MyRouteOnline vs Badger Maps: Which is Right for Your Business?

Name a business that involves on-ground people to cover multiple stops or visits but doesn’t need speed and efficiency. 

Can’t think of one, can you? Simply because there’s none.

Whether you manage deliveries, door-to-door maintenance services, or on-field sales visits, quick and effective operations are non-negotiable and can make or break your business.

Route planning and optimization top the list of factors that help achieve this by letting you create the most efficient routes to reduce transit time and operational costs. And this is the reason why businesses are increasingly implementing route optimization software. 

Two prominent players in the route planning software industry are MyRouteOnline and Badger Maps. Both these software allow businesses to plan and optimize their delivery, field service, or sales routes, boosting operational efficiency.

MyRouteOnline vs Badger Maps: A Quick Comparison

MyRouteOnline: Best for Field Sales and Service Requirements

Founded in 2009 by the father-daughter duo Dr. Baruch Axelrod and Inbal Axelrod, MyRouteOnline is among the leading free route planners. However, if your number of delivery addresses exceeds 6, you need to upgrade to a paid version to optimize routes. This software enables you to import multiple addresses and creates optimal routes for your delivery drivers.

This easily navigable mobile and web-based routing software offers credits-based pricing plans focused on meeting your routing requirements. Using MyRouteOnline, you can define the average stop duration for your deliveries that you want to consider during route planning. 
Equipped with saved routes and time- and distance-based route optimization, MyRouteOnline is ideal for basic routing needs unless you need advanced features like proof of delivery and live tracking.

MyRouteOnline pricing plans

MyRouteOnline pricing has multiple packages based on address credits where 1 unique address equals 1 address credit. These packages are segregated as per the range of features they offer. 

Basic

• Price: $24 for 50 address credits
• Includes: 50 address credits, 24/7 customer support, import Excel, Drive, Dropbox, export & email routes, MyRoute Driver’s App, single-user support
• Best for: Small delivery businesses with a handful of delivery addresses

Classic

• Price: $49/month (recurring billing) or $59 on the pay-as-you-go subscription model
• Includes: 500 address credits, all Basic features plus ‘Save & Reload Routes’, delivery tracking, 350 addresses per route, and multi-user support
• Best for: Mid-sized delivery businesses requiring multi-stop route planning and optimal sequencing of more stops per route

Premium

• Price: $99/month ( billing) or $109 on the pay-as-you-go subscription model
• Includes: 1200 address credits, all Classic features, plus unlimited users and API integration
• Best for: Large-sized delivery businesses handling huge delivery order volumes daily

Professional

• Price: $399 on the pay-as-you-go subscription model
• Includes: All Premium features plus 500 features per route 
• Best for: Enterprises serving customers country-wide or beyond domestic borders

Business

• Price: $799/pay as you go
• Includes: 15000 address credits
• Best for: Enterprises involved in global delivery services 

Key strengths of MyRouteOnline

Here are the key features or strengths of MyRouteOnline.

1. Flexible data import: MyRouteOnline allows you to import data, such as addresses or contacts, via Cloud Storage platforms like Google Drive or Dropbox or from Excel, CSV, and text files. This makes data import convenient, especially if you have your customer data in multiple formats saved across different locations online or offline. 

2. Route optimization: MyRouteOnline allows you to plan routes based on the maximum duration and stops per route, making route planning more flexible. It can also optimize routes based on time, distance, or departure, starting from the ‘nearest’ or ‘farthest’ stop first. 

3. Easy route adjustments & direction animations: This software enables you to drag and drop your stops on the map to rearrange their sequence, making it easy to accommodate last-minute changes efficiently. Using animated directions, you can also play and review your route before you or your driver start on it.  

4. Save and reload planned routes: This software allows you to plan delivery routes and archive them for future use. This helps you save time when planning optimal routes for the same addresses every time. While this is a useful feature, it is not available in the basic version, making it an expensive add-on for small businesses.

5. Integration: Zapier app integration lets you integrate over 5000 apps, including e-commerce platforms like WooCommerce or Shopify, time management platforms like Google Calendar, and emailing services like Gmail. This contributes to a seamless exchange of data across your existing business systems and improves overall work efficiency.

MyRouteOnline’s positive reviews

MyRouteOnline’s Weaknesses

1. Complex and expensive pricing packages: MyRouteOnline’s pricing structure is complex and expensive. Moreover, the Basic version does not offer features like ‘Save and Reload Routes’ and ‘multi-user support, ‘ limiting routing capabilities.

2. Dependency on the support team: Even after buying the costliest plan offering 15000 credits, you may need to contact customer support to activate 1000 stops per route. This may cause inconvenience and delays in route planning and optimization.

3. Absence of active tracking: This software shows the progress of your route based on the manual updates that your delivery drivers make after visiting each stop. However, this tracking is passive and doesn’t help you monitor your moving vehicle’s exact location.

