How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Rankite is independent; if a vendor ever pays for a featured spot, that listing is clearly labeled Partner.
Key takeaways
- Routific is the best-documented pick for local delivery teams, with a free tier covering up to 100 orders a month.
- OptimoRoute and Upper suit teams with complex constraints; Upper's flat $40 per user per month is the most predictable pricing here.
- Onfleet and Tookan target larger operations that need dispatch automation, courier networks and APIs.
- Solo drivers should start with RoadWarrior ($10/month) or Zeo before paying for team software.
Most delivery teams do not have a routing problem. They have a Tuesday problem: a driver calls in sick, three orders arrive after dispatch, and the dispatcher rebuilds every route by hand while the clock runs. Good route planning software earns its money on those mornings, not on the clean days.
This guide covers ten tools that exist today, from free driver apps to enterprise dispatch platforms. The right choice depends less on features and more on your pricing model, so read the pricing section before you fall in love with a demo.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Routific | Local delivery teams planning daily routes | $150/month (free for up to 100 orders/month) | Yes |
 OptimoRoute | Complex multi-driver and field service routes | See website | No |
 Onfleet | Mid-market and enterprise delivery operations | See website | Free trial |
 Route4Me | Teams wanting maximum configurability | See website | Free trial |
 Upper | Multi-stop teams wanting predictable pricing | $40/user/month | No |
 Track-POD | Proof-of-delivery-first operations | See website | Free trial |
 Tookan | On-demand dispatch at enterprise scale | See website | No |
 Spoke | Drivers, couriers and retailers (formerly Circuit) | See website | Yes |
 RoadWarrior | Solo drivers and small fleets | $10/month (Pro); free plan up to 8 stops | Yes |
 Zeo | Budget-friendly fleets with many drivers | See website | No |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best delivery route planning software
Starting price$150/month (free for up to 100 orders/month)
Free planYes
Routific is the route planner other vendors compare themselves against, and its homepage tells you why: a dispatcher dashboard with a combined timeline and map, drag-and-drop stop reassignment, proof of delivery with timestamps, and customer notifications with live tracking links. The free tier covers up to 100 orders a month, which lets a small bakery or meal-prep business run on it indefinitely.
The catch is the pricing model. At $150 a month for up to 1,000 orders, costs climb with every delivery, and high-volume teams often find per-driver pricing cheaper. It is also a planning-first tool; if your business is on-demand dispatch with orders arriving all day, Onfleet or Tookan fit better.
What we like- Free tier for up to 100 orders a month
- Dispatcher timeline plus map view
- Shopify and 9,000+ app integrations
- Strong customer ratings
Watch out for- Per-order pricing gets expensive as volume grows
- Not built for on-demand dispatch
- Real-time driver tracking is thinner than rivals
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
OptimoRoute is the planner for messy, constrained routes. It juggles time windows, vehicle capacity, driver skills and multi-day schedules in one optimization pass, then pushes the plan to a driver app with navigation and proof-of-delivery capture. Field service businesses and distributors with recurring routes get the most from it.
The honest weakness is the editing experience: when the day breaks and you need to reshape routes by hand, the interface fights you more than Routific's timeline does. Pricing is per driver per month, so do the math at your actual headcount before committing.
What we like- Handles time windows, capacity and skill constraints well
- Workload balancing across drivers
- Driver app with proof of delivery
- Detailed analytics
Watch out for- Manual route edits can feel awkward
- Per-driver pricing penalizes large teams
- Higher tiers need a sales conversation
Starting priceSee website
Free planFree trial
Onfleet stops being route software and starts being delivery infrastructure. Its auto-dispatch weaves on-demand orders into active routes in real time, and the Onfleet Connect network lets you hand overflow to third-party couriers without leaving the platform. Pharmacy, medical and meal-kit companies use it where chain of custody and compliance matter.
That power comes at enterprise prices and enterprise complexity. A five-driver local business will pay for capability it never touches and wait longer to go live. If you run hundreds of daily tasks across in-house and outsourced drivers, though, few platforms match it.
What we like- AI-powered auto-dispatch for on-demand orders
- Courier network of 150+ partners
- Chain-of-custody proof of delivery
- Strong API and Shopify integration
Watch out for- Entry pricing is steep for small teams
- Overkill for simple daily route planning
- Onboarding takes longer than self-serve tools
Starting priceSee website
Free planFree trial
Route4Me is the flexible option in this lineup. Beyond core route optimization it offers GPS tracking, territory management, customer notifications and a marketplace of optional features, serving everyone from florists to waste haulers. The free trial lets you test with real stops before talking to sales.
