MileIQ alternatives: where to switch and how to keep your mileage log
Five apps reviewed in depth, one per reason to leave, and a six-step switching plan.
The short answer: Driversnote if you want the closest thing to MileIQ with a better beacon setup; Stride if you drive gig work and want to pay nothing; TripLog if you want unlimited automatic tracking for free and a cheap upgrade; Everlance if you also need receipts and expenses in one app; Zoho Expense if you run a team of three or fewer. One thing before you pick: your MileIQ history does not move by itself. You export it from the web dashboard, month by month, and keep it for as long as the IRS can ask for it. We compared the five apps in this guide and checked their pricing pages in 2026.
The ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
Why people are leaving MileIQ
MileIQ is not a bad app. Most public reviews are still positive, and plenty of users say the automatic detection just works. People leave for other reasons: the price, a tight free plan, and a few detection gaps that cost real deductions. Six reasons, each checked in 2026.
A 2026 price increase
MileIQ raised its prices in 2026, and it says the change is a price adjustment only, with no new features and no new plan structure. Unlimited now costs $11.66 a month billed annually, or $13.99 a month with no commitment. Over a year, that is $139.92 annual or $167.88 monthly. The reviews that mention leaving tell the same story: they liked the app, the new price did not work, and some employers stopped covering it.
A free plan capped at 40 drives
MileIQ Free logs 40 drives a month. A rideshare or delivery driver can burn through that in a few days. TripLog's free Basic plan has no drive cap on automatic GPS tracking, and Stride is free outright. If you drive more than twice a day, MileIQ Free is a trial, not a plan.
Short drives that slip through
Automatic detection depends on your phone's motion sensors. Users and at least one competing vendor report trips under half a mile not being logged, nothing recorded when the phone was offline at the start, and distances that run longer than Google Maps. If your day is a string of short local stops, every missed trip is a deduction you never claim.
Two IRS rates in the same year
The IRS business rate is 72.5 cents a mile for the first half of 2026 and 76 cents for the second half. Whatever app you use, check that it splits the year correctly. If yours applies one rate to the whole year, your report is off by 3.5 cents a mile for half your driving, and you are the one who has to fix it.
Teams pay per driver from day one
MileIQ's business plans run $8, $9 and $10 per user per month (Teams Lite, Teams, Teams Pro), or $80 to $100 a year. That is fair for mileage alone, and cheaper than Driversnote Teams at $11 per license. But if your company also reimburses receipts and per diems, you end up paying for a second tool next to it.
A new owner
MileIQ was bought in 2025 by Bending Spoons, the Milan-based group that buys consumer apps and often reworks their pricing. Microsoft had owned it before selling it off. The acquisition did not change the app overnight, but the 2026 increase followed soon after. If you pay annually, your renewal date is the moment to compare.
You're leaving because… go to…
The right MileIQ alternative depends on what is pushing you out and how you work. Usually one card fits. Each one jumps to the full review below.
Automatic tracking plus a free iBeacon on the yearly plan.
You do gig driving and want to pay $0StrideFree automatic GPS tracking with IRS-ready exports.
The 40-drive cap keeps cutting you offTripLogUnlimited automatic tracking free, Premium at $59.99 a year.
You need receipts and expenses tooEverlanceMileage, expenses and Excel or CSV exports in one app.
Your team has three drivers or fewerZoho ExpenseGPS mileage free for up to 3 users.
Your phone battery dies by noonTripLogBeacon ($19.99) or plug-in Drive device ($79.99) instead of constant GPS.
MileIQ alternatives, app by app
For each app: why switch to it, who it is for, its limit, how to move over from MileIQ, and what it costs. Scores come from our ranking of mileage tracker apps, and prices are the ones each vendor shows on its pricing page in 2026.
Driversnote: the closest swap, with a beacon included
Closest to MileIQWhy switch to Driversnote. It works the way MileIQ does: it detects drives on iOS and Android, you classify them business or personal with a swipe, and reports come out as PDF or Excel. The difference is the trigger. On the yearly plan, Driversnote includes an iBeacon (shown as a 40 USD value, free on a yearly plan bought on the web) that you stick in the car. The app starts logging when your phone sees it, which takes the guesswork out of motion detection.
