Which is better Yandex Navigator or Google Maps: pros and cons of services. Which navigator is better, Yandex or Google Which navigator is better, Yandex or Google

Just 10–15 years ago, you could purchase paper maps of a city, region or country in almost any auto supply store or stationery store. Of course, their ease of use remained highly questionable. Today, the task of navigation on personal and public transport, building routes for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as a number of other functions, have been taken over by online services synchronized with the GPS module. We will compare the two most popular services and try to figure out which is better - Yandex Navigator or Google Maps.

Comparison of maps from Yandex and Google

In the era of information technology, the software market is constantly becoming saturated with new programs and applications. Just enter the word “Navigator” into the Google Market search bar to get a list of several dozen services, including both commercial and free GPS systems. Nevertheless, about 85% of users prefer software from Google or Yandex as the most accurate, reliable and easy to use. Their feedback, as well as expert assessments, formed the basis of the table below of the characteristics and capabilities of the applications. All ratings are given on a 10-point scale.

Table: advantages and disadvantages of Google Maps and Yandex.Navigator

Yandex.Navigator won by a small margin (about 0.3%). Its main advantage was the ergonomic, informative and colorful interface of the mobile application. The accuracy of the route and satellite tracking, complete and timely voice prompts were noted. Yandex has a surprisingly good system for informing about traffic jams, accidents and traffic cameras, which drivers will certainly appreciate.

At the same time, Google Maps is better suited for pedestrians and travelers - they indicate the exact location of tourism facilities and infrastructure, provide informative descriptions of most establishments, present their photographs, and indicate their operating hours.

The choice of a specific service, as always, remains yours. But it’s better to install two applications at once and compare their data - then the journey will always be easy and pleasant.

Electronic guides became popular in Russia about ten years ago. Then luminous boxes began to appear en masse both on new Audis and Mercedes, and on dead Zhigulis. Nowadays you hardly see a navigator in the form of a separate gadget: it has turned into a mobile application for a smartphone, which is always at hand. And the main function of such a guide is not just to guide you to the final point, but to offer the fastest possible route bypassing traffic jams and other difficulties.

Two by two

Relatively recently, Yandex.Navigator and Google expanded functionality. Maps of individual areas can be downloaded to your phone in advance, but this does not make them completely autonomous. Yandex can only plot a route if it has access to the Internet, and will not lead without it. Rather, this is a safety net in case there is a section on the road without communication: a map will be displayed on the screen, which you can use to navigate yourself.

Google without the Internet is only able to create a car route (there is also a pedestrian route for public transport). In this case, it will have no alternative, and almost all possible settings will be disabled. It turns out only slightly better than Yandex.

If you are sure that you always (or almost always) have access to the Internet on your way, you can opt for online assistants. They are free and, compared to classic navigators, practically do not take up phone memory.

An interesting nuance: Google and Yandex.Navigator encourage violators who use a smartphone without a hands-free device while driving. Hints about maneuvers are sent in the background to the driver’s ear, so you can drive using the navigator and talk on the phone at the same time. But Navitel and CityGuide stop guiding along the route when there is an active call. Moreover, after its completion, it takes quite a long time to update the position of the car on the map - it won’t take long to miss the desired turn.

Red zone

From general information about applications, let's move on to what exactly they can do.

To test their abilities, we compiled a route around Moscow with seven intermediate stops. We will record the time it takes to complete each segment and the total time spent on the entire trip. Addresses were not chosen at random: there must be at least two possible paths between points for navigators to choose the optimal one. And since these areas are quite familiar to me from my daily trips, I will be able to evaluate how adequate the route each program offers.

The test took place on a weekday, so traffic jams were guaranteed! Of course, it would be better to evaluate all four applications personally, but there is no guarantee that a constant congestion situation will persist for several days in a row. Therefore, four drivers started from the editorial office at the same time. The task is simple: follow the traffic rules and drive strictly according to the instructions of the electronic guides.

Already the first part of the journey showed that navigators think differently. Yandex took the most obvious, but also the most congested route. And although the driver managed to make up a minute from the estimated time, the road still turned out to be the longest for him. Three other programs made extensive use of secondary streets. And this tactic worked, although the local resident could have saved another minute or two.

