The secret to on-time deliveries isn’t just speed—it’s thoughtful planning. A hidden hero lies behind every smart delivery business plan: delivery route planning software.
It eliminates the guesswork in route creation. Last-mile optimization software leverages sophisticated algorithms and real-time data to automatically generate the most efficient routes for your drivers.
It helps minimize fuel expenses, save time, and improve driver productivity.
But with so many options on the market, choosing the right multi-stop route optimization software can be overwhelming. That’s why we compiled the best six delivery route planning software in 2024 in this article to help you select the one that best fits your requirements.
Table of Contents
1. Route4Me – the most comprehensive and carbon-neutral delivery route planning software
Route4Me’s route planner is the most comprehensive software for multi-stop route planning.
Since its inception in 2009, Route4Me has planned over 30 million routes and optimized over 3 billion miles, earning the trust of over 40,000 customers worldwide.
Route4Me’s routing software is designed for businesses of all sizes, from small and medium to enterprise, making it the best delivery route planning software.
Route4Me’s platform natively supports machine learning, data science, and AI workloads. Its patented route optimization technology considers weather, traffic, roadblocks, delivery time windows, vehicle capacity, and other routing constraints to plan the best route with turn-by-turn directions, which is 35% shorter on average.
With Route4Me, you can save over $1,000 if you spend over $ 3,000 on fuel! That’s a significant cost-saving benefit that you can confidently count on.
The best part is that you can plan routes for unlimited stops in less than 60 seconds.
Route4Me’s last-mile optimization solution can also optimize routes for multiple vehicle types with loading and carrying capacities.
Route4Me has a built-in geocoder that autocorrects any wrong addresses entered into the system, so you never need to worry about failed deliveries. You can even set up specific constraints to customize delivery routing according to your requirements.
The multiple-stop route optimizer lets you reassign drivers and vehicles, move an address from one route to another, and track route progress in real time.
Route4Me is also considered ‘The Godfather of Green” because of its environmentally focused culture.
Route4Me’s delivery routing app has reduced carbon emissions by over 10 billion tons by optimizing routes and avoiding unnecessary work and distances.
Key Features
- Route simulation
- Single and multi-driver optimization
- Voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation
- Integrated barcode scanner
- API integration
- Customer alerts and notifications to automatically notify customers about their package status
- A customer portal to enable end customers to track their package status in real-time
- You can attach GPS-trackable notes and media to any stop on your route.
- Sign-on-glass eSignatures for electronic proof of delivery
- Speed alert to notify whenever a driver crosses the speed limit
- Real-time synchronization with your iPhone, iPad, and Android devices
- Geofencing to automate check-in and check-out
- Built-in commercial GPS tracker to track vehicles and drivers in real-time
- Color coding to mark hot and cold leads on the map
- Route scheduling to schedule routes for months in advance.
- Interactive Map Screen to identify areas for potential new businesses
- Comprehensive reporting and analytics to monitor performance and fuel expenses
- Driver Breaks to ensure drivers get sufficient breaks to stay productive
- Users can add notes, pictures, and videos
- Mobile apps for both Android and iOS users
- Territory mapping to break service areas into optimally sized territories
- Offline mode to ensure drivers can still use Route4Me to navigate, capture data, and finish stops without internet
Pros
- One-click dispatch
- User-friendly interface
- Cloud-based so you can create, track, and manage routes while on the go
- You can connect Route4Me to your order management system for a seamless last-mile delivery workflow.
- You can plan routes that change daily, weekly, or seasonally
- 24/7/365 customer support through email, phone, and live chat
- Ensures balanced workload distribution
- You can re-optimize routes instantly to accommodate last-minute changes
- Scalable for all sizes of businesses
- No credit card is required to sign up for the free trial
Cons
- New users may experience an initial learning curve. However, RouteMe has a dedicated onboarding team that can help users start using Route4Me effortlessly.
Free Trial and Pricing
Route4Me offers a free trial for seven days.
Route4Me offers three packages.
