Best Trip Planning Websites & Apps (Compared for 2026)

Eight trip planning websites and apps, compared on price, maps, offline use, group sharing and who books the trip, with honest pros and cons for each.

How we compared these trip planners

We looked at eight trip planning websites and apps on the job each one does best, and checked each against the vendor's own website or help pages on 19 October 2026. We compared six things: whether there is a free tier and what a paid plan adds, offline use, group sharing, route mapping, AI features, and who actually books the trip. Prices appear only where the vendor publishes them clearly; where a vendor's pages did not state something, the table says "Not confirmed" rather than guessing. Plans change often, so check the vendor before you pay.

Trip planner comparison table

The best trip planners, one by one

Wanderlog

Best for: building a day-by-day itinerary on a map with friends.

Wanderlog puts the itinerary and the map in one view, with live syncing and collaborative editing. You can forward booking emails into the plan, split costs between travelers, and use route optimization and an AI assistant. It has iOS and Android apps. Its own offline guide says full itinerary planning with offline access is free, while offline maps need the paid subscription (that guide dates from October 2024, so check the current plan).

Pros:

• Strong map-plus-itinerary layout
• Real-time group editing and expense splitting
• Useful free tier

Cons:

• Offline maps sit behind the paid plan
• You do the planning yourself; nobody books for you
• We could not confirm current Pro pricing on Wanderlog's site, so we do not quote one

TripIt

Best for: keeping bookings you have already made in one itinerary.

Forward your confirmation emails to [email protected] and TripIt builds the itinerary for you. The free plan covers calendar sync, plan sharing, airport maps, carbon-footprint tracking and up to three document uploads per trip. TripIt Pro costs $49 a year as of October 2026 and adds real-time flight alerts, seat and check-in help, reward tracking and up to 25 uploads per trip. TripIt says you can access your itinerary offline but does not say which plan that applies to.

Pros:

• Almost no data entry
• Free plan is generous for organizing
• Pro alerts help when flights change

Cons:

• It organizes trips; it does not help you decide where to go or what to do
• The best features are in the paid plan

Google Maps lists (and Google Travel)

Best for: a free, no-fuss way to collect places.

Google's Help pages describe lists you can keep private or share, and you can invite others to edit a shared list. You can also download an area for offline use, although offline mode does not give transit, cycling or walking directions, and some countries are excluded. Google retired its standalone Trips app in August 2019; reservations from Gmail now appear in Google Calendar and Search. Lists are a good scrapbook, not an itinerary builder.

Pros:

• Already on your phone
• Shared lists with edit access
• Offline map areas for driving

Cons:

• No day-by-day schedule
• No budgets, documents or booking organizer

Layla

Best for: a quick AI-drafted itinerary.

Layla is an AI trip planner. Its FAQ says it is free to use and its About page says there is no subscription fee, though other posts on its own blog describe paid options, so check the app before assuming. It also says a human advisor handles bookings for tailor-made trips. We could not confirm its platforms, offline use or group features, so we leave them out.

Pros:

• Fast first draft
• Human help available for bookings

Cons:

• Conflicting information on paid tiers
• Less clear on maps, offline use and sharing

Mindtrip

Best for: planning with a group through an AI assistant.

Mindtrip describes itself as a personal travel assistant that learns your style. You can invite others to collaborate, build an itinerary with your group, use interactive maps, and book flights, stays, restaurants and things to do through the app. It is available on the web and iOS, and its pages describe the app as free. It works with OpenAI for the conversational side. We could not find offline use stated.

Pros:

• Group chat and shared collections
• Recommendations explain their reasoning
• Maps and booking in one place

Cons:

• No Android app mentioned in its FAQ
• Offline use not stated
• Its support pages point you back to the provider you booked with

Roadtrippers

Best for: road-trip route mapping.

Roadtrippers plans routes with stops, on the web and in mobile apps. As of October 2026 the published plans are Free (1 saved trip, 3 stops), Basic ($35.99 a year or $11.99 a month, 20 stops), Pro ($49.99 a year or $16.99 a month, 50 stops, adds trip collaboration) and Premium ($59.99 a year or $19.99 a month, 150 stops, adds offline maps, RV GPS and Autopilot). Autopilot builds an itinerary from a few questions. There is a seven-day free trial.

Pros:

• Built around driving routes and stops
• Clear published pricing
• Autopilot drafts a trip for you

Cons:

• The free plan stops at three stops
• Collaboration and offline maps need paid plans
• Not designed for city breaks or flights

Tripadvisor Trips and AI assistant

Best for: a free itinerary built from traveler reviews.

Tripadvisor's Trips is a free itinerary builder. Its AI assistant, which it describes as completely free, recommends hotels, restaurants and things to do from traveler reviews and can build day-by-day plans that you save to Trips, rearrange and share with companions. You can start without an account, but you need to sign in to save. We could not confirm offline use or platform details.

Pros:

• Free, including the AI features
• Huge review base behind the suggestions

Cons:

• Review-driven picks lean toward popular places
• Offline and map features not confirmed

Travel.ninja

Best for: a luxury trip you want built and booked for you.

Travel.ninja is an AI trip planner with specialists behind it. The AI drafts a day-by-day itinerary; a human specialist then books the hotels, trains, transfers, guides and experiences. Flights are searched and priced for you, but never booked by us: you buy the ticket from the airline. Planning is free, you see the full price before committing, and nothing is booked until you and your specialist both approve it.

Pros:

• A human specialist books your hotels, trains and experiences; nothing is booked until you and your specialist both approve it
• One trip total and a per-person price while you plan
• Itineraries built around the flight you choose

Cons:

• It is a planning-and-booking service, not a lightweight organizer; if you only want to file bookings you made yourself, TripIt is the better fit
• You buy flights yourself, directly from the airline
• We have not confirmed offline use or group sharing for this comparison, so we do not claim them

Best free trip planner

For no cost at all, start with Tripadvisor Trips and its AI assistant, Google Maps lists, TripIt's free plan or Wanderlog's free tier. Mindtrip describes its app as free, and Layla's FAQ says it is free to use. The usual paywalls are offline maps (Wanderlog, Roadtrippers), flight alerts (TripIt) and extra stops or collaboration (Roadtrippers).

Best for road-trip route mapping

Roadtrippers is built for this: stops along a route, with Autopilot on its top plan. Wanderlog also offers route optimization if you want a general itinerary tool. For more on the topic, see our road trip planner guide.

Best for groups

Wanderlog offers live collaborative editing and cost splitting, Mindtrip offers group chat and shared collections, and Google Maps lists let you invite others to edit. Roadtrippers collaboration needs the Pro plan. If you want a full guide to organizing a trip with others, read our guide to planning a group or vacation trip.

Which one should you pick?

• You want a free place to collect ideas: Google Maps lists or Tripadvisor Trips.
• You have bookings in your inbox: TripIt.
• You want a day-by-day plan on a map: Wanderlog.
• You are driving: Roadtrippers.
• You want an AI draft in minutes: Layla, Mindtrip or Tripadvisor's assistant.
• You want a luxury trip booked by a person: Travel.ninja.

If you would rather hand the whole job over, our trip planning services guide explains what to expect, and our international trip planner and travel itinerary planner guides go deeper on planning abroad and building the schedule.

How to plan a trip, step by step

1. Fix your dates and budget.
2. Choose a destination and check the best time to go.
3. Search flights to anchor the dates.
4. Pick one or two bases and book where you will sleep.
5. Add activities by day, leaving gaps for rest.
6. Keep confirmations and documents in one place.