Waze is the trusted navigation app of many long-distance travelers. It works in over 185 countries, with its largest user bases in the USA, Brazil, the UK, and Europe. That matters more than it sounds: the more drivers online at any given time, the better the updates, because Waze is a community-driven app at its core.
If you’re new to Waze, here’s how to use it for real-time traffic alerts — and why it’s a worthy alternative to Google Maps for anyone who spends serious time behind the wheel.
What is Waze?
Waze was launched in 2006 by Ehud Shabtai, Amir Shinar, and Uri Levine, originally as FreeMap Israel. Google bought it in June 2013, though the exact price has never been officially disclosed — Bloomberg reported around $1.1 billion at the time, while Israeli outlet Globes pegged it closer to $1.3 billion, and both figures still circulate today.
What’s less disputed is the scale of the app now. Waze has reported around 140 million monthly active users worldwide, and a recent EU regulatory filing under the Digital Services Act confirmed 50.5 million average monthly users in the EU alone for the second half of 2024. (Waze doesn’t publish a single, always-updated global figure, so any “150M users” or “200M users” claim you’ll see floating around should be taken with a pinch of salt.)
It’s a community-focused app with real-time traffic updates from users (Wazers). You, and the millions of other people on the road at the same time, can report accidents, traffic jams, potholes, police traps, diversions, and other delays. That live data lets Waze recommend the shortest journey times and keep you updated through voice alerts throughout your trip.
How Does the Waze App Work?
The whole point of Waze is to get you from where you are to where you want to go in as little time as possible. Though it’s part of Google’s lineup, it differs from Google Maps by focusing exclusively on driving, while Maps handles walking, cycling, and transit as well.
Download Waze for free, then start by setting your home and work address. You can save other addresses by tapping ‘New’ on the dashboard and adding them as shortcuts.
Then enter a zip code, point of interest, or place into the search bar to tell Waze where you want to go. The app takes a few seconds to calculate your route before showing you the best options.
Once you set off, you can update Waze when you notice issues on the road. Stopped vehicle in the breakdown lane? Police with a radar gun? Huge pothole in the middle of the road? Tap to report it. Other users contribute too, giving you up-to-date information all the way to your destination.
What you can customize:
- Pick a sidekick — Choose the voice that gives your directions. Options include celebrities, kids’ TV characters, and comedians, ranging from Christina Aguilera to Sonic the Hedgehog. You can also choose your preferred language (EN, ES, FR, DE, PT).
- Driving preferences — Personalize how Waze routes you. Avoid toll roads, ferries, or freeways, and toggle your preferred alerts and reports. The speedometer feature with a speed warning is also worth turning on.
- Plan a Drive — You don’t have to wait until you’re in the car. Hit ‘Plan a Drive’ and enter your proposed journey. You can even connect Waze to your calendar to plan upcoming trips already in your diary.
For long road trips where you’ll need a rental as well as routing, check our guide to the best car rental and airport transfer services — Waze works just as well in a rental as in your own car. And if you’re planning a US trip that combines driving with hiking, pair Waze with our guide to the best hiking apps for planning trails.
Pricing: Is Waze Free to Use?
Waze is completely free to use, with no hidden costs or charges. You can create an account if you like, or use Waze as a guest. Either way, every feature is unlocked from day one — Google monetizes the app through location-based advertising (a small banner may appear when you idle at a red light) rather than gating functionality behind a subscription.
For each update you contribute, you earn badges and unlock achievements, part of the app’s gamification features.
Waze Promos, Perks & What “Free” Really Gets You
Waze doesn’t run a points-for-discounts program (despite a long-standing user petition for one going back several years) and doesn’t issue promo codes. Its competitive advantage is structural: a fully featured navigation app that costs nothing and refuses to put its best tools behind a paywall.
- Every feature, free — Real-time alerts, voice navigation, route planning, and ETA sharing, all included from install
- Gamification badges — Report enough hazards and you’ll earn badges and Wazer ranks. They don’t cash in for anything, but contributors find them quietly motivating
- Live ETA sharing — Send your route and live arrival time to anyone, free of charge
- CarPlay and Android Auto — Both fully supported with no extra fee
Insider tip: Waze’s biggest “discount” is silent — its police alerts and speed-camera warnings routinely save drivers from a ticket. If you check the alert feed before pulling out of the driveway, the app pays for a year’s worth of premium rival navigation apps before you’ve finished your first long drive.
Reviews & Ratings: How Does Waze Hold Up?
Waze is highly rated, though, interestingly for a Google-owned app, it scores higher with iOS users than Android:
- App Store: 4.8 / 5 (3.2 million+ ratings)
- Google Play: 4.2 / 5 (8.6 million+ ratings, as of May 2026)
The Android score has dipped slightly in recent years — tech outlet autoevolution traced part of the drop to a 2023 dark-mode bug on CarPlay and slower bug-fix cycles after Google folded the Waze marketing team into Google Ads. Things have stabilized since.
“It’s the most dependable, reliable, and accurate navigation app. I wouldn’t go on a journey without it. Hazard up ahead warnings, speed cameras, police, etc., tremendous stuff.” — David Hadida, Google Play
Most reviewers agree that Waze shines for its community and real-time updates. Users also say it’s one of the best apps for avoiding traffic and hazards that Google Maps or Apple Maps don’t pick up. Several reviewers describe it as a free satellite navigation system, much more advanced than most other free direction apps you can download today.
For more apps worth keeping on your phone while traveling, browse our roundup of the best travel apps for 2026.
Any Good Alternatives to Waze? Google Maps Is the Obvious Choice
Google owns both Waze and Google Maps, which begs the question: which is better? Ultimately, it depends on what you’re looking for, because they’re quite different once you dig in.
For offline use, Google Maps is much better, since Waze requires a live connection. That means real data savings on a long journey and a more reliable experience when you’re spending hours on a freeway with no signal.
Google Maps also edges Waze on level of detail and depth of features. You can toggle between Street and Map view, which is genuinely helpful when you’re lost or arriving somewhere unfamiliar.
Where Waze knocks it out of the park is the community-driven updates. Knowing that a police van is parked a few kilometers ahead, or that a giant pothole is coming up over the brow of a hill, is the kind of information no other navigation app delivers.
