How to Find the Fastest Route with Multiple Stops

If you have three or four places to visit, figuring out the fastest route around them is pretty straightforward. Look at your Google Maps app, see where everything is, and plan a sensible route.

But what if you have multiple stops, like 15? Or 25? Suddenly your brain starts to hurt trying to figure out the quickest route. Should you start with the furthest point and work back in, or drive in a circle? Should you head south or east first?

Why route planning is hard: The Traveling Salesman Problem

The good news is: When you’re trying to work out the shortest route around multiple stops, your brain is hurting for a reason. You’re dealing with a famous mathematical puzzle called the Traveling Salesman Problem.

Why is it so tricky? Because with every stop you add, the number of possible combinations or routes grows exponentially. If the starting point is fixed, you get:

• 10 stops: 362,880 possible routes
• 15 stops: Over 87 billion possible routes
• 16 stops: Over 654 billion possible routes

By the time you get to 20 stops, you’re looking at over 121 quadrillion possible combinations — and the numbers only get more insane from there.

This is why route optimization algorithms exist: They can access modern computing power to narrow down those billions of possibilities and find the most efficient route.

In this guide, we’ll discuss:

1. How to find the best route manually using free navigation and mapping apps.
2. How to use free route optimization tools when you hit the limit of manual planning.
3. When you need to consider paying for route planning software.

💡 If you’re managing delivery routes for a business, save time by skipping the navigation apps. You can try Routific free for 7 days.

Manual route optimization for short routes

For simple routes, manual optimization inside a navigation app is good enough. Here’s a process that will work in most mapping apps:

1. Enter all your stops in any order. Start with the first destination, then click Directions, and then Add Stops until you’re done. Don’t worry about the sequence yet.
2. Look at the overall map. Are there obvious clusters of stops? Any stops that fall into a continuous line?
3. Drag and drop stops in the list to reorder them. You may need to zoom in and out on the map to get a good view.
4. Check the total distance and time. Keep adjusting until you’re happy with the result.
5. Save or share your route. Use the Copy Link or Share feature to save your optimized route for later or send it to your phone.

This process will work in:

• Google Maps
• Apple Maps

You can’t optimize a route in Waze. You can only add one extra stopover in a Waze route.

💡 This process works in both desktop and mobile versions of most apps, but the mobile experience can be very slow and annoying. You will have to keep toggling back and forth from list to map view to see the results of your changes. If you have access to a computer, do your planning on the larger screen instead.

💡 If you’ll be driving your route immediately, most apps will take traffic into account. If you’ll be driving it later, remember that traffic patterns may be different. If you hit school pickup time or evening rush hour, your total driving time will change.

Use manual planning when:

• You have 5-6 stops maximum. You CAN add up to 10 stops in Google Maps or 15 stops in Apple Maps, but unless you have a lot of patience and time we seriously don’t recommend it.
• This is a one-time route, not something you need to repeat.

When to switch to automated route optimization

Once you hit 10+ stops, manual optimization becomes impractical. Here’s why:

• Google Maps route planner has a 10-stop limit. Apple Maps will allow up to 15 stops.
• Even with only 10 stops, manually dragging and dropping stops around a list gets really tedious, really fast. It will be faster to use an algorithm.

True multi-stop route planners use route optimization algorithms to test thousands or millions of route combinations in seconds. The algorithms consider:

• Distance between each pair of stops
• Road types and speed limits
• Current traffic conditions
• Turn restrictions and one-way streets

The result? A route that’s typically at least 20% shorter than a randomly ordered one — and you can create it in a couple of minutes.

How to use route optimization for 10+ stops

Here’s how to use free route optimization tools:

1. Create your list of stops

There are several ways to do this:

• Create a simple list in a notes app, with each address on a separate line.
• Keep your address list in a spreadsheet (either Excel or Google Sheets). Keep separate columns for name, address, and contact details.

💡 Pro tip: If you’re searching for places by name, Google Maps is a great way to get accurate address information. Just type the name in Google Maps, check that you’ve found the correct location, then copy the full address to your list or spreadsheet. This will avoid geocoding errors and save time.

2. Open SoloRoute or another free route planner app

SoloRoute, RouteXL, and MapQuest are all good options:

• There’s no signup required.
• They work on any device with a web browser, including mobile devices.
• The number of stops allowed varies. You can optimize up to 25 stops with SoloRoute, 20 with RouteXL, or 26 with MapQuest.