Who it's for. Self-employed drivers, sales reps and small teams of 2 to 10 who want automatic tracking without missed short trips.
Who it's not for. Light drivers on a budget: the free plan stops at 15 trips a month, fewer than MileIQ's 40.
Its limit. Price. Pro is $11 a month, about where MileIQ landed after its increase, and Teams is $11 per license, more than MileIQ Teams Lite at $8. You switch to Driversnote for the beacon and the reliability, not to save money.
How to switch. Take the yearly plan to get the beacon. Start Driversnote on the first day of a month, keep your MileIQ PDF exports as your records for earlier months, and run both apps side by side for that first month.
- Score
- 4.4/5
- Free
- 15 trips a month
- Paid
- Pro $11/mo
- Limit
- not cheaper than MileIQ
Stride: free for gig drivers
FreeWhy switch to Stride. If you left MileIQ because of the bill, Stride removes it. The app is free, tracks mileage automatically with GPS, and exports IRS-ready PDF and CSV reports. For a 1099 driver doing rideshare or delivery, that covers the core job MileIQ Unlimited was doing for $139.92 a year.
Who it's for. Gig workers and independent contractors who need a clean mileage log at tax time and nothing else.
Who it's not for. Anyone who needs custom reports for an employer, or who drives through dead zones a lot.
Its limit. Reliability is the recurring complaint. Some App Store reviewers say tracking misses trips, and a user on an accounting forum points out there is no offline mode and limited export customization. Free is free, but check your log weekly.
How to switch. Install Stride, give it location access set to "Always", and let it run next to MileIQ for a month. Compare the trip count at the end. If the totals line up, cancel MileIQ and keep your old exports.
- Score
- 4.2/5
- Price
- free
- Exports
- PDF and CSV
- Limit
- no offline mode
TripLog: unlimited automatic tracking for free
No drive capWhy switch to TripLog. It answers the 40-drive cap directly. TripLog Basic is free forever and includes unlimited automatic GPS mileage tracking. You keep the hands-off experience you had on MileIQ without paying for it.
Who it's for. High-mileage drivers and small fleets who want to choose how tracking starts: automatic GPS, a beacon, or a device in the car.
Who it's not for. Anyone who wants the full annual report every month on the free plan: TripLog opens Premium for 7 days once a year so you can pull it.
Its limit. Battery. One forum user said their phone was at 50% by noon with constant GPS tracking. That is the cost of unlimited free detection.
How to switch. If battery is a problem, add the Beacon ($19.99) or the plug-in Drive device ($79.99), which start logging without constant GPS. Premium is $4.99 a month, paid annually as $59.99, less than half of MileIQ Unlimited.
- Score
- 3.9/5
- Free
- unlimited auto GPS
- Paid
- Premium $59.99/yr
- Limit
- battery drain
Everlance: mileage plus expenses in one place
Mileage and expensesWhy switch to Everlance. MileIQ tracks miles and stops there. Everlance adds expenses and receipts, so a freelancer gets one place for the two biggest deductions. Exports come out as standard Excel and CSV files, ready for your accountant or tax software. On the same accounting forum, one user found its detection more reliable than TripLog's.
Who it's for. Freelancers and small teams who want mileage and expenses tracked together.
Who it's not for. Heavy drivers on the free plan: it detects 30 trips a month per user automatically, fewer than MileIQ's 40, although manual trips are unlimited.
Its limit. The paid plans cost more than TripLog. Starter runs between $69.99 and $89.99 a year depending on the offer on the pricing page, and the 7-day Starter trial asks for a card.
How to switch. Start the trial on the first of a month, so the 7 days fall in one reporting period. Set a reminder to cancel before it renews if the detection does not beat MileIQ on your routes.
- Score
- 4.1/5
- Free
- 30 auto trips a month
- Paid
- Starter $69.99 to $89.99/yr
- Limit
- trial needs a card
Zoho Expense: free GPS mileage for a small team
Free up to 3 usersWhy switch to Zoho Expense. MileIQ Teams charges for every driver from the first one. Zoho Expense gives you GPS mileage free for up to 3 users, with expense reports around it. For an owner and two employees, the mileage bill drops to zero.
