Phone GPS will get you across town. It can also dump you at 8% battery with a climb still left. The useful question isn't which app looks nicest in a screenshot. It's which one still works when coverage dies, and whether you'll keep the screen on for two hours.
Do you want spoken turns, or just an arrow so you can watch the road?
Strava, Komoot, Beeline, what3words, Ride with GPS, and Bikemap all handle bike navigation. They don't share one job. Some plan quieter roads. Some keep working after the signal drops. Some try to keep the display dark so the phone lasts.
None of them fix hardware. GPS plus a bright map still burns power. A two-hour urban loop is often fine. A day ride is a different bet. Many cyclists plan on a phone or laptop, then send the file to a bike computer. BikeRadar and Cyclist.co.uk both treat that split as normal, not a failure of the apps.
This is about the phone in your pocket or stem bag. It isn't your e-bike pack. Don't mix those two batteries in your head.
Phone GPS still limits how far you can navigate
A cycling app that holds a satellite lock, redraws a map, and talks through every junction will drain a phone faster than a simple ride recorder. That's physics, not bad luck.
Turns out the screen is usually the expensive part. Keeping a map lit for hours costs far more than quietly logging a track in your pocket. Dim the display. Lock it when you can. Leave full-brightness turn-by-turn running and you'll feel it before lunch.
Cold weather makes this worse. So does hunting for satellites under trees at the start. Close other location apps. Don't leave navigation running after you stop. Review which apps get "always" location access. Those are small habits. They add up.
A phone stuffed in a stem bag, screen on, GPS locked, maybe still hunting a tower, will heat up and sag at the same time, and that heat-and-drain pairing is what kills the afternoon even when the meter looked fine in the parking lot, even when you started at 100%. Cyclist.co.uk notes that riders often build the route on a larger screen, then ride it on a GPS computer. Heat is part of it. Drain is the rest.
For anything past a couple of hours, treat the phone as the planner. Record if you want. Don't bet the ride on the last 20%.
Features that actually change a ride
Offline maps matter more than another social feed. If you drop into a canyon or a quiet county road, the missing piece is map and route data already stored on the device.
Komoot is built around that. You download a route or a region before you lose internet, then you can view the map, use turn-by-turn, and record without a connection. Planning and editing still need the network. Live location sharing does too. That's from Komoot's offline download help.
Quiet-road planning and segments are Strava's lane. The laptop planner is the part road cyclists still talk about. Full route planning has sat behind a paywall since 2020, which BikeRadar flagged years ago. Pricing depends on the country. Don't assume the free tier still builds the route you want.
Simple guidance is the other fork. Beeline's compass mode points an arrow at the destination instead of stacking voice prompts. The free Beeline app also plans routes and can lean on that lighter Compass option if you don't want a full map in your face.
Precision isn't routing. what3words gives every 3-by-3-meter square a three-word address, which BikeRadar covers as a way to share an exact spot. Handy for a meetup or a mechanical. It isn't a substitute for a route file.
Community libraries fill gaps the big planners miss. Bikemap and Ride with GPS both live on user-built paths. Quality varies. Read the surface before you trust a line through a bridleway.
Here's the short filter:
- Offline download if you'll leave coverage
- Arrow or map, based on how much you want to look down
- A real export to a bike computer for long days
- A check on whether routing is free or locked
How the six apps compare
The table is a snapshot, not a scoreboard. Features overlap. Costs shift by country and plan. Battery drain still comes from GPS and the screen on every one of them.
| App | What it's for | Cost pattern | Offline | Friction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strava | Quiet roads, segments, laptop planning | Full route planning paid since 2020; prices vary by country | Phone GPS still drains; this is not the dead-zone specialist | Paywall; heavy screen use if you navigate on the handset |
| Komoot | Offline maps, community highlights | One region free for many new accounts; paid packs, Premium, or World Pack for more | Yes, if you download the route or region first | Planning and edits need internet |
| Beeline | Compass arrow and simpler routes | Free app; hardware and extras vary | Lighter screen use, GPS still runs | Not a deep map toolbox |
| what3words | Share a 3-by-3-meter spot | Free core app | Not a full route planner | GPS drain if you treat it like turn-by-turn |
| Ride with GPS | Custom routes and offline files | Subscription for premium tools | Yes; a typical 60-mile route is about 20MB | Some suggested paths don't match the bike |
| Bikemap | Community route library | Free with Premium upgrades | Premium lets you download maps and routes as you wish | Route quality is uneven |
Use this to shortlist two apps. Then test them on a known loop. Don't buy a year of anything from a table alone.