(Full disclosure: SoloRoute is a side project by members of the Routific team.)

3. Paste your addresses

• You can add addresses one at a time, or paste your full list.
• The app will geocode your addresses and add pins to the map.
• Review the map to make sure all pins are correct.

💡 Tip: Most route planning apps will take either your current location, or the first address in the list, as the starting point for the route. If you want your route to start somewhere else, you will need to specify that address.

4. Click to optimize

• Depending on the app, the button will say “Optimize route”, “Find route”, or “View route directions.”
• Wait a couple of seconds while the algorithm tests out all the route combinations.
• Get your optimized route!

5. Share your route for navigation

Once your route is planned, there will be a few options depending on which app you’re using:

• You can download your route, usually as a CSV spreadsheet file with the addresses in the optimized order. RouteXL also offers other file types like TomTom files.
• MapQuest and RouteXL offer the option to print your route.
• SoloRoute and RouteXL will let you open your route in Google Maps.

This is a very quick and easy way to get around the lack of route optimization in Google Maps: Get another app to do the optimization, then navigate with Google Maps so you get all the benefits of turn-by-turn navigation with live traffic updates.

Limitations of free route optimizers

Free route planning tools like SoloRoute, RouteXL, and MapQuest work well for basic routes, but they have limited functionality:

• They’re for single routes only. You can’t optimize for more than one driver or vehicle at the same time.
• You’re limited to 20-26 stops. This reflects the complexity of the route optimization problem. Optimizing more stops takes more computing power — beyond this threshold, nobody can afford to give it away for free.
• The route optimization is very basic. You may get a choice between optimizing for time or distance, but you certainly won’t get anything like optimization for time windows or different vehicle types.

For occasional personal use or very simple delivery routes, these limitations don’t matter — basic route optimization is good enough. But if you’re running a delivery business, you’ll quickly outgrow free tools.

When to upgrade to route optimization software

Consider upgrading to something like Routific when:

• You’re planning routes daily or weekly (the time savings from a streamlined process will add up quickly).
• You need more than 25 stops per route.
• You have time windows or other constraints.
• You’re managing multiple drivers/vehicles.
• You need delivery management features like live tracking, proof of delivery, or customer notifications.

For detailed comparisons of free and paid route planners, including pricing, see our guide to free route planners and delivery route optimization software.

Common route optimization mistakes

Even with automated optimization, you can end up with a poor route. Here are some common pitfalls to avoid:

1. Starting/ending at the wrong location

If you don’t tell the algorithm where your route starts, it will assume one of two things:

1. The first address in your list is the starting point; OR
2. Your current location is the starting point.

If your actual starting point is somewhere else, you could end up with a long drive to get there, which will make your route a lot less optimal. So always double check your start location!

More advanced route planners will let you specify an ending point as well, but none of the free tools have this option.

2. Not accounting for time windows

Basic route planners focus purely on distance and travel time. They don’t know that:

• The post office closes at 4pm.
• Your customer requested delivery between 12-2pm.
• School pickup is at 3:15pm and can’t be missed.

If you have time constraints, either use a route optimizer that supports time windows, or manually adjust the route plan to respect your deadlines.

3. Ignoring traffic patterns

A route that’s optimal at 6am might be terrible at 3pm when school lets out. Most free route optimizers don’t account for time-of-day traffic patterns. They also don’t recognise that crossing bridges, railway lines, or highways is likely to slow you down.

Workaround: If you’re driving during rush hour, check Google Maps’ traffic view for your route. If you see red sections (heavy traffic), consider whether reordering a few stops might help you avoid congestion.

4. Blindly trusting the algorithm

Route optimization algorithms are good, but not perfect. Always do a quick visual check:

• Look for obvious outliers. Sometimes a route will have you double back to revisit an area you’ve already passed through, or cross a busy railway line several times. A couple of manual adjustments in Google Maps can save you time.
• Check for weird shortcuts. Sometimes algorithms suggest cutting through residential areas when main roads would be faster.

You can also check the numbers. Note the total distance and estimated time before and after optimization: there should be an improvement. If there isn’t, one of these is probably true:

• Your route was already pretty optimal.
• The optimizer isn’t working correctly.

Finally, you can try a quick test by manually reordering a few stops. Does your route time or distance get better or worse?

• Gets worse: The algorithm is working — you can’t beat it by hand.
• Gets better: Either the algorithm failed, or it’s optimizing for something different than you want (like minimizing distance when you care more about time).