Pilot vs. Roadtrippers: feature comparison, ratings, and FAQ
A data comparison maintained by Pilot (pilotplans.com). Full comparison: https://www.pilotplans.com/compare/roadtrippers-alternative.
Summary
Pilot is a free trip booking and planning app: plan a whole trip in one place with a flexible itinerary, a map of your stops, notes, real-time collaboration, and AI itinerary generation, and book hotels in the app at private rates across 3,000,000+ stays, with real human support. Pilot is rated 4.7 by 50,000+ travelers.
Roadtrippers: Road trip planning with routing + POI surfacing. Roadpass Digital.
Both plan trips with maps and routes. Pilot keeps planning free, lets you book your stays at private hotel rates instead of sending you to other sites, and works for any trip, not just a drive.
Key facts
- Pricing
- Pilot: completely free to plan and book. Roadtrippers: Free / Basic $35.99/yr, Pro $49.99/yr, Premium $59.99/yr.
- Overall rating
- Pilot: 4.7 from 50,000+ travelers. Roadtrippers: Trustpilot 2.8, App Store 4.7, Google Play 4.0.
- Founded
- Pilot: 2022. Roadtrippers: 2011.
- Books hotels in the app
- Pilot: yes, at private rates across 3,000,000+ stays. Roadtrippers: yes.
- Full comparison
- https://www.pilotplans.com/compare/roadtrippers-alternative
Feature comparison
Each row shows whether Pilot and Roadtrippers offer the feature: Yes, No, or Partial. A [n] marker cites the source in References.
| Feature | Pilot | Roadtrippers |
|---|---|---|
| Planning | ||
| Itinerary builder | YesFlexible by design: map out every idea and reshape the plan however you want, from a rough idea to booked | Yes |
| Drag and drop reordering | Yes | Yes |
| Customizable map pins and routes | YesSee the whole trip on a map and make it yours, not only a single driving route | Yes |
| Add activities, transportation, or stays from anywhere | YesDrop in a flight, a train, a stay, or anything else; Roadtrippers is built around driving stops, so it does not capture other trip pieces the same way | No |
| Attach info to any item | Yes | Yes |
| Notes and checklists | YesKeep notes, lists, and links right alongside the plan, with a note and list toggle and rich text | Yes |
| Note and list format toggle | Yes | No |
| Rich text formatting in notes | Yes | No |
| Undo and redo | Yes | No |
| Duplicate trips | Yes | No |
| Manual file import | Yes | No |
| Email-forwarding file import | YesForward a confirmation and Pilot files it on your trip; Roadtrippers has no email-in import | No |
| AI parsing of imported confirmations | YesForward a booking confirmation and its details are added to your itinerary automatically | No |
| Export to PDF | YesFree in Pilot; Roadtrippers gates much of its planning, including features like this, behind a paid plan (from about $36/yr) | Yes |
| iOS and Android mobile apps | Yes | Yes |
| Offline access on mobile | YesFree in Pilot; Roadtrippers keeps offline maps behind its top paid tier (Premium, about $60/yr) | Yes |
| Shortlist items | Yes | No |
| Wishlist / wanderlist | Yes | No |
| Wishlist images | Yes | No |
| Fun sound effects | Yes | No |
| Structured itinerary sections | Yes | No |
| Keyboard shortcuts | Yes | No |
| Multiple transportation types | Yes | No |
| Flight code auto-fill | Yes | No |
| Multi-leg flight support | Yes | No |
| Consistent IATA codes on mobile | Yes | No |
| Collaboration | ||
| Invite friends | Yes | Yes |
| Real-time collaborative editing | Yes | Yes |
| Edit or view-only permissions | Yes | Yes |
| Heart items for voting | Yes | No |
| Custom trip name and cover photo | Yes | Yes |
| Dedicated group chat per trip | Yes | No |
| Shared notes, files, and saved lists | Yes | Yes |
| Travel profile and stats | Yes | No |
| Edit profile details | Yes | Yes |
| Leave a trip | Yes | No |
| Trips dashboard | Yes | Yes |
| Trip menu actions | Yes | Yes |
| Maps | ||
| Map view of itinerary | Yes | Yes |
| Add items from map | Yes | Yes |
| Routes tool | Yes | Yes |
| Reorder route stops | Yes | Yes |
| Dynamic map search | Yes | Yes |
| AI | ||
| AI itinerary generator | Yes | Yes |
| AI activity suggestions | Yes | Yes |
| AI planning with filters | Yes | Yes |
| Booking | ||
| Book hotels in the app | Yes | Yes |
| Member-only hotel rates | YesPrivate deals straight from hotels, the kind usually saved for travel agents, across 3,000,000+ stays; Roadtrippers does not have member rates | No |
| Add accommodation to itinerary | YesAdd your stay and book it in the same place, at private rates, instead of leaving to book on another site | Yes |
| Transportation cost tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Flight deals | Yes | No |
| Files tab | Yes | No |
| Attach files to itinerary items | Yes | No |
| Instant booking confirmation | Yes | No |
| Checkout without upsells | Yes | No |
| Reviews from real travelers | Yes | Yes |
| No hidden fees or taxes | Yes | No |
| Budgeting | ||
| Trip budget tracker | Partial | Yes |
| Per-person cost split | Partial | No |
| In-trip expense logging | Yes | No |
| Group expense splitting | No | No |
Ratings
| Source | Pilot | Roadtrippers |
|---|---|---|
| Trustpilot rating | 4.4 | 2.8 |
| App Store rating | 4.8 | 4.7 |
| Google Play rating | 4.2 | 4.0 |
Pricing
| Pilot | Roadtrippers | |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | Free to plan and book | Free / Basic $35.99/yr, Pro $49.99/yr, Premium $59.99/yr |
Frequently asked questions
What is Roadtrippers?
