and labour costs as it automatically dispatches the appropriate driver at the appropriate time.

However, it’s worth noting that Onfleet does not offer fleet management solutions, unlike Verizon, Inseego, and Netstar. It’s a third-party route planning software that can only produce the shortest, fastest, and most profitable routes for your drivers. Still, you can generate synchronised data reports and monitor key metrics, such as success rates, response times, and feedback scores. Onfleet also has a unique developer’s hub that allows you to create an application programming interface (API) if you need a specialised, in-house integration.

Our research shows that its lack of fleet management features highlights that it isn’t the best value for money. It’d be better for your pocket to rather subscribe to a vehicle tracking system as you unlock more perks. The alternatives can help you monitor every vehicle, track driver performance, and improve overall performance for the same price point. 

Routific refers to its route planning software as Live Tracking. It’s a cloud-based delivery route planning and optimisation solution that is designed to maximise fleet capacity, conserve fuel, and track real-time driver progress. It’s perfect for local fleets and small to medium-sized fleets. Here’s why:

For starters, Routific offers an intuitive approach to reordering your stops, much like Verizon, only it gives you more wiggle room. With Routific, you can quickly drag and drop your stops and reorder them as much as you want. You can also choose the shortest time or the shortest distance. You can prioritise the most in-demand jobs, and Routific will automatically optimise them based on your choice. On the other hand, our overall top scorer Verizon allows you to reorder multiple stops, but you can’t change your start and stop points. 

Routific also lets you track your drivers in real time, providing your customers with an estimated time of arrival. You’re also able to set up delivery tracking links to provide real-time progress and location data for your customers, allowing them to see your drivers location when they’re 15 minutes away, as well as the proof of delivery. your driver’s location when they’re 15 minutes away as well as proof of delivery.

However, Routific is specifically designed to optimise routes, just like Onfleet. As such, you don’t have access to the fleet management features offered by Inseego, Verizon, and Netstar, such as vehicle diagnostics, theft prevention, and fuel efficiency reports. Even though it keeps up with the industry norm of providing tailored prices, it’s not the best bang for your buck as you will pay fees that are on par with the complete fleet management solutions.