A mileage tracker app helps individuals and businesses record their mileage to track gasoline expenses, tax deductions, and overall productivity. The data that this app provides can also help managers budget and estimate costs based on past information. Having a mileage tracker app for your business can simplify and speed up expense recording, approval, and reimbursement. It also ensures that you and your employees are logging your mileage accurately. Here are the five best mileage tracker apps for 2021:
- TripLog: Best overall mileage tracker
- QuickBooks: Best for QuickBooks users
- MileIQ: Best for simple mileage tracking
- Hurdlr: Best for self-employed individuals
- Everlance: Best for growing companies
TripLog: Best Overall Mileage Tracker
First on our list is TripLog. It earned the spot as the best overall mileage tracker because of its integration of mileage tracking with other key features important to your business. TripLog connects expense tracking, scheduling, and time tracking through TripLog Mileage, TripLog Scheduling, TripLog Timesheets, and TripLog Expense.
TripLog
What We Like
- Free plan for one user
- Multiple tracking options for different needs
- Daily trip viewing and route planning to enable users to see their trips and plan their routes on future trips
- Comprehensive app environment as it connects with TripLog’s expense and schedule tracking apps
What's Missing
- Add-ons like TripLog Drive will yield higher upfront costs since the device is priced separately
- Lower-priced versions don’t include helpful features like accounting software integration, mileage policies, and admin console
- Requires custom pricing for more than 10 users
Pricing
- Lite: Free—good for one user up to 40 trips per month; accessible via app only
- Premium: $5.99 per user, per month, up to 10 users; all Lite features plus multiple tracking options and expense tracking
- Premium + Time: $7.99 per user, per month, up to 10 users; adds time tracking, employee timesheets, and approval workflows
- Enterprise: Custom pricing, unlimited number of users, adds an admin console and mileage policies, tax and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance, and accounting integration
Add-ons:
- TripLog Drive: $120 per unit
- TripLog Beacon: $24.99 per unit
Note: Add-ons are stated at regular prices—check the website for limited-time offers.
Our Expert Opinion
We like TripLog because of the extended features you get in the paid plans. If you get the Premium + Time plan, you’ll have a scheduler, timesheet, and expense tracker in one service provider. We recommend TripLog because it saves you the cost of subscribing to other third-party expense trackers or timesheet apps. Instead, with a fee of less than $10 per user, per month, you can get three trackers.
TripLog’s mileage tracking devices offer a convenient and accurate solution for mileage tracking. You can choose from different tracking options, such as MagicTrip, for background tracking via mobile phone; Car Bluetooth, for moderate battery usage; Manual, for custom tracking; Beacon, a USB-powered device for automatic tracking; and TripLog Drive, the official TripLog dongle for mileage tracking with higher upfront costs. Regardless, with or without the add-ons, TripLog has many great features to offer.
QuickBooks Online: Best for QuickBooks Users
QuickBooks started as an accounting software package and grew into a diverse software environment offering a range of features that solve common workplace problems. We chose QuickBooks Online as the best overall small business accounting software and its app as the best overall mobile accounting app because of its access to nearly all features of the software in addition to mileage tracking.
One of QuickBooks’ greatest features is the tax computation for mileage deductions, wherein users can choose between standard mileage rates and actual expenses. The QuickBooks App includes automated GPS tracking and mileage classification just like standalone mileage apps, but there is no additional cost beyond your subscription to QuickBooks.
QuickBooks Online
What We Like
- Mileage tracker built into the QuickBooks app—free for existing users
- The mileage tracker is integrated into a comprehensive bookkeeping system—easy to track and account for mileage expenses
- Option to choose between actual expense instead of standard rates for tax deductions
What's Missing
- Intelligence features for automatic recording of mileage during work hours or shifts, driving route, driving schedule, and more
- Needs better app functionality as some users report double trips, tracking issues, and location detection problems
- Not a great standalone app—mileage tracking is a subfeature of the software
Pricing
Note: The mileage tracker is built into the QuickBooks app, so you’ll need to subscribe to QuickBooks to use it.
- Simple Start: $25 per month for one user only
- Essentials: $40 per month for three users only
- Plus: $70 per month for five users only
- Advanced: $150 per month for 25 users only
Our Expert Opinion
Overall, QuickBooks is a great choice for a new company looking for accounting software and a mileage tracker. In addition, the QuickBooks environment is diverse in that it can adapt to different business sizes and expansion opportunities.
If you’re currently using QuickBooks, there’s no need to look for another mileage tracker. The built-in tracker is likely enough for your needs. However, if you don’t need accounting software, we advise that you look at the other mileage trackers in this list.
MileIQ: Best for Simple Mileage Tracking
If simplicity is your game, MileIQ is the mileage tracker app for you. MileIQ is a standalone, dedicated mileage tracker that offers basic features. It tracks, classifies, and reports your mileage and driving purpose based on your needs. The app is easy to use, as it’s just a plain and simple mileage tracker.
MileIQ
What We Like
- Simple and innovative user interface
- Affordable, especially for occasional or part-time drivers
- Driving classifications to classify trips based on purpose, location, or time
What's Missing
- No automatic tax deduction computation
- Inefficient power consumption when tracking location in the background
- Lacks an expense tracker for better expense management
Pricing
- Basic: Free for up to 40 trips per month
- Unlimited: $5.99 per month, unlimited trips.