Flexibility has a side effect worth knowing: the engine's habit of minimizing vehicle count can produce routes that look efficient and exhaust drivers. Budget time to tune the settings, and price the add-ons you actually need rather than the base plan alone.
What we like- Huge feature set with a marketplace of add-ons
- 40,000+ customers across industries
- Territory management
- Strong analytics
Watch out for- The optimizer minimizes vehicles, which can overload drivers
- Add-on costs stack up
- The breadth makes setup complex
Starting price$40/user/month
Free planNo
Upper prices per user, not per order, and that changes the math. At $40 per user per month, a team doing 5,000 deliveries pays the same as a team doing 500, which makes budgeting simple. The platform pairs route optimization with an AI dispatcher that reassigns work when drivers no-show or stops run long, instead of forcing a full rebuild.
The trade-off is maturity. Upper is newer than Routific or Onfleet, and its enterprise reference list is shorter. The sales process runs through demos rather than self-serve signup. For multi-stop operations tired of watching per-order bills climb, the pricing model alone earns it a trial.
What we like- Flat per-user pricing, no per-order meter
- AI dispatch that replans when the day changes
- Proof of delivery and customer notifications
- Strong fit for waste, distribution and medical routes
Watch out for- Newer brand with a shorter track record
- Demo-led sales process
- Less proven at enterprise scale than Onfleet
Starting priceSee website
Free planFree trial
Track-POD leads with proof of delivery, not routing. Its driver app captures signatures, photos, geotags and barcode scans into customizable POD documents that feed invoicing and ERP systems, which is why distributors and 3PLs with compliance requirements choose it. Route optimization is included and competent.
Read the plan structure carefully before buying. The tiers are confusing and the driver app carries its own licensing, so the headline price and the real price can differ. If routing quality is your top priority, Routific or OptimoRoute optimize better; if POD paperwork is the pain, Track-POD wins.
What we like- Deep electronic proof of delivery with signatures, photos and barcodes
- Offline-capable driver app
- Custom POD forms for compliance
- Real-time tracking
Watch out for- Plan tiers are confusing
- Driver app licensing adds cost
- Routing is secondary to delivery management
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Tookan is the enterprise pick hiding inside Jungleworks. It automates dispatch by assigning orders to the nearest available agent, supports customer, agent, manager and picker apps, and extends through a marketplace of add-ons for payments, SMS and ordering platforms. Large food and logistics brands run on it.
Two cautions. First, the old tookan.com domain now shows a parking page; the product lives at jungleworks.com/tookan, so bookmark the right address. Second, pricing combines a base plan with per-task fees, and public reviews flag slow support responses. Get the full cost model in writing before signing.
What we like- Automated dispatch with geo-fencing
- White-label customer tracking
- Extensions marketplace
- Serves food, grocery, courier and logistics verticals
Watch out for- Standalone tookan.com domain is parked, which confuses buyers
- Per-task fees add up beyond the base plan
- Support responsiveness gets mixed reviews
Starting priceSee website
Free planYes
Spoke is what Circuit became. The company rebranded its last-mile delivery suite, and getcircuit.com now serves three audiences: a free driver app for route optimization and navigation, a delivery management platform for courier companies, and a marketplace where retailers find local couriers. For a driver or a tiny courier outfit, the free app is a genuine gift.
The rebrand is still settling, so expect some outdated Circuit references in reviews and app stores. Team and platform pricing is not published, which means a sales conversation for anything beyond the driver app. It is a good starting point, not yet a full enterprise alternative.
What we like- Free driver app for route optimization
- Dedicated platform for courier companies
- Retailer marketplace for finding local couriers
- Simple to start
Watch out for- The Circuit-to-Spoke rebrand still causes confusion
- Team pricing is not transparent
- Smaller ecosystem than the big platforms
Starting price$10/month (Pro); free plan up to 8 stops
Free planYes
RoadWarrior is the driver's app that grew a team plan. Built originally for delivery drivers and now developed under MapQuest's owner System1, it optimizes up to 120 stops per route on the $10/month Pro plan and imports manifests directly from FedEx, UPS, OnTrac and Amazon. The 7-day free trial and honest published pricing are refreshing in this category.
It is still a driver-first tool. The Teams plan adds a dispatcher dashboard and live tracking, but dispatch automation is thinner than Onfleet or Upper. For solo drivers and small fleets that live in the app all day, that focus is exactly right.
