If you have a business that needs to deliver to multiple locations each day, you probably already know route optimization software saves both time and fuel. These days, route optimization software (ROS) has been utilized beyond postal work and food delivery and expanded into almost every industry.
Everyone from real estate agents to contractors are taking advantage of support systems that save their drivers from distractions. Instead of showing up late, and causing all sorts of headaches for customers, ROS systems have streamlined the delivery industry, making driver’s work safer, more efficient, and easier. Customers are more satisfied and business owners can finally let go of the stress that their product or service won’t get there on time.
As the ROS market expands and renovates, each company has a variety of benefits. If you are looking to save money on route optimization, one of the more affordable options on the market is the RoadWarrior Planner. It has an impressive list of optimization features, rivaling leading ROS systems like Straightaway Route Planner.
Between Straightaway and RoadWarrior, which is best when it comes to basic features, accessibility, cost, and options? Let’s take a look…
A Quick Look at Both
RoadWarrior’s Special Features
The app provides users with customized route optimization and state-of the-art technology:
- Tech Savvy Route Planning System: RoadWarrior can plan a route in seconds. It will also factor in slow-moving school zones and traffic jams.
- Easygoing Course Selection: The app is flexible, with custom routes tailored to the user’s personal and job-related preferences, avoiding toll-roads and one-way streets, among other time hurdles .
- Cool Upgrade: For an additional $10.00 per user, businesses may upgrade to RoadWarrior Flex. This works well for large fleet business owners who want a little more involvement. With Flex, they have access to API functions and can share data with their teams, as well as plan and assign their driver’s routes.
- Driver Tracking: Road Warrior Teams allows users to look at how their drivers are doing. If they need to adjust the route of a driver who is falling behind, they can delegate the route to another driver.
Straightaway’s Special Features
Straightaway has taken the industry lead when it comes to its advanced optimization algorithm:
- Traffic Updates: To save time, Straightaway factors in potential slow-downs and real time circumstances. Whatever pop-ups on the road—street closures, bad traffic, lousy weather, or whatever else—the app will readjust and send the driver on the best alternative route to finish the job.
- Navigation made Easy: Forget about adjusting between GPS and the app. Straightaway takes safety seriously, and designed their built-in navigation to provide turn-by-turn directions so drivers can concentrate on the road.
- Fastest Route : Straightaway is on the cutting edge of route optimization, finding the quickest way possible, each and every time. Straightaway users say they save one hour per shift on average, which brings Straightaway straight to the top of the competition when it comes to maximizing efficiency.
- Photo Recognition: A simple way of adding addresses to a route, Straightaway offers instant capture stops. The process is simple: Take a picture of the list of addresses, then the app finds you the most efficient route.
Differences in Accessibility
Both Straightaway and RoadWarrior can be accessed on Android and iOS devices. Straightaway’s Team app version provides vehicle tracking and Enterprise support but doesn’t provide users the capability to download data onto a computer. On the other hand, RoadWarrior Flex permits users to log, create, and dispatch driver routes from their computers with the option to upload stops. This computer-generated spreadsheet allows for storage of frequented addresses.
Comparing Cost
Straightaway may be limited to the mobile app, but they beat RoadWarrior when it comes to value and pricing. The two apps both offer free apps and excellent pricing packages compared to other route optimization systems, but Straightaway wins the competition again with their annual payment option.
Straightaway Starter vs RoadWarrior Basic
Straightaway Starter/Free
- RouteAware with navigation included
- Make up to 25 stops
- Unlimited AddressDetect
RoadWarrior Basic/Free:
- Limits users to 8-stop routes
- Search and optimize 50 stops
- Availability routing with traffic watch and scheduling
Here’s the skinny on the free services that both offer routing and navigation services: RoadWarrior allows for up to 50 stops, but drivers can only make eight stops per route. Straightaway allows users to optimize a 25-stop route, which can be more advantageous for small-scale deliveries.
Next tier: Straightaway Personal vs RoadWarrior Pro
Straightaway Personal: $9.99/month or $95.99/year
- Built-in navigation
- Up to 250 stops
- Unlimited optimizations
- TrafficAware routing
- Unlimited route options
- Unlimited AddressDetect services
RoadWarrior Pro: $10.00/month
- Search and optimize 500 stops
- Limited 120-stop routes
- Backup data and sync to servers
- Traffic, schedules, and availability routing
- Reporting and upload capabilities
Though it’s great that RoadWarrior gives users the option of 500 stops and 120-stop routes as well as the option to sync, upload, and report data on a server, Straightaway offers superior technologies: TrafficAware and AddressDetect. In addition, Straightaway makes delivering easy, allowing 250-stop routes and an unlimited amount of routes and optimizations.
Premium Packages
Straightaway Teams: Contact sales team for rates
- Enterprise support
- Vehicle tracking services
- Unlimited routes
- Up to 250 stops
- Team discounts
RoadWarrior Flex: $10.00/month plus $10.00 per additional driver
- Report, upload, and backup data to servers
- Trace, monitor, and assign routes with dispatcher web app
- Create up to 200-stop routes
- Search and optimize 500 stops, plus 500 extra per additional driver
- Schedules, traffic, and availability routing services
Though both ROS systems offer some impressive group package deals, Straightaway’s actual route capabilities are far superior. Straightaway’s Team version of their app, offers 250-stops and unlimited routes, as well as vehicle tracking and dedicated Enterprise support. Meanwhile, RoadWarrior Flex only allows 200 stops per route. Users are allowed 500 optimized stops daily with an added 500 per extra driver, yet each person costs an additional $10.00.
And the best is…
RoadWarrior is definitely up there as one of the leaders in availability and management of large fleets, but it falls short meeting the needs of smaller outfits. At all three tiers of Straightaway, there are more options for number of stops and route optimizations for Personal and Team users. The best option economically as well, Straightaway package prices are extremely low for the value: providing navigation, real-time traffic adjustments, instant address capture, and more.