4. No proof of delivery: Unlike route planning software such as Upper, MyRouteOnline doesn’t enable you to capture your customers’ digital signatures or photos of delivered items as evidence of successful deliveries.

5. Missing one-click dispatch: MyRouteOnline lacks the functionality of dispatching planned routes to your field sales reps via text or email messages, unlike leading delivery management software such as Upper or Circuit Route Planner.

MyRouteOnline’s Negative Reviews

Badger Maps: Suitable for sales businesses seeking standard route planning capabilities

Steve Benson and Aaron Tolson founded Badger Maps in 2012 with the vision of “mapping the data relevant to field sales or service executives to improve their work lives.” 

They introduce themselves as the “Maps for Field Teams” (as you can see in their tagline!). By enabling route planning for your sales reps or field service executives, Badger Maps paves the way to spending less time driving and maximizing visits. 

Besides, you can get weekly reports based on your on-field reps’ check-ins and check-outs to track their performance and get actionable insights to improve sales operations. 

It also focuses on features such as territory visualization, daily route view, and follow-up reminders, making it a viable option for sales businesses without advanced features like live tracking.

Badger Maps pricing plans

Business

• Price: $58 per user per month (billed annually)
• Includes: Route optimization, Lead prospecting, training, reporting, and data management
• Best for: Small teams of on-field salespeople 

Enterprise

• Price: $95 per user per month (billed annually)
• Includes: Everything in Business + Customization & compliance features
• Best for: Large companies with multiple sales teams across different territories

Key Strengths of Badger Maps

The USP of Badger Maps is that it is designed keeping in mind sales or field service businesses and hence, go-to sales or service route planner software.

Here are the other features you can consider the strengths of this software. 

1. Lasso: This route planner software lets you circle your desired accounts with your mouse or fingertips to define sales territories and create efficient routes to visit them. You can also instantly assign these territories to your field agents based on their location.

2. Route optimization: Badger Maps helps optimize routes with multiple stops (100+) and create daily meeting schedules quickly. However, routes may sometimes not be as optimal and efficient as some more advanced solutions can create, especially when handling complex sales data.

3. Custom check-ins: Badger Maps allows you to create customized check-ins to record ongoing field activities. Your field agents or reps can attach photos or notes to each check-in entry to capture important details and maintain proof of completed appointments.

4. Color & Filter: Badger Maps enables your sales reps to customize the color of your pins representing addresses based on criteria like priority, customer type, or days since last check-in and filter them to view only the desired locations.  

5. Turn-by-turn navigation: This routing software gives your field teams the freedom to pick from the most prominent GPS apps, including Waze, Google Maps, Apple Maps, Garmin, and Magellan for navigation.

Positive Reviews of Badger Maps

Weaknesses of Badger Maps

1. Lack of versatility: As already evident, Badger Maps is a leading name in route planners for sales businesses. While this may be their USP, it makes Badger Maps infeasible for delivery businesses seeking Google Maps alternatives to create routes for multiple destinations.

2. No real-time tracking: While Badger Maps offers passive tracking of your sales professionals through custom check-ins, it may not be feasible for those looking to live track their field sales operations. 

3. Pricing: No matter the size of your field sales team, Badger Maps doesn’t offer optimized routes at a discounted price for annual subscriptions. Instead, it charges $59 for every user you add, making it more expensive than software solutions like Upper that support more users at a feasible price.

4. Missing in-app navigation: While Badger Maps enables navigation via a preferable GPS, switching between it and a GPS app may sometimes be distracting and cumbersome, especially when driving. Further, the dependency on a third-party navigation app may cause sales routes to be inefficient in the absence of a seamless sync between Badger Maps and your GPS app. 

5. Limited customization: Badger Maps doesn’t allow your team of sales executives to add or edit fields in an account themselves, causing their dependence on you for it. It hinders their ability to customize fields and fill the information on new lead accounts that may not fit the existing fields on the go.

Negative Reviews of Badger Maps

Pricing Comparison: MyRouteOnline vs Badger Maps

1. Pricing structure: MyRouteOnline’s pricing is based on address credits provided on the pay-as-you-go model, recurring monthly billing, or both for two packages out of five. On the other hand, Badger Maps’s pricing is based on a fixed amount per user per month for annual subscriptions. 

2. Stop limits: MyRouteOnline comes with address credits for each package and combines the pay-as-you-go model for some plans. On the other hand, Badger Maps doesn’t mention any such limit and charges a fixed amount for each user you add based on the type of your plan.

3. Feature availability: Some key features, such as ‘save & reload routes’ and ‘delivery tracking,’ are available only in MyRouteOnline’s high-priced plans. Similarly, Badger Maps reserves features such as customization & compliance or location-verified check-ins for the high-priced plan.

4. Customer support: While both MyRouteOnline and Badger Maps provide customer assistance, Badger Maps is more responsive and resourceful in guiding a new user through the setup process, as reported.

