Customers are no longer willing to wait for vague delivery windows; they want to see their driver in real-time with live tracking.
Using real-time tracking apps alongside route optimization helps businesses minimize customer claims for missed deliveries by 25%.
As Delivery author and Locate2u founder Steve Orenstein puts it:
“Even if a customer loves your product, one bad experience could send them straight to your competitors. But if they have a great experience, they stay loyal.”
For small businesses, starting, you need transparency, but it can also be extremely costly when you haven’t generated enough revenue yet.
There are real-time tracking apps that offer businesses a few days or up to a month of free trial period to try out before making any commitment.
What Is Live Tracking Delivery Software?
Live tracking delivery software fills the gaps between the driver, dispatcher, and customer. It’s communication that is needed to make the final mile successful without any confusion or anxiety.
It’s a platform that enables visibility. Giving customers access to the behind-the-scenes.
It utilizes GPS data to display real-time driver locations, provide customers with estimated time of arrival (ETA) predictions, and confirm proof of delivery. This is all controlled from a single dashboard by dispatchers.
With live tracking, customers can plan their day better. No one can afford a missed delivery due to poor communication and planning.
Why Live Tracking Matters More Than Ever
Australia Post, with over 3 million active users, conducted research in 2024/2025 that found real-time tracking is essential. Nearly half of online shoppers actively track their parcels.
It reduces those tedious calls from customers, each asking where their order is and when it will arrive.
Even if customers love the product you are selling, if you do not provide them with the reassurance of real-time tracking, they may not buy the product at all.
Not All ‘Live Tracking’ Is Real
Customers might be promised a real-time tracking link after placing the order. However, not all live tracking software functions the same, and customers often lack a clear understanding.
Amazon and Uber have set the expectation of a live tracking link that updates in real time as the driver moves. Some software or cheaper packages show a map, but the dot barely moves.
That’s not live. If it’s lagging and only showing the driver’s icon when they leave, and then jumps after a few minutes to catch up, it gives customers a false sense of assurance.
True live tracking updates every few seconds, recalculates the ETA, and reflects real turns, traffic, and drop-offs.
Here’s the line to draw:
- Static or slow-refresh maps: periodic pings, jittery jumps, stale ETAs.
- Real-time feeds: continuous updates, smooth movement, ETAs that adjust as conditions change.
Top 5 Live Tracking Delivery Apps With Free Trials
Locate2u
Locate2u combines real-time GPS tracking with route optimization, providing customers with accurate ETAs and photo-based proof of delivery.
The aim here is to assist teams who need an end-to-end delivery stack rather than a “driver-only” app.
It has perfect integration with e-commerce platforms.
Communication is one of the most critical aspects. Enabling businesses to share live tracking links with customers for increased transparency.
The 30-day free trial is clearly advertised as ‘no credit card required’ and positioned for quick hands-on testing before any commitment.
It’s ideal for delivery teams (B2C and B2B) that want live tracking plus route planning and POD in a single workflow, rather than stitching multiple tools set up an API
Track-POD
Track-POD is a delivery management suite that pairs a dispatcher dashboard with a driver app.
Part of its offering includes:
- Real-time tracking
- Electronic proof of delivery
- Barcode scanning
- Loads checks
This software is helpful for small to mid-sized fleets. It’s a bit more sophisticated for heavier route planners, but if you only have one or two vans, it might be too much.
The free trial lasts 7 days, during which you can test both the web console and the driver app.
RoadWarrior
RoadWarrior focuses on multi-stop route optimization for solo drivers or small teams.
Dispatchers can create routes for drivers using the apps on their mobile devices. Real-time GPS tracking and proof of delivery are also part of the offering.
The official site advertises a 7-day trial, but beyond this period, team pricing applies. It’s not certain whether the proof of delivery add-on is included in the trial scope.
SmartRoutes
SmartRoutes provides communication with customers (via ETAs via SMS or email) and proof of delivery.
It’s mainly built for teams that want planning, tracking, nd communication with customers in one stack. It’s a 7-day low-friction trial that will give you the pass on whether this could be a good fit for your team.
Use this week to test the dispatch workflows and communication with delivery drivers.
Circuit (Now Spoke)
Spoke is a route planner app that focuses on the individual drivers. It’s simple to use and works well for those multi-stop optimizations.
The free version allows you to test only up to ten stops, so this is how you’ll test micro-routes to see if it will be a good fit for your team.
For teams, the “Circuit for Teams” is rebranded as Spoke Dispatch, offering live tracking and proof of delivery software.
How to Choose the Best Live Tracking App for Your Business
Make a list of the outcome you want after using live tracking software.
You may want fewer calls from customers asking about the status of their orders, or tighter ETAs.
Here’s a way to decide with a quick checklist:
Define your priorities: Rank speed, transparency (including live maps and ETAs), and proof of delivery from 1 to 3 in priority. That becomes your scoring lens.
Run a real pilot: Use actual orders over a weekend surge. Now look out for how long it takes to refresh the app for tracking. Does it take minutes or seconds? Another thing to look out for is the accuracy of the ETAs.
Check integrations: Confirm whether it has plug-ins for Shopify/WooCommerce.
Test driver friendliness: Hand the app to a driver with no prior training. If they’re confused in five minutes, it’s not the one.
Inspect communication: Look for SMS/email tracking links. How is the communication?
Pressure-test POD & scanning: Take photos or scan signatures, and try to export a sample POD report to ensure it’s audit-ready.
Know the trial limits: Ensure what it can’t do when it comes to the live map, ETAs, and POD.
Support & uptime: Confirm weekend support hours in your time zone. Things can break down, and you need immediate assistance.
Total cost to operate: Check out what the pay model the app is offering. Is it per-driver or per-stop pricing? Would any add-on features be additional charges?
NOW READ: 5 Top delivery driver apps in 2025
About the author
Mia is a multi-award-winning journalist. She has more than 14 years of experience in mainstream media. She's covered many historic moments that happened in Africa and internationally. She has a strong focus on human interest stories, to bring her readers and viewers closer to the topics at hand.