In the second section, the way Yandex.Navigator works became obvious. For unknown reasons, he builds a path along major streets and highways. Ignores secondary roads, despite their green color. On the day of our test, traffic jams in Moscow were not prohibitive (four to five points on a ten-point scale of the same Yandex), and the program algorithm did not bring big problems to the driver. However, each of the navigators was my guide on dozens of routes for several months before the test - and Yandex more than once shamelessly led me onto the red-burgundy section of the outbound highway with clearly clear parallel streets. With zero or even moderate traffic jams, you can completely rely on this program, but if there are clearly bottlenecks along the way, it is better to use your own head rather than rely on the electronic mind.

CityGuide turned out to be the complete opposite of Yandex.Navigator. He most actively used small streets and even courtyard passages. Alas, such tactics did not provide a win, although in almost all segments the real time turned out to be less than the calculated one. The navigator failed on the trip from the third point to the fourth. Google and Navitel promised to finish it in 35-37 minutes and almost didn’t break their word. And CityGuide decided that it would take twice as long to travel - for some reason the program ignored many faster routes. If this oversight had not happened, the total time would have been half an hour less and the application would have turned out to be the leader of the test, not an outsider. However, before this test, CityGuide skillfully got me out of nine-point traffic jams during a downpour that hit Moscow - his excellent knowledge of the gateways came in very handy.

Navitel and Google took intermediate positions both in terms of the route construction scheme and in the final time. They don’t forget about small streets, like Yandex.Navigator does, but they don’t get carried away with courtyards, like CityGuide. Google has the advantage of updating maps more frequently. In dug-up Moscow, where the organization of traffic changes almost daily, this is priceless. A classic navigator cannot compete with an online program in this parameter. But Google is not without sins: more than once the application suggested turning left at intersections where such a maneuver had never been allowed.

Combat draw

There is no ideal assistant among the tested navigators. Each program can beat its competitors in one segment and lose to them in another. And if you need a guide through traffic jams, I can safely recommend any of the four test participants. The final results are comparable: between first and last place - only 12 minutes. For a four-hour route, such a difference is insignificant; it can easily be attributed to traffic lights. For example, from the second point, drivers led by CityGuide and Navitel started at the same time and drove almost the entire route together. But the first car managed to turn at the green light, but the second did not. The result is a two-minute gain over a nine-kilometer stretch.

If we consider programs not only as anti-traffic services, but also as regular ones, pay attention to the following features. In terms of interface convenience, speed of updates, knowledge of traffic management and the amount of information useful for the driver, Yandex.Navigator is unrivaled. Google is better at guiding you through serious traffic jams and also updates in real time, but doesn't tell you about cameras or speed limits. It can also lead to a prohibited maneuver. In addition, on the same smartphone, Yandex.Navigator works perfectly, but Google slows down. Navitel and CityGuide expertly suggest how to avoid traffic jams, but you will have to pay to download their maps. But when traveling abroad or to other places where there is no Internet, they come to the fore, making online services almost unnecessary.

After several months of communication with all four applications, I was still unable to make a clear choice. I use these navigation programs in accordance with my goals and location. For example, in Moscow and when traveling around Russia, I rely on the help of Yandex.Navigator and Google (taking into account traffic jams), and when going abroad, I turn on Navitel or CityGuide.

The tests carried out did not reveal a clear leader and outsider. But our observations and testing results will make it much easier for you to choose the most suitable navigator.

Results of ZR measurements

Bottom line

A number of articles on our resource have already examined in detail the main confrontations in the field of navigation applications. In particular, we have already compared Yandex and Google Navigators, as well as programs from Navitel. Most readers of the site liked the material, and therefore many of them suggested separate topics for review.

Most often, motorists asked to compare Maps and Navigator from Yandex. We decided to go even deeper and conducted a detailed comparison of not only these programs, but also their main analogues. What came out of this, see below.

Maps or Navigator

Let's start today's article with a basic comparison and try to answer the question that interests many - “Which is better: Yandex Maps or Yandex Navigator?” First of all, let’s define what these programs actually are. Let's start with the Maps.