Who it's for. Very small teams that want miles and receipts in one tool, and companies already on other Zoho apps.
Who it's not for. A solo driver who wants MileIQ-style automatic capture on the free plan: that comes with Premium.
Its limit. Auto mileage capture with live tracking is a Premium feature, at $5 per user per month billed annually ($6 monthly). Standard costs $3 ($4 monthly).
How to switch. Put your three drivers on the free plan first, set the IRS rate for each half of the year, and only move to Premium if missed trips cost more than $5 per person per month.
- Score
- 4.0/5
- Free
- 3 users, GPS mileage
- Paid
- Standard $3/user/mo
- Limit
- auto capture on Premium
The 5 alternatives side by side
Our default pick: Driversnote if you want to keep paying for reliable automatic tracking, TripLog or Stride if you want to stop paying. For a yearly cost: MileIQ Unlimited is $139.92, Driversnote Pro $132 ($11 a month), Everlance Starter $69.99 to $89.99, TripLog Premium $59.99, Stride $0. One row per app: the free plan and its limit on the left, the first paid price and export on the right.
| Free plan and limit | First paid plan and export | |
|---|---|---|
| MileIQWhere you start | 40 drives a month, automatic | Unlimited $11.66/mo annual, $13.99 monthly; PDF and CSV reports |
| DriversnoteClosest swap | 15 trips a month | Pro $11/mo, iBeacon free on yearly; PDF and Excel |
| StrideGig drivers | Free, automatic GPS | No paid plan needed; IRS-ready PDF and CSV |
| TripLogNo drive cap | Unlimited automatic GPS | Premium $59.99/yr; Beacon $19.99, Drive $79.99 |
| EverlanceMileage and expenses | 30 auto trips a month, manual unlimited | Starter $69.99 to $89.99/yr; Excel and CSV |
| Zoho ExpenseSmall teams | 3 users, GPS mileage | Standard $3, Premium $5/user/mo annual |
Prices from each vendor's official pricing page in 2026. Scores from our ranking of mileage tracker apps.
Leave MileIQ in six steps
Order matters. The risk is not losing the app, it is losing the proof. Your mileage log backs every dollar you deduct, so it has to survive the switch intact.
Export your full history from the web dashboard
FirstLog in to the MileIQ web dashboard, not the phone app: that is where reports are generated, as PDF and CSV in the US. Pull one report per month for the current year and every earlier year you have in the account. Save them outside MileIQ with clear names (2026-03-drives.pdf).
Why month by month? An audit question is about a period, and one giant file is painful to search. Open each file once to make sure it is not empty.
- Time
- about an hour
- Format
- PDF and CSV
Check that every drive has a business purpose
IRS logA usable mileage log shows the date, where you went, the miles and the business purpose of each trip. Open two or three months of your export and look at the purpose column. Many MileIQ users swipe business or personal without saying why.
Fill in the missing purposes now, while you still remember. Your calendar and your invoices help you match each drive to a client.
- Risk if skipped
- deduction denied
Set up the new app before your first drive
Day 1Create your account, add your vehicle and your frequent places (home, office, regular clients), so trips name themselves. Check the rate: 72.5 cents a mile for the first half of 2026, 76 cents for the second half.
On the phone, set location access to "Always", not "While using", and on Android take the app out of battery optimization. Without both, no app detects drives in the background, MileIQ included.
- Key setting
- location "Always"
Run both apps for one month
One monthKeep MileIQ running for a full month next to the new app. At the end, compare trip count and total miles. A few short trips apart is normal; dozens of miles apart means a setting is wrong.
Pick a month with short local drives, because that is where apps differ most. If you are on MileIQ Free, its 40 drives often cover this check month.
- Compare
- trips and total miles
Cancel through the right channel
Where you paidIf you paid on the website, cancel from the Subscription menu of the web dashboard. If you paid in the iPhone app, Apple handles it: cancel in your Apple account settings, MileIQ's team cannot do it for you. Same logic for Google Play on Android.
