7 Best HGV Route Planners UK 2026: Fleet Routing Software Compared

The best HGV route planner in the UK is Webfleet for fleets needing integrated telematics and tachograph compliance, or Descartes for operators who need specialist truck routing with Clean Air Zone avoidance and low bridge data.

Planning routes for HGVs in the UK isn’t the same as planning car journeys – for car-specific tracking see our best car trackers guide. Your vehicles can’t use every road, can’t fit under every bridge, and face daily charges of up to £100 in Clean Air Zones if they’re non-compliant. Get the routing wrong and you’re looking at bridge strikes, DVSA penalties, or drivers stuck in restricted areas with nowhere to turn.

The UK has over 540,000 licensed HGVs and around 1,700 reported bridge strikes per year at railway bridges alone – most caused by drivers following car satnav that doesn’t account for vehicle height. Proper HGV route planning software uses truck-specific map data that factors in your vehicle’s height, weight, width, and load type before calculating a route.

We’ve compared 7 HGV route planning platforms available in the UK, covering everything from standalone route optimisation tools to full fleet telematics suites with built-in routing. Each has been evaluated on truck-specific features, compliance tools, pricing, and suitability for different fleet sizes. For broader fleet tracking without specialist routing, see our vehicle tracker comparison.

The 7 Best HGV Route Planners UK

For fleets under 20 vehicles, Webfleet or MaxOptra offer the best balance of HGV routing and value. For enterprise fleets (50+), Aptean Paragon or Microlise provide the deepest optimisation. For operators focused purely on compliance routing, Descartes is the specialist choice.

Webfleet (formerly TomTom Telematics, now owned by Bridgestone) is the UK’s most widely used fleet management platform, with over 60,000 customers globally. It combines route planning with full fleet telematics, using TomTom’s truck-specific navigation maps that account for vehicle height, weight, width, and hazardous goods restrictions.

Key Features

The route planning module calculates truck-safe routes using live traffic data, avoiding low bridges, weight-restricted roads, and width restrictions based on the vehicle profile you set. The Pro tier adds tachograph management – automatic downloads, archiving, and compliance monitoring for EU/UK drivers’ hours. The Premium tier adds TMS/WMS API integration for connecting your route planner to warehouse and transport management systems.

The driver app provides turn-by-turn HGV navigation, which is a significant safety benefit over consumer satnav. It also includes order management, ePOD (electronic proof of delivery), and real-time ETA updates for customers.

Pricing

Best for: Fleets of 10-50 HGVs that need a single platform for tracking, routing, tachograph compliance, and driver management. If you’re already using separate tools for each of these, Webfleet consolidates them.

Descartes has a dedicated UK routing product (routinguk.descartes.com) specifically built for HGV operators navigating British road restrictions. It’s one of the few platforms that explicitly handles Clean Air Zone avoidance, ULEZ/LEZ routing, and low bridge data – not as optional add-ons but as core features. The machine learning engine factors vehicle dimensions, load type, and real-time road data into every route calculation.

Key Features

Descartes calculates routes using your vehicle’s height, weight, width, and length against a constantly updated database of UK road restrictions. This includes bridge heights, weight limits, width restrictions, and Clean Air Zone boundaries with their charges. The ML optimisation engine learns from historical journey data to improve ETA accuracy and fuel efficiency over time.

Real-time appointment scheduling lets you manage customer delivery windows dynamically. The mobile app provides driver tracking and ePOD. API integration connects to your existing TMS/WMS for end-to-end supply chain visibility.

Pricing

Descartes doesn’t publish pricing – it’s custom-quoted based on fleet size and modules required. This is an enterprise-grade platform aimed at operators who need deep compliance routing rather than basic GPS tracking. Expect to request a demo and receive a tailored quote.

Best for: Operators running HGVs in or near Clean Air Zones (Bath, Birmingham, Sheffield, Portsmouth) who need guaranteed compliance routing. Also strong for multi-drop delivery fleets where ETA accuracy directly affects customer satisfaction.

Aptean acquired Paragon Software Systems – the UK’s most established route optimisation specialist with over 30 years in logistics. The rebranded Aptean Routing & Scheduling (Paragon Edition) is a cloud-native platform used by DHL, Warburtons, Greggs, and the NHS. It won Market Leader awards in both 2022 and 2025, and represents the most advanced route optimisation available for UK HGV operations.

