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A device, or the phone already in the cab

What Is the Difference Between Trucker Path and Garmin?

Garmin is a dedicated truck navigator you buy and mount. Trucker Path is an app on your phone for truck navigation, parking, stops and fuel. You can use them together.

Download Trucker PathSee the full comparison
The Trucker Path route on a vehicle display through CarPlay, rather than on a phone clipped to the windscreen.

What Changes in Your Day-to-Day Driving?

The stops, not only the road

Truck washes, CAT scales, rest areas and repair shops sit on the map alongside truck stops, each with amenities, hours and driver reviews. So the question is not only whether there is a truck wash off this exit. It is whether that one is worth pulling into at eleven at night.

Parking you can see before you commit

Real-time availability reported by drivers already parked, and a prediction for the lot you are still hours away from.

Fuel priced across the run, and discounted at the pump

Diesel prices reported by drivers filling up, and fuel planned across a whole run rather than priced at one stop.

Freight on the same phone

Trucker Path carries a load board on the same phone; TruckLoads features are sold separately, so check the current terms. A truck navigator does not set out to carry freight at all.

When the Garmin is the better pick

A dedicated device has its own screen and its own power, and it does not compete with calls, messages or a flat battery. If you want something mounted that simply works without a phone in the equation, that is what Garmin sells, and it is a fair reason to buy one.

What this page does not claim

Nothing here says one routes better than the other. We have not tested a Garmin navigator against the app on the same lanes.

FAQ

Is a Garmin the same kind of thing as the Trucker Path app?

No, and that is the whole point of the question. One is hardware, the other is software on a phone you already carry. A Garmin is a dedicated navigator you buy as a separate device, and Garmin publishes suggested retail prices for the range. It gives you a 6 to 10 inch screen and truck routing on the size and weight of the rig. Garmin also lists bridge height and sharp curve alerts, wind speed alerts, a CAT Scale locator, overhead views of the destination and, on one model, a dash cam. Trucker Path is an app on the phone already in the cab: free with ads and no time limit, then two paid tiers published on our pricing page. It carries twelve place types with amenities, hours and driver reviews on each, plus real-time parking availability, weigh station open or closed status, and diesel prices from drivers filling up. On top of that sit Parking Predictions, Smart Fuel Plans, rest break reminders and CarPlay. If you want a second screen and a one-time cost, the device. If you want the phone you have, a free tier, and the stops handled as well as the road, the app.

Which costs less?

Do the arithmetic on two published numbers. The range spans several screen sizes, so which device you pick moves the answer a long way.

Does the Garmin still need my phone?

For part of it. Garmin states the dēzl community features require "use of the dēzl app on a compatible smartphone". Routing runs on the device itself, but the parts that depend on other drivers need the phone as well.

What does the app handle beyond the route?

It is free to start, with no time limit. It carries truck stops, fuel stops, parking, weigh stations, truck washes, CAT scales, Walmart, rest areas, hotels, restaurants, repair shops and dealer centers, plus DOT inspection sites, with amenities, hours and driver reviews on each. Diesel prices come from drivers filling up, and Smart Fuel Plans work out where to buy across a whole run. A load board sits on the same phone, sold separately from the navigation plan — not something a truck navigator sets out to do.

Can I run both?

Yes, and plenty do. The app is free to download, so a week alongside whatever is already on the windshield costs nothing and tells you which one you actually reach for.

Want it row by row?See the side-by-side comparison

Free to download, with ads

Keep the Navigator. Put the Stops on Your Phone.

The device handles the road. Trucker Path handles what happens at the stop: parking predicted before you pull in, diesel discounted at the pump on the 10-4 by WEX fuel network, and the load that comes next. Free to download, no trial clock.

Download Trucker Path