Best navigation apps for Canada to use on Android and iOS

GPS navigation is among the most desirable features of a phone. While exploring Toronto, riding a car or bicycle, traveling in Canada and so on it's better to follow the most optimal route. Navigation apps can help you with walking routes and getting to the desired location as fast as possible.

We've compared the most outstanding navigation apps for exploring Canada by the following criteria: its usability and functionality. In fact, at the end of the review we will sum everything up: which navigation app can be considered as the best one for Canada cities and Toronto in particular?

Canada Topo Maps

If you want detailed maps similar to those used by Garmin, Canada Topo Maps is an excellent choice. It is designed mostly for outdoor navigation and hiking. The maps will also be useful for cyclists, athletes, anglers and hunters.

Features of Canada Topo Maps:

• Maps can be downloaded for offline use
• Creating routes, importing and exporting them to a file
• Record route as you go via GPS
• Search: POIs, Points of Interest, Street names, Place names
• Use latitude and longitude for searching

Supported Map Types:

• Topomaps
• Toporama Maps
• Canada Basemap
• CanTopo
• Google Maps
• Bing Maps
• Open Street Maps

Most of the features related to the maps are only available in the paid version of the application. In particular, downloading offline maps, disabling advertising, the construction of routes are only possible in the Pro version.

All-In-One Offline Maps

All-In-One Offline Maps is the leading developer in navigation and digital maps. The app will help you navigate in Central Canada, Prairie Provinces, West Coast, Northern Territories and more.

Available maps:

• topographic maps
• satellite maps
• military maps
• topo maps

If there is no access to the mobile network or Wi-Fi, All-In-One Offline Maps will work provided that the offline maps have been downloaded on the iPhone or Android beforehand. If, however, the mobile tariff has a data allowance limit, this application will strive to minimize data downloads when displaying terrain maps.

Pros:

1. Map display options: you can switch between two- and three-dimensional modes, which might be especially useful in some cases while using offline maps of Canada.

2. Switching between satellites: under any weather conditions the map with POI is always available.

3. The movement is conveniently accompanied by information on the speed, time remaining until the destination point, distance of the nearest turn and so on. In general, the process of navigation is well-thought-out and easy-to-handle.

4. User-friendly interface. You can use the lion's share of brand features from the quick access bar (top line). Also you can choose between night and day map displays.

5. Voice control: mapping a route and giving commands to the app and it will take into account the pitch of your voice and its tone.

6. It's easy-to-use. While navigating in Canada, it's quite easy and handy to manage the offline map: there is a zoom and rotation of the map by movement features, you're able to switch between pre-installed profiles for any type of vehicle.

Avenza Maps

The features of Avenza Maps will be useful for all lovers of hiking and trekking. This application includes all types of maps that support offline work and therefore will be indispensable in any difficult conditions. According to the developers, most of the downloadable maps are free and have no restrictions.

Features of the application:

• Locating the user's location via GPS or Wi-Fi networks
• Track fixing and route recording as a file for later import and export
• Built-in high-precision compass
• Adding location information to track or photo
• Distance measurement between several objects or selected points on the map

One of the main advantages of Avenza application is wide set of maps which will be useful for travelers and tourists in Canada.

Here are just some of the supported map types:

• National Geographic
• Aviation
• HarperCollins
• Topo maps
• GeoTIFF
• Satellite maps

OsmAnd

OsmAnd will be a good choice if you need a car or pedestrian navigator. You can choose to download a map for any (even not the most popular) city in Canada: Toronto, Winnipeg, Victoria, Quebec, etc.

Let's list the advantages of the OsmAnd navigation app.

Pros:

1. Autonomy. First of all, OsmAnd is a decent offline navigation app. It's suitable for those who prefer to once download maps on their gadget and then never connect to the network and stay in offline mode.

2. Informative value. OsmAnd uses for navigation raster and vector maps called Open Street Maps which are compiled by the users of the service. They allow you to filter POI-objects (tourist attractions, museums, theaters, pharmacies etc.) and choose a profile for the corresponding vehicle. Any route can be optimized taking into account the shortest distance and avoiding toll and dirt roads, ferries and highways.

3. Customizable offline maps. You can add objects, create or edit maps on your own. Due to the support of plugins OsmAnd functionality is greatly expanded. For example, you can activate the monitoring system OsMo which will track other gadgets using this service; also you can add yourself to groups; download sea and ski maps; calculate the optimal distance between the specified points via GPX; impose contour lines and layers of relief which is the feature tourists and athletes are certain to appreciate.

4. Additional features: voice control, assistant, changing of screen orientation and profile.

Waze

Waze is another reach in information and details GPS navigation app for Android.

Many locations are supported including Fredericton, Trois-Rivières, Kitchener, Edmonton, Kelowna, etc.

Pros:

1. The social features which are integrated into Waze greatly improve the experience of driving. Its users can report any problem on the road: road repairs, traffic accidents, traffic jams, cameras and other “troubles”. Accordingly, other drivers are aware of all the changes. In addition to users' reviews, the app collects information from its own database on the server.