Where each app actually helps
Thing is, Strava and Komoot get compared like they're twins. They aren't. Strava still wins the argument for riders who care about segments and want a quiet-road line built on a laptop, then exported. Komoot wins when you need the map in your pocket after the bars disappear. New Komoot accounts can often unlock one region without paying. Broader offline map access hangs on purchased regions, a World Pack, or Premium. Navigation can also depend on the region around the route's start point, so a saved line isn't a blank check for the whole country.
Ride with GPS is the custom-build shop. You draw the path, then store it on the phone. Its offline help says a typical 60-mile route takes about 20MB, the on-phone map type is RWGPS Cycle based on OpenStreetMap, and you can download a whole state or country if you want extra room to wander. Storage fills up if you hoard the library. A Loop roundup also noted complaints that some suggested lines, including rough bridleways, don't fit a road or hybrid bike. Check the surface. Don't blindly follow the purple line.
Bikemap is volume: lots of rider-made tracks, lots of countries, quality that varies, the quality of a random community track really does vary, so you still have to read elevation and surface before you commit. Premium adds voice navigation, a 14-day money-back window, and the ability to download as many maps and routes as you want for offline use.
Beeline and what3words sit off to the side on purpose. Beeline is for people who hate map clutter. You can ride the suggested line or switch to Compass and follow an arrow. It syncs with Strava and Komoot, and it exists as a phone app even if you never buy the handlebar unit. what3words is the pin, not the itinerary. Three words get someone to a gate, a trailhead, or the exact spot you broke a chain. Use it with another planner if you need a full cue sheet.
Export beats a dead phone
If the ride is long, send the route to a bike computer. The phone can stay in a pocket as a backup recorder.
How to pick an app for the ride you have
Match the tool to Saturday, not to a feature page.
- Name the ride. Short city loop, mixed-surface day, or a tour with dead zones.
- Decide who holds the map. Phone in a mount, phone in a pocket, or a bike computer with the phone as backup.
- Check the paywall before you draw 80 miles. Strava route planning has been paid since 2020. Komoot's free slice is often one region. Ride with GPS and Bikemap lock some offline and voice tools behind Premium.
- Download the file on wifi. Then open airplane mode in your kitchen and confirm the line still appears.
- Ride a 20-minute test with the screen dimmed. If the battery already looks nervous, that app is a planner, not an all-day navigator.
Short rides and segment chasing point toward Strava, planned on a laptop if you can. Off-grid days point toward Komoot with the region already on the phone. Minimal screen time points toward Beeline's compass. Meetups and mechanicals point toward what3words plus some other route file. Custom drafting points toward Ride with GPS. Browsing a huge pile of community tracks points toward Bikemap, with your own judgment on surface.
Download the maps before you leave coverage
to be honest, Komoot's offline story is the one people get wrong: they assume the app is always offline, then they hit a dead zone with nothing saved. Open Profile, go to Saved routes, pick the ride, and download or save it offline before you leave wifi. Regional maps live under Profile, then Maps. With Premium or the World Pack you can save a custom area you draw yourself. If a download button doesn't appear, that region may have no preset pack, and a custom area is the workaround. App stores in some countries restrict how region downloads are offered. Creating or editing a route still needs internet. Live tracking does too.
Ride with GPS is similar in spirit. Download All or Download Routes, wait for the check mark, and remember the file lives on the phone. Too many offline routes eat storage. The extra map around the line is there so you can get back on track after a missed turn.
Bikemap Premium is the blunt version: download maps and routes as you wish, then ride. Beeline is lighter by design, so you're trading map depth for less clutter. what3words won't replace any of those downloads.
Preload on wifi. Confirm in airplane mode. Then go.
FAQ
Are bike navigation apps hard on phone batteries?
Yes. Holding a GPS fix and lighting a map drains a phone fast. Short rides are the realistic on-phone case unless you charge or dim aggressively.
Is Strava route planning free?
No. Route planning has been behind a paywall since 2020. Subscription prices vary by country.
Can you use Komoot offline?
Yes, if you download the route or map first. New accounts often get one region. Wider offline access depends on purchased regions, a World Pack, or Premium.
How does Beeline's compass mode work?
It points an arrow toward the destination instead of stacking turn-by-turn instructions. You can still follow a planned route when you want the fuller line.
Should I navigate on a phone or a bike computer?
Use a bike computer for long days. Phone batteries fade under sustained GPS and screen use. Plan on a larger screen, export the file, and keep the phone as backup.
Pick one app tonight. Download the route on wifi. Ride a short loop with the screen dimmed. You'll know by the driveway whether the phone can carry Saturday or a computer should take the cue sheet.