Google Maps vs Waze vs HERE WeGo: how I use each navigation app

I do not think there is one perfect navigation app. After years of moving around cities, planning weekend trips, riding a bike, driving, and using public transport, I ended up with a simple rule: I choose the navigation app by the situation.

For me, the real question is not only Google Maps vs Waze vs HERE WeGo. The bigger question is how to keep the same favorite places available everywhere, without saving the same cafe, hotel, office, viewpoint, or parking spot three times.

Google Maps is still my first choice for cycling

When I ride a bike, I usually start with Google Maps. It is familiar, fast, and good for discovering places around me while I am already moving through the city. For bike rides, I care less about a perfect long-distance route and more about quick context: where the streets are, what is nearby, and how far the next stop really is.

That is why Google Maps works well for my everyday cycling navigation. I can check a route, save a place I notice, and return to it later. The only problem is that those saved places then live inside Google Maps, even when I later want to drive with Waze or check transport with HERE.

Waze is what I open for car navigation and road trips

For driving, especially on longer routes, I usually trust Waze. It feels built around the road: traffic, alerts, turns, delays, and the small things that matter when you are actually behind the wheel. For road trips, Waze is my practical choice.

But Waze is not where I want to keep my whole personal map. I do not want my restaurants, cycling stops, public transport destinations, and travel ideas locked into a single driving app. I want Waze to do what it does best: get me there by car.

My Saved Places connects the whole navigation setup

This is why I built My Saved Places. It is not trying to replace Google Maps, Waze, HERE WeGo, Apple Maps, or any other navigation app. It is the layer above them: a simple saved places app where I keep my locations once, then open the right destination in the right navigation app.

Google Maps is my choice for cycling and discovery. Waze is my choice for car navigation and road trips. HERE WeGo is useful for public transport and travel backup. My Saved Places is where I keep the actual memory of the places, so I can use whichever navigator fits the moment.