2. The map with routes is of great informative value. Waze uses OSM maps which have proven themselves to be highly detailed and accurate.

3. Waze automatically rebuilds a route if your phone or the app accidentally crashes or anything else that may interrupt the process of navigation occurs. Standard Google Maps doesn't do the same. In the same way Waze makes it easier to view a route or a map when needed and then it always returns to the car mode.

4. Waze partially supports offline mode. So you can build a route and follow it even if you don't have internet access. Read more about Waze offline maps here.

Guru Maps

Guru Maps app works anywhere in the Canada and will be useful for navigating major cities like Toronto or Ontario.

Main Features:

• Routing for biking, motorcycling, hiking
• Finding the best and alternative routes
• Voice guidance while navigating
• Download maps for offline work

Who will benefit from the Offline Map Navigation app:

• Those who would like to save money (it's easier to download a map of any Canada region instead)

• If you need support for several languages and countries (English, Spanish, German etc.)

• For planning trips and travels in Canada (you can make a complex route and save it for offline viewing)

• To compose optimal routes (you can choose the shortest or the most interesting route)

• To find cafes, gas stations, organizations on the map (the built-in catalog can be used for this)

Google Maps

When we were talking about Google Maps a year ago, we noted the following: at that time some features were not improved and optimized. By 2022 the situation has greatly changed for the better, especially from the perspective of a user.

Pros:

1. This navigation app is perfectly integrated with Okey Google, which allows you to enter questions via a special search bar with a microphone.

2. Google Maps is a completely free app which works offline in Canada.

3. Another undeniable advantage is close integration with Google Maps online service. No need to bother with the installation or activation of extra maps for Canada. Most often, this mobile app is already installed in Android.

Cons:

However, we can't skip some of its “trouble spots”.

1. The main inconvenience of the navigation app is the inability to download maps for the large areas of Canada or the United States. Only selected offline maps of cities or small regions are available – for example, Ontario or Toronto. After leaving the city, it's quite a challenge for a driver to do without online syncing.

2. The choice of locations and attractions in Google Maps is very poor: in order to get full information on hotels, restaurants, shops, schools and etc. which you can find nearby, you have to use third party applets (such as Foursquare or TripAdvisor).

3. It has no data on road traffic accidents and you can't add it yourself, even though such a feature would be pretty useful for warning other drivers.

4. Absence of data on speed control and lack of alternative voice assistants.

MAPS.ME

MAPS.ME is a great app for pedestrians and cyclists. It will help you use offline navigation in Canada. So you will save your money and at the same time you will always know where you are on the map.

Among the provinces, you can note places that are not always available as offline maps in other navigators:

• Alberta
• British Columbia
• Manitoba
• New Brunswick
• Newfoundland and Labrador
• Northwest Territories
• Nova Scotia
• Nunavut

Of course you will find Toronto, Ontario and other cities in the list. Osmand maps are used, which is a definite plus because they are free and of good quality.

Let's mention the most interesting features of Maps.me:

• Canadian maps are available in HD quality: they are perfectly detailed, there are house numbers and street names, objects
• Offline maps are universal: use them on a bike, while walking or driving
• Map adapts to mobile device orientation: vertically or horizontally
• Address search by category or geographic coordinates
• Creation of complex routes with several stops
• Voice navigation that will not distract you

Which maps app is the best one for Canada

Each of the above mentioned Android navigation apps, in some aspects (its features or maps) is better than the others and is good in its own way. Which one is the most suitable for you depends on your preferences, needs and views. We hope you will be able to choose the best maps app for Canada which you'll use for a long time.

A well-known company is responsible for the development of All-In-One Offline Maps; the quality of its products and level of technical support are at their best both for Android OS and other mobile devices.

All-In-One Offline Maps navigation app is quite appealing due to its openness and free maps. However, like any other evolving product this one has flaws. We hope the growing community will improve the quality of the app.

As for OsmAnd, this maps app will perfectly serve you when it's impossible to connect your mobile device to any network in Canada.

Google Maps is the best Android maps app with voice control. The best thing is that it's preinstalled on Android devices. Not very sophisticated travelers and drivers across Canada and the USA are likely to enjoy it.

Maps.me will be duly appreciated by keen travelers and pedestrians. This navigation app will please their eyes with maps rich in details and adapted for hiking. However, we would recommend Google Maps and Waze to drivers.

Other apps for hiking and offline navigation in Canada

• Sygic GPS Navigation & Maps - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sygic.aura

• MapFactor Navigator - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mapfactor.navigator

• Offline Maps, GPS Directions - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gps.maps.navigation.offlinemaps.drivingdirections

• Karta GPS Navigation & Traffic - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kartatech.karta.gps

• GPS, Offline Maps & Directions - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.maps.navigation.offlinemaps.traffic.gps.location.directions

• Citymapper - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.citymapper.app.release

• Gaia GPS: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.trailbehind.android.gaiagps.pro