Google Maps Multiple Stops: The 9-Stop Limit and What to Use Instead
Google Maps lets you add up to 9 stops to a route, including the final destination, and it drives them in the order you typed. It does not rearrange them to save time. If you deliver parcels, visit clients or run errands with more than a handful of stops, those are the two limits you plan around.
Key takeaways
- The limit is 9 stops including the last one, on computer, Android and iPhone (Google Maps Help).
- Google Maps keeps your order. You change it by dragging stops, one at a time.
- The order matters more than the roads: for 9 stops there are 362,880 possible orders.
- For 10 or more stops, put the stops in order first with a route planner, then drive in Google Maps.
- MiliRoute is free for routes of up to 10 stops, with no credit card.
How many stops can Google Maps handle?
Google's own help page says: "You can add up to 9 stops, which includes the final destination." That means a route is your starting point plus 9 further places. The limit is the same in the browser, on Android and on iPhone, according to Google's help pages for each.
There is no setting or paid plan that raises it. If you need more, you have to split the trip into pieces.
Does Google Maps put the stops in the best order?
No. The same help page says you change the order by dragging a stop to a new position. Nothing on the page says Google Maps reorders stops for you. The route follows the order you typed, and it finds the quickest roads between each pair of stops in that order.
That is a very different job from choosing the best order. Imagine three stops: one in the north, one in the south and one back in the north. Google Maps will drive north, south, north, exactly as typed. It will find a good road between each pair, but it will not notice that swapping two stops would save an hour.
Why does the order matter so much?
Because the number of possible orders grows very fast. With a list of stops, every stop can be first, then any of the others can be second, and so on. The number of orders is the stop count multiplied by every smaller number down to 1.
| Stops | Possible orders |
|---|---|
| 5 | 120 |
| 8 | 40,320 |
| 9 | 362,880 |
| 10 | 3,628,800 |
| 12 | 479,001,600 |
| 15 | 1,307,674,368,000 |
Nobody checks even 40,320 orders by hand. So most people list stops in the order the parcels came off the shelf, or the order customers phoned. That order is usually far from the best one.
What does a bad order cost on a real day?
Here is one real run. MiliRoute's optimizer was given eight well-known places in New York, listed in no particular order, on 24 October 2026. Driving times are Google's estimates for average traffic, not live traffic.
| Driving distance | Driving time | |
|---|---|---|
| Order as listed | 85.9 km (53.4 miles) | 3 h 24 min |
| MiliRoute's order | 37.9 km (23.5 miles) | 1 h 59 min |
That is 48.0 km and 1 hour 25 minutes less. The list was deliberately far from the best order, so your gap will be smaller if you already plan carefully. The only fair test is your own stops. The eight stops and the screen are on the New York example page.
What can you do when you have more than 9 stops?
You have three practical choices.
- Split the day into chunks of nine. Plan the morning in one Google Maps route and the afternoon in another. It is free. The risk is that you choose where to cut, and a bad cut means driving across town twice.
- Order the stops in a route planner, then drive in Google Maps. A route planner takes the whole list, puts it in the quickest driving order, and then you drive with the navigation you already know. MiliRoute does this: it is free for routes of up to 10 stops, and Premium (A$15 a month or A$140 a year) has no stop limit.
- Use a team tool. If several drivers share one list, you need dispatch software. Our guide to route planner apps compares the options using each company's own pricing page, and what route planning software costs lists the prices.
Which option fits you?
| Your day | What to use |
|---|---|
| Up to 9 stops, the same order every day | Google Maps alone |
| 10 or more stops, or a different list each day | A route planner that orders the stops |
| Several drivers sharing one list | A team tool with dispatch |
| A one-off trip with a few stops | Google Maps, dragged into the order you like |
How do you plan a longer day step by step?
- Write or paste every address in one list.
- Check each address by picking it from the search suggestions, so the map knows exactly where it is.
- Let the planner put the stops in the quickest order.
- Move any stop that cannot wait to the top.
- Drive the route, one stop at a time.
The full checklist, with how to load the van, is in how to plan a delivery route for multiple stops. For why the closest stop is often the wrong next stop, read closest stop vs fastest route.
Google Maps or a route planner: what is the real difference?
| Google Maps | A route planner such as MiliRoute | |
|---|---|---|
| Stops in one route | Up to 9, including the last | Free up to 10; no limit on Premium |
| Order of stops | The order you type; you drag to change it | The quickest driving order, chosen for you |
| Pin a stop first or last | Drag it there | Mark the stop First or Last and the rest are ordered around it |
| Add stops from a label | Type each address | Type, or scan the label with the camera |
| Proof of delivery | None | Signature, photo and note for each stop |
| Turn-by-turn driving | Yes, the best known | Opens Google Maps for the drive |
The two are not rivals. A route planner decides the order, and Google Maps is still an excellent way to drive it. The planner simply does the part Google Maps does not.
Five mistakes people make with many stops
- Typing stops in the order the orders arrived. It feels natural, but it is almost never the quickest order.
- Going to the closest stop each time. It looks sensible and often ends with a long drive back across the area. The article on closest stop vs fastest route shows why.
- Cutting a long list in half by time of day. Cut by area instead, so each part stays in one region.
- Skipping the address check. A wrong suburb costs more than a bad order. Pick addresses from the suggestions.
- Comparing apps by price alone. The free stop limit matters more. It runs from 5 to 15 stops per route across popular apps, so count your busiest day first; the gig driver guide shows the limits side by side.
Questions
Does Google Maps have a stop limit on a phone?
Yes. Google's help pages for computer, Android and iPhone give the same limit: up to 9 stops, including the final destination.
Can I add more stops by making a second route?
Yes. Google Maps will not join two routes into one, so you drive the first route, then start the next. Plan where to cut so you do not cross the same area twice.
Does Google Maps choose the fastest order for my stops?
No. It keeps the order you typed and finds the quickest roads between stops in that order. A route planner is the tool that chooses the order.
Is there a free way to put stops in order?
Yes. MiliRoute is free for routes of up to 10 stops, with no credit card. Other apps have free plans too, from 5 to 15 stops per route; the price comparison shows them side by side.
Is the New York route typical?
No. It is one real run on a list that was far from the best order. Treat it as an example of what the ordering step can do, and test your own stops.
Sources
- Google Maps Help: plan a route with multiple destinations, checked 24 and 28 October 2026
- MiliRoute optimizer run on 24 October 2026, eight public addresses in New York, Google driving-time estimates for average traffic
Last updated 28 October 2026.