European Alternatives to Google Maps
Google's mapping and navigation app. Detailed maps, Street View, place search and GPS navigation.
Google Maps Features
- Detailed worldwide maps
- Street View
- Place and business search
- GPS navigation
- Public transit
- Place reviews and photos
Price: Free (with data collection)
Why leave Google Maps?
- Google records your location history even when you disable the option, through other settings enabled by default
- In 2018, Google paid $391.5 million for tracking 2 billion users' locations despite their refusal
- Only 12.8% of users are aware of personal data collected by Google Maps and how it's used
- Google Maps is subject to the US CLOUD Act: US authorities can demand access to your location data
- Detailed location history has been used by US police to identify suspects through geofencing warrants
Recommended : HERE WeGo
GPS navigation app based in Eindhoven (Netherlands), published by HERE Technologies — a consortium owned by Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Bosch, Intel and Pioneer. Uses the same professional maps as German carmakers. Free, ad-free, no account required.
Country : NL
Compatibility Scores
- Migration : 70/100
- GDPR : 92/100
- Features : 85/100
- Overall Score : 84/100
HERE WeGo Features
- Turn-by-turn voice navigation in multiple languages
- Downloadable offline maps (full countries)
- Public transit + multimodal (car, bike, walking, taxi)
- Real professional maps (Audi/BMW/Mercedes/Bosch consortium)
- No ads, no account required
- CarPlay and Android Auto compatible
Price: Free
Why this choice?
HERE WeGo is our recommendation for Google Maps users who want a true professional alternative without profiling: free, ad-free, no account required, with the maps from the Audi/BMW/Mercedes/Bosch consortium used by premium carmakers. It naturally replaces Magic Earth after its 2026 paywall switch, and lets you download entire countries offline (vs ~50,000 km² max with Google).
Switch from Google Maps to HERE WeGo
Strengths
- Free, ad-free (Google Maps inserts sponsored ads in search and POIs)
- No account required (Google Maps ties everything to your Google account and Timeline)
- Offline maps by full country (Google Maps limits to ~50,000 km²)
- Real professional maps from the Audi/BMW/Mercedes consortium (Google also owns its maps, but with massive profiling)
- EU hosting outside CLOUD Act (Google Maps subject to CLOUD Act + US data transfer)
Weaknesses
- No Street View or integrated satellite imagery
- Fewer POIs, reviews and photos (no Local Guides program)
- No integration with Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Pay
All Alternatives
- HERE WeGo (NL) — Score : 84/100 (Recommended)
- TomTom AmiGO (NL) — Score : 82/100
- Roole Map (FR) — Score : 70/100