Key Features

The AI-powered optimisation engine factors in drivers’ hours regulations, vehicle availability, delivery time windows, vehicle restrictions, and real-time traffic simultaneously. Aptean claims transport cost reductions of up to 30% compared to manual planning. The platform also supports later order cut-off times – meaning you can accept orders later in the day and still optimise deliveries for the next morning.

Integration with the Geotab marketplace extends the platform to include vehicle telematics. The scheduling module handles driver shift planning, vehicle allocation, and maintenance windows in addition to route optimisation.

Pricing

Enterprise pricing only – Aptean doesn’t publish rates and the platform isn’t designed for fleets under approximately 20 vehicles. This is where you go when manual route planning is costing your business tens of thousands per year in wasted fuel and driver time.

Best for: Large fleets (50+ HGVs) with complex multi-drop operations where route optimisation directly impacts profitability. If you’re spending more than £50,000/year on fuel and driver costs, the savings from Aptean’s optimisation engine typically justify the investment.

Microlise monitors over 230,000 drivers – approximately 75% of all UK HGV drivers. That market dominance means more real-world data feeding into their routing and optimisation algorithms than any competitor. Their platform covers the entire fleet operation: telematics, route planning, tachograph analysis, ePOD, driver performance, vehicle cameras, and predictive maintenance.

Key Features

The route planning and optimisation suite factors in vehicle restrictions, drivers’ hours, and real-time traffic. What sets Microlise apart is the depth of compliance tools – full tachograph analysis (download, archiving, infringement reporting), driver walk-around check digitisation, and DVSA-ready reporting. The AI predictive maintenance module can flag brake and battery issues weeks before failure, which directly affects route reliability.

New SME packages (Automate, Visualise, Deliver) target fleets of 11-100 vehicles with simplified pricing. Microlise also offers EV route planning with mid-route charging station recommendations – increasingly relevant as the UK’s zero-emission HGV fleet grows (990 electric HGVs as of 2024, up 34% year-on-year).

Pricing

Not publicly listed. Estimated at £20-£40 per vehicle per month depending on the package and fleet size. The new SME tiers are designed to make Microlise accessible below the traditional enterprise threshold.

Best for: UK HGV operators who need the deepest compliance and telematics platform. If tachograph management, driver performance, and DVSA reporting are as important as route planning, Microlise covers everything in one system.

MaxOptra (by Modaxo) is a route optimisation platform with over 650 customers and 25 years in the market. It’s designed for mid-size delivery and logistics fleets, with a modular structure that lets you start with basic route optimisation and add features as your operation grows. The Truck Routing add-on handles HGV-specific attributes including LEZ (Low Emission Zone) avoidance.

Key Features

Three base plans cover different needs: Optimiser (route planning and optimisation), Track & Trace (real-time tracking with ePOD), and Complete (both combined). The Truck Routing module is a separate add-on that enables vehicle profile management for HGVs – height, weight, width, and emission zone compliance. Other add-ons include vehicle checks, barcode scanning, and a customer communication widget for ETA notifications.

Pricing

Note that the HGV-specific Truck Routing is an add-on, not included in the base plans. For a fleet of 10 HGVs, expect the Complete plan plus Truck Routing to cost significantly more than the base £200/month. 12-month minimum contracts apply.

Best for: Mid-size delivery fleets (10-50 vehicles) that need route optimisation with the flexibility to add HGV compliance features as the operation scales. The modular approach means you’re not paying for enterprise features you don’t need yet.

OptimoRoute has the most transparent pricing of any route optimisation platform in this comparison. Three clear tiers, no setup fees, no contracts, and a 30-day free trial let you evaluate the platform before committing. The trade-off: truck-specific routing (vehicle profiles, hazmat, low bridge avoidance) is only available on the Custom tier, which requires a quote.

Key Features

The Lite plan covers up to 700 orders with real-time tracking, customer ETAs, and API access. Pro adds analytics, ePOD, and customer feedback collection for up to 1,000 orders. The Custom plan adds multi-day long-haul routing, commercial vehicle profiles, and hazmat routing – the features that matter most for HGV operators. All tiers include a 10% discount for annual billing.

Pricing

Best for: Small fleets (5-20 drivers) that want to try route optimisation before committing. The free trial and no-contract model eliminate the financial risk. If you’re currently planning routes manually in spreadsheets, OptimoRoute is the easiest first step up.

