A road trip tracker app that maps every road you drive
What each kind of road-trip app is good at, how to track a trip with OVERDRIVE, what it costs for one trip, and when another app is the better pick.
By OVERDRIVE · Published October 16, 2026 · Facts checked October 16, 2026
Short answer: OVERDRIVE (iPhone) records each leg of a road trip that you start, snaps it to the real roads and paints every road onto one map, anywhere on earth, so the whole trip stays lit when you get home and every leg can be replayed. It is not a trip planner (Roadtrippers is) or a photo travel diary (Polarsteps and Track My Journey are), and it doesn't track automatically: you start each leg while parked. Speed is never scored or ranked.
Get OVERDRIVE on the App Store
iPhone only · Free download, first two drives free · Speed is never scored
Four kinds of road-trip app
"Road trip tracker" covers apps that do quite different things. It helps to know which one you want before you download anything:
- Planners help you choose the route and the stops before you leave. Roadtrippers is the big one: its listing says you can plan up to three stops free, or up to 150 per trip with Premium, with offline maps and CarPlay.
- Travel journals turn a trip into a story to share. Polarsteps lists automatic route tracking on a world map, photos, videos and stories for each stop, and printed Travel Books. Track My Journey starts and stops with one tap, lets you attach photos to places and exports GPX.
- Drive-stats apps tell you about how you drove. Enroad lists automatic trip tracking, trip summaries and detailed driving stats such as braking, cornering and G-force. Wheelz detects drives automatically and builds a profile around your cars.
- Road maps show which roads you have actually driven. That is what OVERDRIVE does: every road of the trip is painted onto one map, snapped to the street, and every leg can be replayed.
Road-trip apps compared
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| App | Best at | How tracking starts | Map of your trip | Photos | Price (US) | US ratings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OVERDRIVE: Road Tracker & Map | A lit-up map of every road you drove | You start each leg while parked; it then records hands-free | Every road painted on one map, snapped to the street; each leg can be replayed | No; 9:16 share posters | Free download, first two drives free; then OVERDRIVE Pro (subscription or Lifetime) | None yet |
| Roadtrippers - Trip Planner | Planning routes and stops | A planner rather than a tracker | Your planned route | — | Free; Premium for up to 150 stops | 61,523 |
| Polarsteps | A travel diary to share | "Automatic route tracking" | Your route on a world map | Photos, videos and stories; printed Travel Books | Free download | 9,849 |
| Track My Journey - Travel Log | A route log with photos and GPX export | One tap to start and stop | Route history on a map | Photos attached to locations | Free download | 1,097 |
| Enroad – Drive Tracker | Stats on how you drive | "Automatic trip tracking" | Trip history and summaries | Shareable trip images | Free; Enroad Pro for advanced stats | 6,736 |
| Wheelz - Social Drive Tracker | Automatic drive logging with a car profile | Automatic, in the background | Route history in a timeline | — | Free; Wheelz Pro $4.99/week, $9.99/month or $49.99/year | 4,103 |
How to track a road trip with OVERDRIVE
Before you leave
- Put the phone in a mount and plug it in if you can: GPS for hours costs battery. Low-power mode in Garage uses coarser GPS and no motion sensor to save battery on long drives (Flow is approximate in this mode).
- If you will run a navigation app in front, turn on Background Recording and allow "Always" location, so the drive keeps recording with OVERDRIVE in the background or the screen off.
- There is nothing to set up per country: roads paint anywhere on earth, using OpenStreetMap data. The map loads its tiles over the network, so plan for mobile data if you travel abroad.
Each leg
- Start the drive while parked, then drive. Nothing needs a tap while the car is moving; distance, time and flow show on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island.
- End the drive when you park. The leg is snapped to the real roads and the Results replay draws it in light: distance, new road, flow, medals and XP.
At stops and at home
- Every road of the trip stays lit on your map, and any saved leg can be replayed later.
- Share a leg as a 9:16 poster if you want to. Posters leave off the first and last 300 m of every drive.
With other cars
- Convoy shows accepted friends and crew-mates on your map while you drive. It is off until you switch it on. It shares your position while OVERDRIVE is open on screen and, if Background Recording is on, during a drive with the screen off; otherwise you drop off their maps within three minutes of leaving the app or switching it off.
- A crew pools the distance its members paint. Passengers can use Passenger mode, which paints without scoring.
What it costs for one trip
Your first two drives are free with everything unlocked, so a short first leg shows you how it works. After that, every drive needs OVERDRIVE Pro. In the US that is $3.99 a week, $9.99 a month or $34.99 a year (the annual and monthly plans have a 3-day free trial for eligible new subscribers; the weekly plan has none), or a one-time Lifetime purchase: $29.99 until 31 October 2026, then $49.99. For a single week-long trip the weekly plan is the cheapest way in; remember that it renews until you cancel it in Settings. If you will keep using the app, Lifetime costs less than one year of the annual plan until 31 October. Prices vary by country, and the app shows the price in your currency before you pay.
