HERE WeGo vs Google Maps
HERE WeGo is a European alternative to Google Maps: same consumer products use case, headquartered in Netherlands and governed by EU GDPR, while Google Maps (Google) is based in the United States.
By the EU Alternatives team Last updated
Navigate effortlessly with offline maps, turn-by-turn directions, and real-time traffic. Find optimal routes for car, public transport, cycling, or walking.
- Jurisdiction
- EU / EEA
- Primary privacy law
- EU GDPR
- US CLOUD Act exposure
- No
- Open source
- No
- Free tier
- Yes
Google Maps is the default navigation and local search tool for most smartphone users, free for consumers and funded in part by advertising. Developers who embed it pay usage-based API fees. Location histories end up with Google in Mountain View, California, well outside EU jurisdiction.
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- GDPR by default
- Requires DPA + TIA
- US CLOUD Act exposure
- Yes
HERE WeGo vs Google Maps at a glance
| HERE WeGo | Google Maps | |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Netherlands | United States |
| Data jurisdiction | EU / EEA | United States |
| Primary privacy law | EU GDPR | Requires DPA + transfer assessment |
| US CLOUD Act exposure | No | Yes |
| Best for | Teams that need consumer products built for European data-protection requirements | Teams already invested in the Google ecosystem |
Choose HERE WeGo if…
- You want a provider governed by a European privacy regime
- GDPR or public-sector data-protection requirements apply to you
- You want to start free and scale up later
- You'd rather back the European tech ecosystem
Stick with Google Maps if…
- You depend on integrations only available in the Google ecosystem
- Your organisation has no EU data-residency constraints
- Migration costs outweigh the jurisdiction benefits for now
About HERE WeGo
HERE WeGo is the consumer maps and navigation app from HERE Technologies, the Dutch mapping company whose data powers a large share of the world's car navigation systems. It brings that automotive-grade map quality to a free phone app, with strong offline maps and multi-modal routing across Europe and beyond.
Download a city or country and navigation, search, and public-transit directions all work without a connection, useful for travelers avoiding roaming. Routing spans driving, walking, cycling, public transport, and taxi, with live traffic where available, from a company whose core business is selling location data to carmakers rather than profiling consumers.
Key features:
- Automotive-grade maps from a leading European mapping provider
- Offline maps for driving, walking, transit, and search
- Multi-modal routing including public transport and taxi options
- Live traffic on supported routes for smarter driving
- Turn-by-turn navigation with clear voice guidance
- Free to download and use on iOS and Android
HERE WeGo is operated by HERE Global B.V., headquartered in Eindhoven, Netherlands, with the wider HERE Technologies owned largely by a consortium of European automakers. Its data-licensing business model keeps the consumer app free without turning users into the product.
Ideal for travelers and drivers who want offline European maps and transit routing from a Dutch company instead of Google Maps.
Why choose HERE WeGo over Google Maps?
The decisive argument is data jurisdiction. Google Maps is headquartered in the United States, which means personal data processed through it can be subject to non-EU legal regimes: the US CLOUD Act, FISA 702, or similar laws depending on the provider. After the 2020 Schrems II ruling, EU organisations must carry out a transfer impact assessment for every such data flow.
HERE WeGo removes that overhead. As a Netherlands-based provider, it operates under EU GDPR, and data stays inside the EU/EEA by default. For regulated sectors such as health, public administration, and finance, that's not a nice-to-have but a requirement. For everyone else, it's concentration-risk insurance: you avoid depending on a single jurisdiction that can change the rules without warning.