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Google Maps is the world’s most used navigation platform. For getting from A to B, checking traffic, or finding a business nearby, it is unmatched. But for anyone who needs to plan a multi-stop route, optimize the order of dozens of addresses, save a route for repeated use, or dispatch routes to multiple drivers, Google Maps has real limitations that get in the way.
This page is the starting point for all you need to know about Google Maps. Choose the topic that matches what you are trying to do.
Google Maps supports multi-stop route planning up to a limit of 10 stops. Understanding how that feature works and where it falls short for business and high-volume use is the foundation of getting more out of your route planning.
Google Maps offers several features for building and adjusting routes beyond simple point-to-point directions. These guides cover everything from drawing custom routes to editing stops after a route has been planned.
One of the most common frustrations with Google Maps is that it does not save multi-stop routes between sessions. These guides explain exactly what Google Maps saves, what it does not, and how to solve the problem.
Google Maps has several features for adjusting your route direction and preferences that are frequently searched but not always easy to find. These guides explain where they are and how to use them.
The color-coded traffic layer in Google Maps is one of its most useful features once you understand what each color actually means. This is one of the most searched Google Maps topics and one of the most misunderstood.
Google Maps is a common starting point for road trip planning but has significant limits for longer journeys with many destinations. These guides cover how to use Google Maps for road trips and when a dedicated planner handles the job better.
Waze and Apple Maps are the two most common alternatives to Google Maps. Both have their own stop limits and routing behaviors that differ from Google Maps in important ways.
Google Maps has no bulk address import feature. Every address must be entered manually. For anyone working from an order export, a client list, or a delivery manifest, that is a significant daily time cost. These guides explain how to import address lists into a route planner and how to route using GPS coordinates.
For businesses that need more than Google Maps can offer, including more stops, automatic sequencing, multi-driver planning, Excel import, delivery tracking, or recurring route saving, dedicated route optimization software is the practical solution. These guides help evaluate the options.
MyRouteOnline does not replace Google Maps. It works alongside it. MyRouteOnline handles the planning and optimization layer, taking your address list, sequencing all stops in the most efficient order, and dividing them across multiple drivers if needed. Google Maps then handles the turn-by-turn navigation that your drivers already know.
Plans start at $19 per month. A Pay As You Go option is available from $24. Free trial available with no credit card required.
Google Maps supports a maximum of 10 stops per route on both desktop and mobile. Stops must be entered manually and reordered by dragging. For routes with more than 10 stops, or for routes that need to be automatically optimized in the most efficient sequence, a dedicated route planner like MyRouteOnline is required. MyRouteOnline supports up to 350 stops on standard plans and up to 1,000 stops on the Business plan.
Google Maps allows you to save individual places to lists, but it does not support saving a complete multi-stop route for later reuse. If you close Google Maps after building a route, the stop sequence is lost. To save, reload, edit, and share multi-stop routes across sessions and devices, a dedicated route planner like MyRouteOnline is required.
No. Google Maps routes stops in the exact order you enter them. It does not automatically reorder stops to find the most efficient sequence. Reordering must be done manually by dragging stops up or down the list. MyRouteOnline automatically sequences all stops to minimize total drive time or distance.
Google Maps uses a color-coded traffic layer to indicate road congestion. Green means traffic is flowing freely. Yellow indicates slower than normal traffic. Orange means moderately heavy traffic with noticeable delays. Red means heavy traffic with significant slowdowns. Dark red indicates severe congestion or near-standstill traffic. The colors are updated in real time based on GPS data from devices on the road.
In Google Maps directions, tap or click the two-arrows icon that appears between the starting point and destination fields. On iPhone and Android this icon appears to the left of the start and destination boxes. On desktop it appears between the From and To fields. Tapping the icon instantly reverses the route direction.
No. Google Maps does not support bulk address import from Excel, CSV, or any other file format. Every address must be entered manually, one at a time. MyRouteOnline accepts Excel, CSV, Google Sheets, and plain text address lists and imports them automatically using an Import Wizard that maps your columns to the correct fields.
MyRouteOnline handles the planning and optimization layer on top of Google Maps. You import your address list into MyRouteOnline, which automatically sequences all stops in the most efficient order and generates routes for all your drivers simultaneously. Each optimized route can then be exported to Google Maps for turn-by-turn navigation, so drivers use the familiar Google Maps interface on roads that have already been planned for efficiency.