5. Billing options: While MyRouteOnline doesn’t mention any specific discount criteria, it does offer special rates or additional credits on plans for enterprise usage. Badger Maps doesn’t mention any such discount.

Expert Insights on Pricing

Following consultations with industry veterans and in-depth market research, we’ve compiled a summary of pricing structures and primary considerations.

• MyRouteOnline’s pricing can be more suitable for small or medium-sized delivery businesses.
• Badger Maps offers per-user-based pricing that can be ideal for large-sized sales companies with thousands of contacts.
• MyRouteOnline’s complex pricing structure with both credit-based and monthly recurring billing models in some plans may make comparing and picking the right plan cumbersome.
• If you are looking for a more cost-effective solution with transparent pricing, Upper stands out as a superior software solution by offering:

1. Unlimited route creation
2. Transparent pricing without additional charges
3. A comprehensive feature set
4. High scalability and flexibility

• While Circuit and Routific may be suitable for businesses with specific needs and budgets, Upper’s overall value proposition and adaptability make it a preferred choice for delivery businesses seeking advanced routing solutions and long-term growth potential.
• Upper offers competitive monthly subscription rates and discounted annual billing options, making it a cost-effective choice for businesses of all sizes.

Key Feature Comparison between MyRouteOnline and Badger Maps

1. Route planning & optimization

Both route planners are good for route optimization. MyRouteOnline considers time, distance, maximum route duration, and vehicle constraints to suit delivery businesses. 

Badger Maps provides the Lasso tool to define sales territories and optimize routes for them, making it the right fit for field sales.

2. Live tracking

MyRouteOnline and Badger Maps provide passive tracking of on-field sales reps or drivers based on manual check-ins or delivery updates by field executives. This helps delivery/sales managers assess the route progress and make informed decisions.

3. Reports & analytics

While both the software provide summary activity or delivery reports, MyRouteOnline offers it in only one highest-paid package. Not only that, it mentions the provision of monthly reports in that plan only upon request.

4. Customer notifications

MyRouteOnline allows for setting up email and SMS notifications with ETAs. This feature keeps recipients informed about their delivery status, estimated arrival times, and any changes or updates. In contrast, Badger Maps doesn’t provide this functionality in any of their two plans.

5. Route and dispatch management

MyRouteOnline allows you to create and send saved route plans to drivers via email or SMS. While Badger Maps doesn’t allow you to send planned routes directly to your sales reps, it enables visualizing opportunities and optimizing routes to visit them.

6. Route adjustments

Real-time route modifications are crucial to accommodating priority or schedule changes or unforeseen situations like unfavorable weather. Both platforms enable easy stop adjustments, account reallocations/addresses, and route re-optimizations based on changes, and hence, they match in this department.

7. Customer support

Badger Maps offers more support options, including email, calls, demo videos, interactive training, and podcasts. It even runs Badger Sales University, which offers sales courses. However, MyRouteOnline has limited resources to learn more about the tool, making it challenging to operate.

Expert Insights on Overall Functionality

MyRouteOnline and Badger Maps both provide essential features for route planning.

• Both MyRouteOnline and Badger Maps are efficient route-planning software with optimal route optimization capabilities. However, MyRouteOnline is more focused on catering to delivery businesses, while Badger Maps is suitable for field sales businesses. 
• MyRouteOnline is popular for accommodating different time, distance, traffic, or vehicle constraints applicable to the delivery industry, making it ideal for businesses with varied delivery requirements. 
• Badger Maps is designed to solve the routing problems that traveling salespersons face and provide features like lead prospecting, making it a good fit for sales businesses.

While both MyRouteOnline and Badger Maps are renowned names in their respective industries, it is advisable to consider your specific routing requirements, budget, and pain points before picking a solution.

If you are looking for an alternative one-stop solution that provides features relevant to both industries, Upper may be a potential option.

• Advanced features at competitive prices: Upper offers advanced route optimization algorithms, real-time tracking, proof of delivery, delivery time windows, and dynamic customer notifications at competitive prices, ensuring your business’s scalability. 
• Route scheduling: Upper’s dynamic route scheduling algorithm lets you plan pickup and delivery schedules for months in advance, considering drivers’ working hours, delivery, or service time windows. It saves planners 10 hours a day. 
• Flexibility: Upper’s transparent pricing and custom features, such as color-coded priority stops, drag-and-drop route adjustments, and vehicle load distribution, make it a go-to choice for businesses of all sizes.
• Dedicated customer support: Upper provides dedicated support managers, technical consulting services, and extensive customization options for personalized assistance and optimized delivery or sales operations.
• Eco-conscious routing: Upper creates clean non-overlapping routes that may lead to multiple drivers crossing the same area, wasting their time and fuel. These efficient routes reduce the number of trips to deliver items, reducing fuel consumption and vehicle emissions. 

So, while Circuit and Routific have their strengths, Upper offers a more holistic and adaptable solution. This makes it a better choice for businesses seeking advanced routing solutions and long-term scalability.

Here’s what Upper’s users have to say.