Well, you don’t actually need a speedometer to measure your speed, as your smartphone can do this for you. There are some apps that you can install on your smartphone that use GPS to measure your speed based on the change in your location with time.
Here are the best speedometer apps for Android and iPhone.
Things to Note Before Getting Started
The apps listed below make use of your phone’s GPS and internet connection. You need to keep your GPS and mobile data enabled while using them, or else they wouldn’t work. As a result, these apps could drain your phone’s battery faster.
1. Google Maps
The first on this list is Google Maps, the most popular navigation app. The reason this app stands first on this list is its popularity—Google Maps has over two billion users worldwide, and if you are one of them, you do not need to install any separate app.
To check your speed, you first need to navigate somewhere by choosing your starting point and destination. The app will then show you the route to your destination along with your vehicle’s speed. If there are some speed limitations in the area you’re driving, the app will notify you of the same.
There are lots of things you can do with Google Maps, but it misses some features that some other apps on this list offer, like an analog speedometer, HUD mode, etc. But, if you just want to view your speed, the app gets the work done.
Download: Google Maps for Android | iOS (Free)
2. GPS Speedometer
Contrary to its name, the app packs a bunch of extra tools, including a speedometer, an altimeter, and a sound meter. The sound meter measures your environmental noise in dB (decibels) by using your smartphone’s microphone, and the altimeter measures your altitude by using your smartphone’s GPS signals.
The app has an analog speedometer, a digital speedometer, and a map mode that shows your car’s live location on a satellite map, along with its speed. You can also use this app while traveling by train, as it counts maximum speed up to 500 miles per hour.
The app has a HUD mode, which you can use to reflect your speed, average speed, and distance on your vehicle’s windshield. There’s also a premium version of the app with no ads and some additional features like speed limit monitor and driving directions.
Download: GPS Speedometer for Android (Free, in-app purchases available)
3. Smart GPS Speedometer
This is one of the most feature-rich speedometer apps on this list. The app has two modes, driving, and cycling. The cycling mode reads your speed up to 60 miles per hour, and the driving mode can read up to 180 miles per hour.
The app has an analog speedometer. You can check your current speed, maximum speed, average speed, distance covered, moving time, and elapsed time. It comes with some additional features as well, that can come in handy while driving.
You can check the fuel prices in your area, or search for car dealers, taxi stands, parking, car repair, and washing services, etc. near you. Most of these features are locked, and you need to make in-app purchases to use them.
Download: Smart GPS Speedometer for iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)
4. Waze
Waze, by Google, is another popular navigation app on this list. It is a go-to app for many people to find directions while driving. Like Google Maps, Waze also has a speedometer option that displays the speed of your vehicle.
What isn’t similar is that it isn’t necessary to start navigation from the app to view your vehicle’s speed. You just need to open the app and your speed will be visible in the bottom left corner of the screen.
If you don’t see a speedometer after opening the app, you need to manually enable it. To do so, tap the Search button in the bottom left corner, and then tap the Settings icon in the top left corner. Now, under Driving preferences, tap Speedometer, and enable Show on map. You can also set your speed limit from here.
Download: Waze for Android | iOS (Free)
5. Speedometer∞
Speedometer∞ is a simple yet useful app that shows your speed, maximum speed, and average speed. You can also set a speed limit through the app, and it will notify you every time your speed exceeds that limit.
Like some other apps on the list, Speedometer has a HUD mode too. To enable it, you just need to tap anywhere on the screen. You can then project the app’s content to your car’s windshield.
The app supports gestures that let you change its brightness and color. Swiping left or right lets you change the color of the speedometer, and swiping up or down lets you adjust your screen’s brightness.
Download: Speedometer∞ for iOS (Free)
6. Speedometer PRO
Speedometer PRO is a popular speedometer app with over five million downloads on the Google Play Store. It shows you your speed, average speed, maximum speed, and distance covered.
Before starting your journey, you need to tap the Start Driving button and the app records some details like total time taken, distance covered, etc. The details of all your trips are saved under the History tab, and you can view them anytime.
Speedometer PRO also has a HUD mode that lets you mirror your display on your car’s windshield at night. You can enable a live mode widget that displays your speed on a small pop-up window, and use some other apps at the same time.
Download: Speedometer PRO for Android (Free)
7. Zpeed
Zpeed is not an app but a website that you can open on any web browser. If you do not use Google Maps and don’t want to install a separate app either, this could be the best option for you.
The website has a simple user interface and does not offer much functionality. It shows you your speed in numbers, with no option for an analog speedometer. You can choose a speed unit from meter per second, miles per hour, and kilometers per hour.
To use Zpeed, open any web browser and head over to zpeed.in. The website will ask for Location permission, so set it to allow. If the website fails to display your speed, check whether you’ve given Location permission to your web browser.
Your Smartphone Is Your Speedometer!
These were some of the best speedometer apps for smartphones. The accuracy of these apps depends on the GPS signals your smartphone receives, and they should work fine on most smartphones. The speeds might not always be 100 percent accurate, so we do not recommend using them for professional uses.
