How many stops can you add in each map app
There is no single answer to how many stops a map app allows, because every app picked a different number and none of them announce when it changes. Here are the current numbers, a way to check yours in a minute, and the part nobody mentions: what it costs when the list does not fit.
Short answer
Every consumer map app has a ceiling, and the ceilings are low. The confirmed numbers today:
| App | Stops per route | Reorders your stops |
|---|---|---|
| Waze | 1 | no order to change |
| Google Maps | 9 plus your start | no |
| Apple Maps | up to 14 along the route | no |
| MapQuest | 26, labeled A to Z | yes |
| Daymilo | 90 including the start | yes |
The second column is the one people look up. The third column is the one that decides how long the day takes.
Where those numbers come from
Google's help states nine stops, which together with your starting point makes ten addresses. Apple's help states up to 14 stops along a route, for driving and cycling. Waze's help is explicit that you can add only one stop per destination. MapQuest labels stops with letters, and there are 26 letters.
Those four are stable enough to plan around. Anything more precise, or any number for an app not listed here, is worth checking yourself rather than taking on trust.
How to check your own limit in a minute
App versions differ, and limits change quietly between releases. The check is quick:
Do this on the device you actually drive with. A limit found on the website does not always match the phone.
Why the limits differ so much
The number is a product decision, not a technical one. Routing through twenty points is not meaningfully harder for a server than routing through ten.
What differs is what each app thinks it is for. Waze is built around one trip and live road reports. Google Maps and Apple Maps are general purpose and keep the interface simple. MapQuest kept an old fashioned desktop route planner, and that audience wanted long lists.
What happens when the list does not fit
You split the day. A route of fourteen addresses becomes two routes of nine and five, usually cut by neighborhood because that is what a sensible person does.
And splitting costs something that is invisible while you do it: the order can only be computed inside each piece. Nothing ever looks at the day as a whole.
What splitting costs in miles
Fourteen stops, sorted by area and cut at the nine stop ceiling, with the order tuned by hand inside each piece, come to 53 miles. That includes the drive between the end of the first route and the start of the second, which the app never shows you because it is two separate routes.
The same fourteen stops computed as one route come to 46 miles. Seven miles, on a small day, for no change in the work.
The comparison is deliberately strict: a tidy human plan against a computed one, not a random shuffle against a computed one.
The limits that are not about numbers
Two constraints matter as much as the stop count and never appear in a comparison table:
- How addresses get in. Typing twenty addresses into twenty fields is ten minutes of work. Pasting a column takes a few seconds. The app with the higher ceiling is not automatically the faster one to use.
- Whether the order is computed. A twenty six stop route in the order you typed it can easily be longer than a nine stop route that was computed properly.
What to do when your list is longer than the ceiling
Three options, in order of how well they work:
- Compute the order across the whole list, then drive it in any app. The stop limit of the navigation app stops mattering, because you are following a plan rather than asking it for one.
- Split by geography and tune each piece. Free and fine for a light day. You pay for it at the seams.
- Just drive the list in the order it arrived. Common, and the most expensive option of the three.
FAQ
How many stops can Google Maps handle?
Nine stops plus your starting point, so ten addresses per route, on phone and desktop alike.
How many stops does Apple Maps allow?
Apple's help says up to 14 stops along a route, available since iOS 16 for driving and cycling directions.
Why does Waze only allow one stop?
Because it is built around a single trip with live traffic rather than around a working day. One stop per destination is the documented behavior, not a bug.
Which free app allows the most stops?
Among the mainstream map services, MapQuest, at 26 stops. It is also the only one of the four that will reorder them for you.
Do these limits change?
Yes, quietly, between app versions. That is why the minute long check above is worth more than any number written down, including the ones in this table.
Is a higher stop limit always better?
No. A long route driven in the order you typed it can be worse than a short one that was computed. The ceiling matters less than whether anything is choosing the sequence.