Offline maps app Maps.me goes free!

A brilliant offline alternative to Google Maps has just gone free on both iPhone and Android – we totally recommend you download maps.me now!

The app’s Russian parent company, mail.ru has today announced that Maps.me Pro has gone entirely free on both major mobile platforms – which is great news for anyone looking for an alternative to Google. The big selling point it has over Google’s own service is that it works offline – you simply download the map packs for where you want to travel to, and you can search them and get navigation without the need for a connection. This makes it perfect when travelling abroad, and when you want to avoid roaming fees.

Unlike Google, which uses commercial mapping data, maps.me is powered entirely by OpenStreetMap – which is supposed to be an “open source” equivalent that anyone can edit and add to. Think Wikipedia, but for maps, basically. In a recent update to the app, routing and turn-by-turn directions were also added.

It isn’t entirely clear how the company now plans to make money off of the app – we’ll let you know how that turns out. But in the meantime, we strongly recommend a download.