Samsara is a US-headquartered fleet platform with a growing UK presence. Their route optimisation handles 100+ stops per route, which matters for high-density multi-drop operations. The commercial navigation overlays fleet-specific restrictions (weight, height, hazmat) onto digital maps, and a partnership with VDO/AUMOVIO provides tachograph analysis for EU/UK compliance.

Key Features

The Smart Compliance suite handles UK and EU tachograph rules, including the August 2025 Smart Tachograph 2 retrofit deadline for international operations. Route optimisation data suggests a 15% reduction in vehicles required for multi-drop deliveries. The platform also covers vehicle cameras, driver safety scoring, and fuel efficiency analytics. For fleet tracking features, see our commercial vehicle tracker comparison.

Pricing

Not publicly listed. Estimated at approximately £35 per vehicle per month based on market intelligence. Samsara typically requires a 3-year minimum contract, which is a significant commitment for smaller operators. This is a platform aimed at fleets of 20+ vehicles where the per-vehicle cost is offset by operational savings.

Best for: Large fleets (20-100+ vehicles) with high-density delivery routes. The 100+ stop optimisation is specifically valuable for FMCG, grocery, and parcel delivery operations where route density is the primary cost driver.

Feature Comparison: HGV Route Planners

Only Webfleet, Descartes, and Aptean offer comprehensive HGV routing with vehicle restrictions, CAZ avoidance, and compliance tools in their standard packages. Other platforms either require add-ons (MaxOptra) or custom tiers (OptimoRoute) for truck-specific features.

UK Clean Air Zones: HGV Charges by City

Non-compliant HGVs face daily charges of £50-£100 in UK Clean Air Zones. Bath charges the most at £100/day. Manchester’s planned CAZ was cancelled in January 2025. All HGVs must meet Euro VI to avoid charges.

Clean Air Zones are an increasingly urgent factor in HGV route planning. If your fleet includes any non-Euro VI vehicles, routing through these zones costs £50-£100 per vehicle per day – a cost that route planning software with CAZ awareness can help you avoid entirely by routing around them.

Compliance check: Use gov.uk/clean-air-zones to check whether your vehicles are compliant. All HGVs must meet Euro VI emission standard to avoid daily charges. Route planners like Descartes and MaxOptra can automatically route non-compliant vehicles around these zones.

Low Bridges and Weight Restrictions: Why HGV Routing Matters

The UK has over 1,700 reported bridge strikes per year at railway bridges alone, most caused by drivers following car satnav. Standard headroom is 5.03m (16ft 6in) – anything below this is a low bridge. London alone has 877 low-clearance structures.

Bridge strikes cost the UK logistics industry millions per year in vehicle damage, road closures, rail disruption, and driver penalties. The problem is almost entirely preventable with proper HGV route planning software that uses truck-specific map data. Consumer satnav (Google Maps, Apple Maps, Waze) does not account for vehicle height, weight, or width – using them for HGV routing is the single most common cause of bridge strikes.

All seven route planners in this guide support vehicle profile management – you input your vehicle’s dimensions and the software calculates routes that avoid structures your vehicle can’t safely pass. Webfleet, Descartes, and Aptean use the most comprehensive bridge height databases. For information about the legal requirements around vehicle tracking, see our dedicated guide.

Is There a Free HGV Route Planner? What Hauliers Should Know

Short answer: no fully free HGV route planner exists for UK hauliers running compliant routing at scale. Every tool in the comparison above is a paid platform because the data layers required for legal HGV routing – height-mapped low bridges, current weight restrictions, live Clean Air Zone status, hazmat zone exclusions, tachograph break planning – are commercial datasets that cost the platform money to license and update.

Free apps don’t pay for these feeds, so they don’t include them. For a single owner-driver doing four stops a day, that’s a problem. For a 20-vehicle fleet running multi-drop, it’s an immediate compliance risk.

That said, “free” gets searched a lot, so it’s worth being clear about what’s actually available, where free tools genuinely fit, and what the cheapest paid options cost when you do need real HGV routing.

What “Free” Tools Actually Cover

The honest answer for most UK readers searching “free HGV route planner”: you can use a free multi-stop optimiser like RouteXL to order your stops efficiently, but you still need a separate way to confirm each leg is HGV-legal.

