Navigation is a key element in this era, and many companies have tried to dominate the market. Right now, Google Maps is the most popular, but others are trying to give their best. The blog post takes a look at two growing navigation apps Sygic and TomTom Go. How do both stand? The blog post covers Sygic vs. TomTom Go (2021).
Table of contents
- Traffic and routing
- Interface
- Voice navigation
- Offline navigation
- Reporting
- Transit options
- Video
- Additional features
- Pricing
- Which one is for you?
- Summary
Traffic and routing
After testing both on different locations, I felt that depending on the time and location, one performs better. Both handle the traffic condition fine, but the Sygic was more accurate than TomTom Go. The lane displaying and suggesting feature of Sygic is a great addition as you get to see the total lanes and the recommended lane.
Sygic uses TomTom Go’s services to display the traffic and other types of data on the maps. Even though the traffic data is from the same company, the way both manage and display is different. The video further down shows the navigation of both apps. A few features both offer while you navigate. Sygic:
- Suggests if there is a better route available
- Shows the parking nearby
- Offers to preview the route
- Shows rideshare vehicles close by
TomTom Go contrarily:
- Shows a progress bar with fuel stations, safety cameras, car parking, and more
- Suggests if a better route is available
Winner: Tie | Score: Sygic: 1 | TomTom Go: 1
Related: Waze vs. TomTom Go (2021) | The Final Showdown
Interface
Sygic uses more light colours than TomTom Go. You can browse for petrol, restaurants, and parking spots nearby. Both apps automatically enable the dark mode, but you can manually enable it. Moreover, you can zoom in out on the interface. The left menu comes with many options to customise the apps.
Winner: Opinion-based (tie) | Score: Sygic: 2 | TomTom Go: 2
Voice navigation
Sygic offers over 75 voice options in English, Italiano, Deutsch and more. TomTom Go app comes with over 100 voices in over 45 languages. Both apps download the voices from the server so they can work properly when offline.
Winner: TomTom Go | Score: Sygic: 2 | TomTom Go: 3
Offline navigation
The offline navigation feature makes both powerful. When you open both for the first time, you are requested to download the maps. A slight issue with both is that you can’t use the app without downloading the maps for the first time.
After downloading the maps for South Australia, Sygic took 73 MB of storage, and TomTom Go downloaded the 77 MB of data.
Winner: Tie | Score: Sygic: 3 | TomTom Go: 4
Related: HERE WeGo vs. Google Maps (2021) | The Final Comparison
Reporting
In the next round of Sygic vs. TomTom Go, we are comparing the reporting features both provide. The table below covers both. Some features are location-dependent so might not be available in your region.
| Feature | Sygic | TomTom Go |
|---|---|---|
| Static speed camera | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Speed limit | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Vehicle’s speed | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Mobile speed camera | ✔️ (limited locations) | ✔️ (limited locations) |
| Crash report | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Police | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Traffic report | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Congestion | ✔️ (limited countries) | ✔️ (limited countries) |
| Roadworks | ✔️ | ✔️ (limited countries) |
| Road closure | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Accident blackspots | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Risk/Danger zones | ❌ | ✔️ |
Winner: Sygic | Score: Sygic: 4 | TomTom Go: 4
Transit options
Both are primarily developed for private cars, but both offer other vehicle types as well. Sygic supports walking route, and TomTom Go supports walking and cycling modes. You can change the vehicle mode while navigating for the single trip or in the settings menu for all trips.
Winner: TomTom Go | Score: Sygic: 4 | TomTom Go: 5
Video
Additional features
Here are some of the additional features which might make this Sygic vs. TomTom Go comparison easier.
| Sygic | TomTom Go |
|---|---|
| SOS feature shows your coordinates and can help you connect to emergency services nearby Store to purchase premium features: Dashcam uses the mobile’s camera to record the road. |
30 days of a free trial |
|
Suggests if a better route is available |
|
Winner: Tie | Score: Sygic: 5 | TomTom Go: 6
Pricing
Sygic has always been a paid app. You get a 7 days free trial to explore the features, but after seven days, you will need to subscribe to the premium plan to continue navigating.
TomTom Go used to be a free app for 50 kilometres every month, but now it’s no longer a free app. You get 30 days of a free trial, and in the last week, you are requested to sign up to one of the subscriptions. Depending on the location, the monthly plan costs around $10 and the yearly costs about $30.
Winner: Sygic | Score: Sygic: 6 | TomTom Go: 6
Which one is for you?
Final Score: Sygic: 6 | TomTom Go: 6
Usually, I start with the pricing and suggest the free one initially. Still, as both are paid apps, and both use the same services, it somehow comes to the other features. Regarding the interface, I like how Sygic guides the lanes, warns about the traffic lights, tram/train tracks, police etc. Also, the fact that you only have to pay a one-time fee to unlock the maps for your country makes me prefer Sygic.
Try
Summary
Sygic vs. TomTom Go blog post covered the essential features of both navigation apps. I hope the information was helpful. Please let me know what do you think of both in the comments and subscribe to the newsletter for future updates.
A glaring weakness of Sygic: search requires accurate spelling, which is non-trivial especially when in a foreign country. I therefor prefer Google Maps (GM) with its limited download feature over Sygic (which I paid good money for).
What happens re: traffic reports when there’s no cellphone reception? With GM you get none; and with Sygic and Go Navigate? probably the same, but the blog fails to discuss this issue.
Other features: Late for a meeting? With Waze and GM you can send your location and your partner can follow your route. How is it with Sygic and GoNav? Waze’s POI are updated almost daily, at least in Israel, so it will lead you safely to a newly opened facility, and warn you if you’re headed to one that’s just been shut down.