- MileIQ for Teams: Volume pricing
Our Expert Opinion
With its simplicity and easy-to-use interface, MileIQ is an excellent alternative to complex mileage trackers. Although having more features in a mileage tracker is good, some users won’t enjoy or make use of all of them. In that case, a simple app like MileIQ will do the job. While MileIQ lacks automatic tax deduction, we still recommend this app for people or companies that want a simple mileage tracker.
Hurdlr: Best for Self-employed Individuals
Of all the mileage trackers in this list, we found Hurdlr to be the best tracker for self-employed individuals. This app is great for self-employed business owners because it calculates your quarterly estimated tax payments automatically, making tax compliance easier. Moreover, Hurdlr also offers expense and tax tracking for self-employed individuals. Using the tax tracker, individuals can generate tax reports for submission to a certified public accountant (CPA).
Hurdlr
What We Like
- Premium plan includes accounting and invoicing features
- Includes an expense tracker with automatic expense tracking (for habitual or recurring expenses)
- Simple bookkeeping feature best fits freelancers with minimal inventory management needs
- Will calculate your quarterly estimated tax payments
- Hurdlr University—a great learning tool for first-time users
What's Missing
- Lacks an expense computation option as to actual expense method or standard rates
- Does not offer route planning and daily driving summaries
- Pricing plans can be expensive for self-employed individuals with minimal mileage tracking needs
Pricing
- Free: Includes manual tracking and basic reports
- Premium: $10 per month—includes auto-mileage tracking, auto-expense tracking, and real-time tax calculation
- Pro: $16.67 per month, billed annually (or at $200 per year), includes all Premium features plus annual income tax filing through TaxSlayer, full double-entry bookkeeping, and advanced reports
Our Expert Opinion
Hurdlr is a mileage tracking app that tends to give more value to self-employed individuals, with help calculating quarterly estimated taxes and free income tax filing through TaxSlayer. However, companies or small businesses can use it as well. The Hurdlr Premium plan can also be a great QuickBooks alternative because of its bookkeeping and invoicing features. We recommend Hurdlr for freelancers who need a mileage tracker, expense tracker, and simple accounting features.
Everlance: Best for Growing Companies
We rated Everlance as the best for growing companies because of its range of plans that cover self-employed individuals as well as businesses. Everlance tracks expenses for self-employed individuals but can also be used to implement an approval process as your business grows and you start reimbursing employees. This makes Everlance a practical solution for companies planning to expand in the near future.
Everlance
What We Like
- Note-taking features—users can add photos or notes on driving logs to help them remember the purpose of the drive, such as meeting a client or delivering goods to customers
- In-app customer service assistance for Premium plan accounts
- Contains an expense tracker, reimbursement system, and tax-saving tool
What's Missing
- Inaccurate tracking as some users complain about omitted or missing trips
- Does not have filters for expense categories
Pricing
- Basic: Free—30 free trips per month, includes unlimited receipt uploads and IRS-compliant exports
- Premium: $8 per month, unlimited trips, includes deduction finder and advanced PDF or Excel exports
- Premium Plus: $12 per month, unlimited trips, includes one-on-one training and VIP customer support
Our Expert Opinion
Everlance is a mileage tracker that features expense tracking and tax management. We like its tax-saving tool because this feature allocates money automatically for your taxes whenever new income enters your bank account. We find this feature a great budgeting tool for tax expenses. If you decide to expand from self-employed into a small business, you can upgrade easily to an Everlance Business account.
How We Chose the Best Mileage Log Apps
In choosing the apps listed above, we considered the following factors and core features:
- Automatic mileage tracking: The app must have a feature that tracks mileage automatically. Automatic mileage tracking means that the app can track your mileage via GPS, smartphone location services, or through a specialized device.
- Tax compliance computations, data, and reports: The app must provide users estimated computations for tax deductions, particularly the allowable deduction for mileage expenses. Reports and data should also be compliant with IRS requirements.
- Accessibility: The app must be accessible either via smartphone or web browser.
- Mileage classification: Users must be able to classify business and personal trips quickly to determine tax deductibility for business-related trips.
- Related app features: We also considered additional features that add more value to the mileage tracker like expense tracking, accounting and bookkeeping, invoicing, reimbursement systems, and other related features.
When To Use a Mileage Tracker
A mileage tracker can be used to project tax deductions, control mileage costs, and plan for future expenses. Not all individuals or businesses need to use a mileage tracker. However, the need arises when:
- The user intends to deduct mileage expenses for tax purposes: The IRS has strict requirements for documenting business mileage. Taxpayers must keep a detailed log of trips showing the date, number of miles, and purpose of the trip.
- The company has a high volume of mileage expenses and reimbursements: If your line of business involves delivery or if you provide gas allowance to employees, a mileage tracker makes reimbursements easier, faster, and more accurate.
- The user’s nature of work is driving, such as a rideshare driver or private employer driver: Individuals registered to drive for Uber or Lyft can use a mileage tracker to track their daily route, maximize earnings, and reduce their tax liability.
Bottom Line
A mileage tracker can help individuals and businesses track mileage costs, manage daily routes, keep separate records of personal and business trips, assess tax deductions, and much more. All of the trackers above have their strengths and weaknesses, so you’ll have to decide which mileage tracker is best suited to your needs. If you’ve used any of the apps above, share your thoughts in the comments section below.