- $40/user/month for route management
- $60/user/month for route optimization
- $90/user/month for more advanced route optimization, such as applying business rules and priorities, managing mixed fleets and driver skills, and more. In fact, it is the most popular plan used by thousands of Route4Me’s customers.
Route4Me also offers an Enterprise Optimization plan, which allows customizing Route4Me to meet specific enterprise requirements with advanced business and routing analytics, unique operational workflows, professional services, industry compliance, advanced algorithms, and integrations.
Want To See For Yourself How Route4Me Can Help Plan Efficient Delivery Routes?
2. Onfleet – best if you have no budget limitations
Onfleet is another popular delivery route planning software focusing solely on delivery management.
Within Onfleet, you can seamlessly plan multi-stop routes, dispatch, and track. It integrates with popular navigation apps such as Google Maps, Waze, and Apple Maps.
Within the software, you can search routes using keywords like customer name, pickup or delivery instructions, and status.
Plus, it offers integrated customer communication, enabling customers to message or call a driver, contact center, or dispatcher with a single tap.
Key Features
- Real-time driver tracking
- Barcode scanning
- Auto-assign engine to distribute workload efficiently.
- In-app chat to enable drivers to communicate with both dispatchers and customers.
- Automatic SMS notifications to provide status updates to customers
- Driver analytics
- Electronic proof of delivery
Pros
- You can access a 90-day historical analysis within Onfleet.
- Personalized customer communication
- Good customer support
Cons
- Steep learning curve due to complex user interface (UI)
- Pricing is not suitable for small businesses with budget restrictions
- No color coding feature
- Lacks timeline views
- Users report there have been repetitive issues with integration.
- Making changes to routes is difficult.
Free Trial and Pricing
Onfeet offers a 14-day free trial.
The pricing starts at $550 per month, with a limit of 2000 delivery or pickup tasks. They offer another plan with more tasks and features that costs $1,265 monthly.
Onfleet also offers custom plans for enterprise customers, but the pricing plan is not publicly available.
3. OptimoRoute – best if you need a return to depot functionality
OptimoRoute is ideal for both field and delivery services.
You can plan routes quickly, considering variables such as vehicle load capacity, travel duration, and delivery driver work hours, and seamlessly cover a high volume of daily pickups and deliveries.
It lets you set up individual driver profiles with their shift schedules (including breaks and overtime), skills, vehicle types, start/end locations, and even speed and cost settings.
Key Features
- ‘Breadcrumb’ feature to compare planned routes to actual
- Return to depot functionality
- Live tracking and ETA
- Customizable customer notifications through email and SMS
- Digital proof of delivery, such as electronic customer signature.
- Dedicated mobile app for drivers
- Built-in analytics
- Barcode scanning
- Real-time route modification
- Workload balancing feature to ensure even task distribution.
Pros
- Flexible
- It is best for teams using Garmin and Tom Tom.
- Comprehensive analytics
- Customers can rate the delivery experience and comment
- 30-day free trial
Cons
- No live customer support option
- Route planning for contract drivers is challenging.
- Outdated mapping for driver monitoring makes getting accurate details about drivers’ locations difficult
- Route amendment after optimization is not easy.
Free Trial and Pricing
OptimoRoute offers a 3o-days free trial.
It offers three pricing plans. The basic plan, ‘Lite,’ starts at $39 per driver per month, and the next-level plan, ‘Pro,’ costs $49 per driver per month and has more features.
OptimoRoute also offers custom pricing for businesses that need to plan thousands of orders at once, require expert support, and more advanced features. However, the pricing isn’t publicly disclosed.
4. Routific – best if you want per-vehicle pricing
Routific claims the software best suits small- to medium-sized businesses that deliver locally.
Its advanced route optimization algorithm considers vehicle capacities, delivery time windows, distance, and more routing constraints to generate multi-stop routes.
Key Features
- It can accommodate mixed route types, including routes with different start times and heterogenous vehicles.
