Google Maps vs. Waze: I've driven with the two best navigation apps, and one is muc...

ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form. Written by Elyse Betters Picaro, Senior Contributing EditorSenior Contributing Editor May 4, 2026 at 4:00 a.m. PT Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. The internet is loaded with claims that Waze leaves Google Maps in the dust. But is that really true? I'm a longtime Google Maps (and Google Earth) user. I swear by it and regularly side-eye anyone who says otherwise (especially, god forbid, Apple Maps users). I'm a tech editor, though, so I do my best to set aside personal bias in the name of journa