Pairing RouteXL with a manual check against the Department for Transport’s national bridge database and your local Clean Air Zone vehicle checker is the closest free workflow to compliant HGV routing. It falls apart the moment your stop count goes above ten or you cross more than one CAZ.

Why HGV Compliance Forces Paid Tools

Three regulatory pressures drive paid HGV routing software in the UK, and each one is hard or impossible to handle with free apps:

• Bridge strikes – Network Rail records around 1,700 strikes per year at railway bridges alone. The DVSA can suspend operator licences after a serious incident. Free apps don’t have height-mapped bridge data, so they will route an HGV under a 13’6″ railway arch without warning.
• Clean Air Zones – Non-compliant HGVs pay £50-£100 per day in CAZ cities (Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Tyneside). A free app will plot the cheapest mileage route straight through them. Paid HGV planners read your fleet’s Euro classification and route compliant vehicles freely while warning or rerouting non-compliant ones.
• Drivers’ hours and tachograph law – EU Regulation 561/2006 caps daily driving at 9 hours (extendable to 10 twice a week) with mandatory 45-minute breaks after 4.5 hours. Paid platforms (Webfleet, Microlise, Aptean) build break windows into the route automatically. Free tools have no awareness of how long your driver has been on duty.

Cheapest Paid HGV Route Planner for UK Owner-Drivers

If you’re running 1-5 vehicles and the enterprise platforms in this comparison are overkill, three options come closest to a “budget” HGV route planner:

• OptimoRoute Lite – around £28-£35/driver/month on annual billing. Crucial caveat: the Lite tier doesn’t include truck-specific routing – that sits behind the Custom tier (quote-only). For a single driver who already knows their local routes and just needs multi-drop sequencing, Lite is workable; for true HGV compliance you’d move up.
• MaxOptra Starter – from around £40/driver/month with truck routing included on the entry tier. The most cost-effective true-HGV-routing option for small UK fleets.
• Webfleet PRO – £35-£50/driver/month depending on vehicle count and contract. Strongest CAZ compliance routing in the comparison and works well for owner-drivers running into CAZ cities daily.

For a single owner-driver, £30-£50/month against the cost of one bridge strike (typical insurance excess £5,000-£15,000, plus operator licence consequences) is straightforward maths. The “free HGV route planner” search is almost always answered by either a £35/month subscription or a meaningful compliance risk – there isn’t a third option for legal UK HGV routing.

HGV vs Light Commercial Vehicle Routing

If you’re a tradesperson running a single Sprinter or a courier fleet of LCVs (anything under 3.5 tonnes GVW), you don’t strictly need HGV-specific routing. You need commercial vehicle routing, which is a softer requirement. Most CAZ rules differ for vans (lower charges or Euro 6 diesel / Euro 4 petrol thresholds), and bridge / weight restrictions affect very few van routes.

For LCVs, the cheapest paid routers in this guide (OptimoRoute Lite, RouteXL Premium) plus a free CAZ vehicle checker are usually sufficient. True HGV routing only becomes essential once you’re operating vehicles over 3.5 tonnes or carrying anything that triggers ADR / hazmat rules. For van fleet management generally, see our vehicle tracking comparison.

Drivers’ Hours and Tachograph Compliance

HGV drivers must take a 45-minute break after 4.5 hours of driving, with a maximum of 9 hours per day (10 hours twice per week). Route planners with tachograph integration automatically factor these breaks into route calculations.

Only four platforms in this comparison offer integrated tachograph management: Webfleet (Pro tier), Microlise, Aptean, and Samsara. This matters because route planning without drivers’ hours awareness will generate routes that are technically optimal but legally non-compliant – your driver hits their 4.5-hour limit halfway through the route with no safe stopping point planned.

How to Choose: Decision Guide

Start with fleet size: under 20 vehicles, choose Webfleet or OptimoRoute. Over 20, consider Microlise or Samsara. Over 50 with complex operations, evaluate Aptean. If CAZ compliance is the primary need, go straight to Descartes.

Key Takeaways

Alex Morgan

Business Technology Analyst

Alex specialises in business technology and connected systems, covering vehicle tracking, fleet management, AI tools, and dash cams for UK companies. With a background in telematics engineering, he analyses how emerging technology can improve efficiency, safety, and cost control — helping businesses make informed decisions about the tools that drive their operations forward.

Reviewed by

James Hartley

Technology & Innovation Reviewer