Sharing a trip map safely
- Every poster leaves off the first and last 300 m of the drive, so where you start and stop stays private.
- The route poster also prints your average and top speed. If you would rather not share those, pick the distance, flow or medal design instead.
- Convoy is only for accepted friends and current crew-mates, but crews are public by default and anyone can join a public crew, so use a private crew for a trip with people you know. Don't post a live location publicly while you are travelling.
THE FIRST PAINT: road trips count (15–31 October 2026)
If your trip falls inside the window, its kilometres count toward OVERDRIVE's first competition. Whoever covers the most kilometres between 00:00 UTC on 15 October and 23:59 UTC on 31 October 2026 wins USD 50; second place gets one month of OVERDRIVE Pro and third place one week. Distance is the only measure: speed is not part of the score. Entry is free with an email address in the app's Social tab, for drivers 18 or over who are legally allowed to drive, and drives after your first two still need OVERDRIVE Pro. Drive as you normally would and obey every traffic law. The full rules are in the app. The competition is run by the OVERDRIVE team; Apple is not a sponsor.
Where OVERDRIVE is not the right pick
- You want to plan the route and the stops: use a planner such as Roadtrippers. OVERDRIVE records drives; it doesn't plan them.
- You want a photo diary for family and friends: Polarsteps or Track My Journey.
- You want every drive logged without touching the phone: Polarsteps, Enroad and Wheelz say they track automatically. In OVERDRIVE you start each leg yourself while parked.
- You need directions: OVERDRIVE is not turn-by-turn navigation. Keep Apple Maps, Google Maps or Waze running for that.
- You use Android, or want it on the car's screen: OVERDRIVE is iPhone only and has no CarPlay app.
- You need a mileage log for tax or expenses: it isn't designed for that.
OVERDRIVE is free to download and your first two drives are free. After that, OVERDRIVE Pro costs $3.99 a week, $9.99 a month or $34.99 a year in the US (prices vary by country), or a one-time Lifetime purchase ($29.99 until 31 October 2026, then $49.99). The annual and monthly plans include a 3-day free trial for eligible new subscribers; the weekly plan has none. The price and any trial are shown in the app before you pay.
Frequently asked questions
Does OVERDRIVE track my road trip automatically?
No. You start each leg while parked, and OVERDRIVE then records hands-free until you end it. With the optional Background Recording setting it keeps going with the screen off or with a navigation app in front.
Does it work abroad?
Yes. Roads paint anywhere on earth, using OpenStreetMap data, and 230 cities in 53 countries and territories also have curated zones. The app is in 14 languages. It loads map tiles over the network, so you need mobile data.
Can I print my road trip map?
OVERDRIVE doesn't offer printing. It makes 9:16 share images of a drive (distance, flow, medal and route designs) that you can save or share. If you want a printed book of a trip, Polarsteps lists printed Travel Books.
Does OVERDRIVE score my speed?
No. Speed is never scored, ranked or part of any competition, and there is no lap timer or drift score. The score is Flow, which measures how smoothly you drove.
Will it drain my battery on a long drive?
It uses GPS, so it costs more than an idle phone. Low-power mode in Garage uses coarser GPS to save battery on long drives, and keeping the phone on a charger helps.
Can friends in another car follow along?
Yes, with Convoy, if you are friends or in the same crew. It is off until you switch it on. It shares your position while OVERDRIVE is open on screen and, if Background Recording is on, during a drive with the screen off; otherwise you drop off their maps within three minutes of leaving the app or switching it off. See An app to drive with friends.
How much does OVERDRIVE cost?
OVERDRIVE is free to download and your first two drives are free. After that, OVERDRIVE Pro costs $3.99 a week, $9.99 a month or $34.99 a year in the US (prices vary by country), or a one-time Lifetime purchase ($29.99 until 31 October 2026, then $49.99). The annual and monthly plans include a 3-day free trial for eligible new subscribers; the weekly plan has none. The price and any trial are shown in the app before you pay.
Sources
Checked October 15 and 16, 2026. OVERDRIVE facts come from the App Store listing and the app itself (version 2.0.0); other apps' features come from their App Store listings.
- OVERDRIVE fact sheet: https://overdriveapps.com/facts/
- OVERDRIVE support (map tiles): https://overdriveapps.com/support.html
- OVERDRIVE on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6790023849
- Roadtrippers - Trip Planner, App Store listing: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id944060491
- Polarsteps, App Store listing: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id947925763
- Track My Journey - Travel Log, App Store listing: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1278152021
- Enroad – Drive Tracker, App Store listing: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6757245082
- Wheelz - Social Drive Tracker, App Store listing: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6774287184
- App Store data for all of the above (ratings, prices): https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=6790023849,944060491,947925763,1278152021,6757245082,6774287184&country=us