MAPS.ME: Offline Maps, GPS Nav 4+

no ads and in-app purchases! and yes it's really free.

This free app is already at the top of the heap simply because it has no ads and in-app purchases. But moreover, it's actually useful! You can use this without an internet connection. This means if you're a cheapskate like me and don't have a data plan, you can still use this. After downloading this app at home, just download the maps you need. The maps are detailed with many POI's included. It'll also create a route from your current location to a destination on the map. It's better than CityMaps2Go which I used before until it started charging a fee.

There are a few things I wish they change. First, the name. It doesn't conform with other app names. Second, the icon color. Green is usually for chatting apps like Message and FaceTime. And third, either the arrow color or route color need to change when trying to follow a route on the map. Both the arrow color and route color are the same color blue and it's difficult to see where you are along the route. Other than these things, this app is perfect.

I love this app

I just got back from a two week road trip in Norway. I live in the US and was not wanting to buy an international plan for data. I downloaded this app after I read that it doesn’t use WiFi or data. The minute that we got into our rental car and we’re trying to find out how to get to our hotel I turned on this app. I put in the town name and a bunch of option popped up, including hotels, restaurants and sightseeing opportunities. Still being new to the app I was waiting for an error message to pop saying I needed to connect to a server. Fast forward to the last day of vacation. We traveled over 3,500 miles in Norway, Finland and Sweden and every time this app took us to the place we wanted to be. This entire vacation was stress free and we didn’t have to worry about using the gigantic paper maps when we got lost. If your planning on traveling to a country or location that you know you won’t have service or your like me and does not want to pay extra charges for an international plan download this app.

Poor navigation

I tried this app both offline and online in a pretty rural area that I know well of Connecticut and I really am not convinced I could trust it when abroad. First, the directions are very basic, no indication of any kind about the exit numbers or general directions to follow, no indications about stops and sometimes, it got very confused with curved roads telling me to keep left or right for no reason. It just says turn right, turn left, that’s it. You better keep an eye on the screen to understand where you go. Second, it does not choose the shortest route. When on my way home from point A, it told me to exit then instead of turning right, it was going straight, back to the highway I just left?????? And finally, searching an address should be simple bit within this app, it is just a nightmare, you never know what to input first: state? Town? Street? Number? Who designed this? I mean, I entered my home address, it did not find it the way it is recorded by the postal services! Why not guide the user in how to input the address? Now, given the poorness of navigating in a “rural” area, I don’t think this is going to work in Paris, France… I grew up in Paris’s outskirts and this thing is going to lose me.

Developer Response ,

Good afternoon! Thanks for your feedback. Please update to the latest version of the app and this should resolve the issue. Let us know if you have any further issues and we'll be happy to help. Thanks so much for your patience.