- It allows sync orders from e-commerce platforms to automate workflows
- Live tracking
- Electronic proof of delivery
- Automated customer notifications through email or SMS
- Routing engine API
- Delivery analytics
- One-click dispatch to drivers
- Timeline view to track delivery progress
Pros
- User-friendly interface
- Predefined route templates
- Seamless onboarding
- You can reassign stops between drivers instantly
- Round-the-clock, in-house customer support
Multi-Stop Route Planner App
Cons
- Limited customization for customer notification
- Lacks barcode scanning feature
- There is no in-app driver chat feature
- There is no option for direct communication between customers and drivers
- It can’t do multi-day planning
- Lacks return to depot feature
- No breadcrumb tracking feature
Free Trial and Pricing
Routific offers a 7-day free trial.
The monthly price is $49 per vehicle for route optimization and basic dispatching. However, it offers two more pricing plans, which cost $69 and $93 per vehicle per month, with more features such as GPS tracking and customer notifications.
5. Upper – best for both delivery and field service teams
Upper Route Planner is a delivery route planning software for small and medium-sized businesses. You can import up to 500 multiple addresses into the software and create routes instantly.
The software considers several routing constraints, such as delivery distances, time windows, traffic congestion, and driver availability, to plan optimal routes.
Key Features
- Real-time driver tracking
- Route scheduling
- Offline mode
- Electronic proof of delivery
- One-click driver dispatch
- Customer notifications
- Reporting and analytics
- API integration
Pros
- Allows route editing to accommodate last-minute changes
- You can create routes in advance
Cons
- Lacks multi-depot planning
- No barcode scanning feature
- It doesn’t offer voice navigation
- Annoying pop-ups
- It doesn’t allow access to all the features under free trial
Free Trial and Pricing
Upper Route Planner provides a 7-day free trial.
They offer three pricing plans. The primary or essentials plan costs $150 monthly for up to 3 users, including 250 stops at once.
The second plan, known as the growth plan, costs $300 per month for up to 5 users, including up to 500 stops. It also has additional features such as proof of delivery and custom fields.
They also offer an enterprise plan that includes more than 500 stops and allows access to all their advanced features. However, you need to contact them for pricing.
6. RoadWarrior – best for individual drivers with budget restrictions
RoadWarrior is a cloud-based delivery route planning software for individual drivers and delivery businesses.
It considers drop-off priorities, school zones, traffic, one-way trips, tolls, and more constraints to create routes with up to 500 stops daily.
You can add or remove drivers and manage access permissions. It also offers drag-and-drop functionality, which helps you move stops for route adjustments seamlessly. You can even merge different routes into one route to ensure timely deliveries.
Key Features
- Real-time driver tracking
- Proof of delivery signature and photo collection
- Supports uploading of manifests from UPS, FedEx, Amazon, and OnTrac
- Bulk order import/export
- Dispatcher web app
Pros
- Easy-to-use interface
- Separate apps for drivers and teams
- Affordable for drivers and small businesses
- Creates faster routes than Google Maps
Cons
- Lacks automated customer notification feature
- Latency issues
- The software cannot be installed on Windows or Mac
Free Trial and Pricing
RoadWarrior offers a 7-day free trial. Unlike other software, it provides only one pricing plan: $14.99 monthly for each team member. The plan includes 200 stops on each route and 500 daily stops for each driver.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Delivery Route Planning Software
What is a delivery route planner?
Is there an app to plan delivery routes?
Wrapping Up
In conclusion, choosing the right delivery route planning software is crucial to making your delivery operations efficient and profitable.
Among the top contenders in the market are Route4Me, Onfleet, OptimoRoute, Routific, Upper, and RoadWarrior. Each offers unique features tailored to meet the diverse needs of delivery businesses.
For example, if you have basic route planning requirements for individual drivers, RoadWarrior might work for you.
However, if you need a comprehensive and advanced route planner, Route4Me is the best solution. In fact, Route4Me’s delivery planning software is designed for all business sizes—small, medium, and enterprise.
Therefore, no matter your requirements, you can ensure timely deliveries and improve customer satisfaction by leveraging these cutting-edge delivery route planners shared in this article while minimizing costs and environmental impact. Plus, you can stay ahead of your competitors in this ever-changing delivery service industry.
Want To See For Yourself How Route4Me Can Help Plan Efficient Delivery Routes?