At the end of the paid period, the account falls back to the free plan, so your history does not vanish on day one. Use that window to run one last full export.
- After canceling
- back to Free
Fill the gaps and archive
Year endIf weeks are missing between your last MileIQ export and the new app, rebuild them from your calendar, invoices or Google Maps timeline, and note each rebuilt trip with its purpose.
At year end, put the MileIQ exports, the new app's reports and your vehicle details in one folder. Give your tax preparer total business miles for the whole year, split by half because of the two IRS rates.
- For your preparer
- miles per half-year
Is your tool missing from this page? Email us: hello@hackceleration.com
What makes a MileIQ switch go wrong
Switching mileage apps looks easy: install another one. The trouble shows up later, at tax time or in an audit. Six mistakes come up again and again, and each costs more than the minutes it would take to avoid.
Canceling before exporting
Reports come from the web dashboard, not the app. Export first, open the files, then cancel. The fall-back to Free gives you a window, not a guarantee.
Applying one rate to all of 2026
With 72.5 cents for the first half and 76 cents for the second, a single rate is wrong for half your miles. Check how the new app handles the change before you trust its totals.
Switching mid-month
Moving on the 17th leaves two partial logs for one month, with a risk of duplicates or gaps. Start the new app on the first and keep both running until the month ends.
Letting battery saver decide
A phone in low-power mode kills background apps, and drives stop logging. If the battery is the issue, use a beacon: iBeacon with Driversnote, Beacon or Drive with TripLog.
Forgetting an employer-paid plan
If your employer paid for MileIQ Teams, ask the team admin before you move. Export your own reports first.
Comparing free plans by name only
"Free" means 40 drives at MileIQ, 15 at Driversnote, 30 automatic at Everlance, and no cap at TripLog and Stride. Count your real monthly trips first. For more options, see our best mileage tracker apps, and our expense software for small businesses if your company reimburses more than miles.
- MileIQ reports exported month by month from the web dashboard
- Files opened and saved outside MileIQ
- Missing business purposes filled in
- Vehicle and frequent places set up in the new app
- Location set to "Always", battery optimization off
- One full month side by side, trips and miles compared
- Rate checked for both halves of 2026
- Canceled through the right channel (web, Apple or Google)
- Last export done before the paid period ends
- Year-end miles split by half-year for your preparer
MileIQ alternatives: frequently asked questions
How much does MileIQ cost in 2026?
Unlimited costs $11.66 a month billed annually ($139.92 a year) or $13.99 month to month. For teams, Teams Lite is $8 per user per month, Teams $9 and Teams Pro $10, or $80 to $100 per user per year.
Is there a free alternative to MileIQ?
Yes. Stride is free with automatic GPS tracking, and TripLog Basic is free forever with unlimited automatic tracking. MileIQ's own free plan stops at 40 drives a month.
How do I cancel MileIQ?
It depends on where you paid. Bought on the website: cancel in the Subscription menu of the web dashboard. Bought on iPhone: cancel in your Apple account settings, since MileIQ cannot cancel Apple subscriptions. Your account goes back to Free when the paid period ends.
Can I import my MileIQ drives into another app?
Not directly: none of the apps on this page advertises a MileIQ import. Your PDF and CSV exports stay your records for past months. Start the new app on the first of a month so there is a clean cut-over.
Why does MileIQ miss short trips?
Detection relies on your phone's motion sensors, and very short drives may end before the app is sure you are driving. Set location to "Always", turn off battery optimization, or switch to a beacon-based app like Driversnote or TripLog.
Is MileIQ Teams cheaper than the alternatives for a business?
For mileage alone, often yes: Teams Lite at $8 per user beats Driversnote Teams at $11. Zoho Expense is free for up to 3 users, though. If you also reimburse receipts, an expense tool may replace two subscriptions; see our page on switching from Expensify.
What is the IRS mileage rate for 2026?
72.5 cents a mile for business driving in the first half of 2026, and 76 cents for the second half. Make sure your app applies the right rate to each half before you file.
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One tool to leave, one destination, one switching plan. Nothing else.
