Waze Navigation & Live Traffic
Free Android navigation with driver-reported traffic, police and toll alerts
GPS apps for Android
The Android apps on this page cover quite different navigation jobs. Some give turn-by-turn driving help, some record where you walk, and one reads transit data for Valencia and Alicante. Choosing a GPS app starts with deciding which of those jobs you need.
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Waze handles live traffic, so it suits daily driving. Life360 covers family location sharing. Google Earth is a globe viewer rather than a route planner, which makes it better for looking around than for getting somewhere. On the lighter side, CairnGPS is only 3 MB, while Colota and CoMaps are larger at 43.8 MB and 67.2 MB. The picks below follow that split, one per sub-type.
Apps in this category
Google Earth
Free, ad-free Google Earth with 3D cities and Street View on Android
Life360
Family location sharing with crash alerts, tiered from Silver to Platinum
CairnGPS
Offline GNSS receiver and hike log with a 3D satellite globe, no ads
Colota
Open-source GPS tracker that sends your location only to your own server
CoMaps
Ad-free offline maps on OpenStreetMap data with hiking and transit layers
Foggy Maps
Free, ad-free Android map that clears fog wherever you actually walk
Valencia Transit Reloaded
Free, ad-free Metrovalencia and TRAM d'Alacant transit app for Android 10+
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Top 5 picks
CairnGPS
Pick this for hiking and satellite viewing. CairnGPS reads device GPS through the LocationManager API rather than Google Play Services, then shows satellites from all constellations on a 3D globe, a sky plot and a list. It records hikes with waypoints and achievements, needs no account and works offline. Version 1.3.0 is a 3 MB download under AGPL-3.0-only.
Colota
The sub-type here is self-hosted tracking. Colota sends your location to a server you run, over HTTP or HTTPS, and works with Dawarich, GeoPulse, Home Assistant, OwnTracks, Overland, PhoneTrack, Reitti, Traccar or a custom JSON backend. It supports geofencing and offline mode, and shares data only with backends you configure. Version 1.21.1 is 43.8 MB and AGPL-3.0-only.
CoMaps
This is the community map option with downloadable regions. CoMaps builds on OpenStreetMap data and is a fork of Organic Maps, which itself forked Maps.ME. Its detailed maps include places missing from Google Maps, and map data can be updated in the app or on the OpenStreetMap site. Version 2026.10.05-19-FDroid is 67.2 MB under Apache-2.0, and the developer is listed as unknown.
Foggy Maps
Foggy Maps is exploration tracking, not routing. The world starts under violet fog that clears along the paths you physically travel, leaving a lasting record of where you have been. Track points stay in local SQLite storage, and XP is awarded only for new ground, with no streaks. Logging works offline. Version 1.7.3 is 3.9 MB, licensed AGPL-3.0-or-later.
Valencia Transit Reloaded
This one covers local transit. Valencia Transit Reloaded supports Metrovalencia and TRAM d'Alacant, using the same APIs as the official apps. You can search stops and schedules, save favorite stations, see real-time stop information, view the network map and check SUMA Card info. It is version 0.1.1, 17.7 MB, GPL-3.0-only, and only those two systems work for now.
Questions and answers
Which GPS apps in this list show no ads?
Six of the 8 apps carry no ads: Google Earth, CairnGPS, Colota, CoMaps, Foggy Maps and Valencia Transit Reloaded. The listings for Waze and Life360 both show ads.
Which app in this category handles live traffic?
Waze. It offers real-time directions, rerouting based on live traffic, incidents and road closures, and alerts for police and cameras. Google Play shows over 500 million installs and a 4.4 rating, and the app was updated on November 3, 2026.
Is there an app here for sharing location with family?
Life360 is the one. It offers location sharing, crash detection, driver reports and unlimited place alerts. Google Play shows over 100 million installs and a 4.8 rating. It has ads and in-app purchases, and the current version is 26.41.0.
Related categories
Best-of lists
Match the app to the job before installing. If you need driving directions with live traffic, Waze is the obvious choice. The smaller apps are light downloads, from 3 MB for CairnGPS to 43.8 MB for Colota and 67.2 MB for CoMaps.
Check the update date on each app page too, since maintenance varies between projects. No battery use or accuracy figures are given here, so this page cannot rank apps on those points. Try one app on a short trip or walk first, then keep the one that fits.