What we like- Published pricing from $10/month
- Imports FedEx, UPS and Amazon manifests
- Up to 200 stops per route on Teams
- 4.8-star app with 3M+ downloads
Watch out for- Teams plan at $49 plus $20 per extra driver adds up
- Routing-first, lighter on dispatch
- Pro billed through app stores
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Zeo is the budget-friendly fleet option with a huge driver base. Its per-seat pricing model means fleet owners pay for dispatcher seats rather than every driver, which keeps costs down as teams grow. Features cover the essentials: route optimization, real-time tracking, proof of delivery, customer messaging and one-click auto-assign.
The honest trade is depth. Zeo does the basics well but does not match OptimoRoute's constraint handling or Onfleet's dispatch intelligence. Pricing is not published, so expect a demo before numbers. For cost-conscious fleets running straightforward delivery routes, it is strong value.
What we like- Per-seat pricing instead of per-driver
- Huge driver base (1.5M+ drivers)
- One-click auto-assign
- Shopify and Zapier integrations
Watch out for- Support quality varies by account
- Less routing depth than OptimoRoute
- Pricing requires a demo conversation
The pricing models, explained
Route planning vendors charge in four ways, and the cheapest option depends on your shape. Per-order pricing (Routific: $150/month for up to 1,000 orders) favors low-volume teams and punishes growth. Per-driver pricing (Upper at $40/user/month, RoadWarrior Pro at $10/month) is predictable but penalizes large headcounts. Per-seat pricing (Zeo) charges for dispatchers rather than drivers, which suits big driver pools. Per-task pricing (Tookan) looks cheap until task fees stack up.
Run your own numbers before the demo. A team with 5 drivers doing 3,000 orders a month pays very different totals under each model, and the ranking flips completely at 10 drivers or 10,000 orders. Ask every vendor for the all-in monthly cost at your volume, including driver app licenses, SMS notification fees and any per-task charges.
What to check before you buy
Start with the driver app, because drivers decide whether the software works. It must handle their stop count, work with gloves on, navigate turn by turn and capture proof of delivery with photos and signatures. An app drivers hate becomes shelfware within a month.
Then check the customer experience. Live tracking links and accurate ETAs cut "where is my driver" calls dramatically, which is often the fastest payback in the whole purchase. Confirm notification branding and SMS costs, since some vendors charge per message.
Finally, verify integrations and offline behavior. If orders live in Shopify, WooCommerce or a custom system, confirm the integration is real and two-way, not a CSV import with a nice name. And if drivers work in dead zones, test offline mode on a real route before signing.
Frequently asked questions
What is delivery route planning software?
Software that turns a list of delivery stops into efficient routes, assigns them to drivers, tracks progress in real time and collects proof of delivery. Most tools also notify customers with live ETAs.
How much does route planning software cost?
From free (Spoke driver app, RoadWarrior's 8-stop plan, Routific's 100-order tier) to $10-$40 per driver per month for team tools, up to enterprise platforms quoted per operation. Expect $50 to $500 a month for a small team.
Per-order vs per-driver pricing: which is cheaper?
Per-order wins below a few hundred deliveries a month; per-driver wins above that. A 5-driver team doing 3,000 orders will almost always pay less per driver than per order. Model both at your volume.
Do drivers need a separate app?
Yes, for anything beyond a solo driver. Every team tool here ships a driver app for navigation, stop sequencing and proof of delivery. Check app store ratings before buying; drivers will tell you the truth there.
Can it handle same-day and on-demand orders?
Onfleet, Tookan and Upper are built for it, with auto-dispatch that inserts new orders into active routes. Routific, OptimoRoute and Route4Me focus on planned daily routes and handle intraday changes less gracefully.
Does it integrate with Shopify?
Routific, Onfleet, Upper, Track-POD and Zeo all offer Shopify integrations, and most support Zapier for everything else. Confirm whether the integration syncs orders both ways or only imports them.
How we chose
We did not run delivery routes with these tools. We compared vendor pricing pages, documentation, public reviews on G2, Capterra and the app stores, published feature lists, integration options and fit for small and mid-size US delivery operations. Products that shut down or rebranded were handled directly: Tookan moved under Jungleworks and Circuit became Spoke.
Sources we checked (13)
- https://routific.com/
- https://www.routific.com/blog/best-route-planning-software-for-deliveries
- https://www.routific.com/blog/best-last-mile-delivery-software
- https://optimoroute.com
- https://onfleet.com/
- https://route4me.com
- https://upperinc.com/
- https://www.upperinc.com/alternatives/routific/
- https://track-pod.com/
- https://jungleworks.com/tookan/
- https://getcircuit.com/
- https://roadwarrior.app/
- https://zeorouteplanner.com/
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has spent more than a decade helping SaaS and e-commerce brands grow through search. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.