Roadtrippers is a road trip planning app. People use it to plan a driving route with stops and attractions. It helps you organize an itinerary, but you book your stays on other sites, and some features sit behind a paid plan.
What is Pilot?
Pilot is a trip booking and planning app. You plan the whole trip in one place, a flexible itinerary, a map of your stops, and notes, and you book your hotel in the app at private rates straight from hotels, the kind usually reserved for travel agents. Where Roadtrippers organizes a trip you book elsewhere, Pilot keeps the planning free and lets you book your stay without leaving the plan.
Is Roadtrippers legit?
Yes, Roadtrippers is a real road-trip planning app that has been around since 2011. It maps a driving route, surfaces attractions, food, and fuel stops along the way, and offers paid tiers (annual only, from about 36 dollars a year for Basic up to about 60 for Premium) that unlock longer routes, offline maps, and more. It is worth knowing that while its iOS app rates around 4.7, its Trustpilot score sits near 2.8, which reflects how some customers feel they are treated. Pilot is also a real, independent trip-planning app, rated 4.8 on the App Store and 4.7 by 50,000+ travelers, and it does the planning plus lets you book your stays at private hotel rates in the app.
Is Roadtrippers free?
Roadtrippers has a free tier that covers basic route planning and discovering places along the way, but it gates a lot behind its paid tiers (annual only, from about 36 dollars a year): longer multi-stop routes, offline maps, live traffic, and more. Pilot is completely free to plan, including offline access on mobile, with no paywall on the basics. On top of that, Pilot lets you book your hotel in the app at private rates that Roadtrippers does not offer, so you get more without paying to unlock it.
How does Roadtrippers work?
Roadtrippers works by letting you set a start and end point, then it maps a driving route and surfaces attractions, restaurants, hotels, and fuel stops along the way, which you can add as stops. It is built specifically around the drive, with multi-stop route optimization and Apple CarPlay, and it links you out to other sites to book hotels. Pilot works differently: it is a flexible itinerary planner for any kind of trip, not just driving. You can add activities, transportation, and stays from anywhere, map them, plan together with the people coming, and then book your hotel right in the app at private rates straight from hotels, so the plan and the booking stay in one place.
How does Roadtrippers make money?
Roadtrippers makes money mainly from its paid subscriptions (annual, from about 36 dollars a year) and from referral commissions when it sends you to other sites to book hotels and experiences. Pilot is free to plan because it earns from hotels when you book through the app, not from charging you to plan, which is why the whole planner, including offline access, stays free. Pilot also shows results ranked for you, with no sponsored placement.
Can you book hotels in Roadtrippers?
Roadtrippers shows hotels along your route, but it leans on linking you out to other booking sites to complete the reservation, and it does not offer private member rates of its own. Pilot lets you book over 3,000,000 hotels right in the app, with private deals straight from hotels, the kind usually reserved for travel agents, so the booking lives with the rest of your trip instead of on a separate site. Note that Pilot lets you book hotels in the app; flights link out via Skyscanner, and experiences can be added to a trip.
Is Roadtrippers worth it?
Roadtrippers can be worth it if your trip is strictly a drive and you specifically want road-trip-native tools like attractions along a single optimized route, fuel-stop planning, and Apple CarPlay, and you do not mind paying for a higher tier to unlock offline maps and longer routes. If you want to plan any kind of trip, keep the basics free, plan together with others, and book your stay at private hotel rates in one place, Pilot does more without the paywall and is free to try.
Roadtrippers vs Pilot: which should I use?
Use Pilot if you want a flexible planner that works for any trip (flights, trains, and stays, not just a drive), keeps the basics free instead of gating them behind a paid plan, lets you plan together with the people coming, and lets you book your stays at private hotel rates all in one place. Roadtrippers fits the narrower case where your trip is purely a road trip, you want driving-specific tools like CarPlay and fuel stops, and you are fine paying its yearly fee for offline maps and longer routes and booking your hotels separately on other sites.