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Alternatives to Google Maps
Offline, private maps and navigation that don't follow you around.
Google Maps is an excellent map run by an advertising company, and those two facts are connected. Maps that run on your phone from downloaded regions, built on OpenStreetMap data that volunteers edit and anyone may use, cut the connection. CoMaps gets you from A to B with no account and no trail.
This category is short for now because the field is young. We'd rather list one tool we can stand behind than ten we haven't tried, and more reviews will follow.
The tools
A benchmark review of the biggest tool in this category is on its way, so you can see what these are measured against.
How to choose
Ask three things. Does it work with no signal, because a good offline map is also a more reliable one on a hike or in a tunnel. Does it need an account, and does it say what it collects. And can you tell who pays for it. The honest trade-off with every alternative to Google Maps today is live traffic and business listings, where the giant still leads.
Questions people ask
Is there a Google Maps alternative that works offline?
Yes. CoMaps lets you download a region once and then search and navigate with no connection, and it needs no account.
Do I give up traffic information?
Mostly, yes. Offline maps can't match Google on live traffic or on opening hours for busy places, and some days that matters.
Where does the map data come from?
From OpenStreetMap, a map edited by volunteers around the world. It has gaps in some places, and you can fix them yourself.