So, Yandex Maps is a navigation and information program from the brand of the same name. It is released in Russian for absolutely any operating system among those used on smartphones or other digital devices. At its core, it is a program that allows view maps of more than 350 cities and small towns in real time, which are located on the territory of the post-Soviet space. The main functions of this application are:

• previously mentioned - viewing maps, as well as downloading them to the device for permanent access;
• the ability to build an optimal route for both personal and public transport;
• search for data about the most interesting places on the map;
• provision of the People's Map (diagrams, pictures and other information about settlements, which is posted by users).

In general, Maps is a mixture of a regular map manager and a typical navigator. Such an organization of the program is most convenient not for motorists, but for travelers to unfamiliar places. You will find out why things are this way after a more detailed review of the Yandex Navigator application.

Yandex Navigator is a highly specialized application, which is a program based on Yandex Maps. That is, this program, as its name suggests, is designed for convenient use as a navigation assistant. This can be most clearly seen in the main functions, or more precisely:

• the ability to build the most optimal route for both personal transport and public transport;

• indication of information about the presence of accidents and traffic jams;
• voice guidance of movement along a given route;
• availability of different map display modes (3D, 2D, etc.);
• finer tuning of navigation parameters.

At the same time, in Navigator you cannot find out about interesting places along the route and use similar functions presented in Maps. This organization of work is no longer more convenient for travelers to unfamiliar places, but specifically for motorists.

Important! It turns out that for high-quality and convenient navigation it is better to use Navigator, and when traveling to unfamiliar places for the purpose of travel - Maps.

2GIS or programs from Yandex

Now that the answer to the main question of today’s article has been given, it would be useful to pay attention to a comparison of applications from Yandex with their analogues, perhaps competitors. Naturally, previously discussed confrontations will not be listed. First of all, let's compare the application of the well-known reference service - 2GIS, with Maps and Navigator.

Let us note right away that in the question “Which is better: 2GIS or Yandex navigator?”, the answer is extremely simple: of course, the latter. We will not consider this comparison in detail, because 2GIS does not have a special navigation focus, therefore Use Yandex Navigator to get high-quality navigation, which was created precisely for this purpose. But comparing 2GIS and Maps is quite interesting.

First of all, let us agree that at the moment 2 GIS is a cartographic service with an information bias. This means that in this application it is more convenient to search for information about various objects rather than receive full-fledged maps. In particular, 2GIS has one of the best details in the cities where it operates, even down to displaying small municipalities and detailed information about them (opening hours, reviews, etc.). However, in other parameters, 2GIS is clearly inferior to Yandex Maps, because it has:

• less accurate and complete terrain display system;
• there is only the ability to view the map, that is, 3D and 2D modes are not available;
• little information about the situation on the roads (traffic jams, accidents, etc.);
• no voice functions;
• Overall little functionality.

To summarize the comparison, it is worth stating: 2GIS is the application that is more convenient to use to obtain information about the organizations of the city or its map when present in the populated area itself. It is much better to create a route and carry out similar operations related to cartographic planning in Yandex Maps.

CityGuide or programs from Yandex

To conclude today’s material, we will also consider a rather interesting question, namely, “Is CityGuide or Yandex Navigator more convenient to use?” Let us immediately note that it is quite irrational to compare this application with Maps, because its focus is completely similar to Yandex Navigator and is to organize convenient navigation for the user.

In general, there is no special comparative debate between the two applications. Both are made quite well, but relative to Yandex Navigator CityGuide has both its advantages and disadvantages. Let's look at each of them. So, the advantages of CityGuide:

• faster response to traffic situations;
• clearer, more timely and convenient construction of the current route;
• Slightly better organized navigation features.

The disadvantages of the programs are the following:

• the need to purchase a paid version to get all the functionality of the application;
• terrible design (primitive, ugly, etc.);
• in terms of the information component it is also inferior.

Otherwise, both CityGuide and Yandex Navigator are similar programs, which you should choose based on your needs and taking into account the features presented above.

This, perhaps, is where today’s material comes to an end. We hope the article was useful to you and provided answers to your questions. Good luck on the roads!

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