Softwr

Fleet Management · head to head

Chevin FleetWave vs SW Maps

Chevin FleetWave logo

Chevin FleetWave

Fleet Management

Fleet management system covering vehicles and equipment assets, sold in three tiers from FleetWave Lite at £3 per vehicle per month upward

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
SW Maps logo

SW Maps

Maps

Free Android GIS data collector that pairs with external RTK GNSS receivers

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only SW Maps has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Chevin FleetWave only the Lite tier has a published price; any fleet with real operational complexity ends up in the unpublished Core or Advanced tier regardless of the appealing £3 headline figure.; SW Maps android only. There is no iOS version and no sign of one, which rules it out for organisations that issue iPhones and iPads to field staff.
  • They diverge on capability: Chevin FleetWave covers Maintenance scheduling, SW Maps covers Custom feature layers.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chevin FleetWave and SW Maps actually diverge.

Attributes where Chevin FleetWave and SW Maps differ
AttributeChevin FleetWaveSW Maps
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelPer vehicle per month (Lite); quote for Core and AdvancedOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidAndroid
CategoryFleet ManagementMaps

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Chevin FleetWave

  • Maintenance scheduling
  • Compliance tracking
  • Fuel management
  • Total cost of ownership reporting
  • Multi-asset tracking
  • Accident and incident recording

Only in SW Maps

  • Custom feature layers
  • External GNSS support
  • Offline basemaps
  • Geospatial PDF layers
  • Vector import
  • Photo and media capture
  • Export formats
  • NTRIP client

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Chevin FleetWave

  • A smaller fleet wanting a published, budgetable entry price rather than a full sales negotiation for basic maintenance and compliance trackingnot SW Maps
  • A mixed fleet needing vehicles and non-vehicle equipment tracked in one system rather than separate toolsnot SW Maps
  • An operation needing total cost of ownership reporting broken down by vehicle and asset typenot SW Maps
  • A fleet outgrowing FleetWave Lite and needing Core or Advanced tier compliance and reporting depthnot SW Maps

SW Maps

  • An NGO or municipal utility mapping water points, pipe networks or road assets on a budget that cannot absorb per-user GIS subscriptionsnot Chevin FleetWave
  • A survey team pairing a low-cost RTK receiver with Android tablets to collect centimetre-accurate attributed features without buying field software seatsnot Chevin FleetWave
  • A university field course teaching GNSS data collection where every student needs the tool on their own devicenot Chevin FleetWave
  • A consultant doing a one-off asset inventory who needs shapefile or GeoPackage output and does not want to start an annual subscription for a three-week jobnot Chevin FleetWave

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Chevin FleetWave

  • Only the Lite tier has a published price; any fleet with real operational complexity ends up in the unpublished Core or Advanced tier regardless of the appealing £3 headline figure.
  • Pricing is in GBP by default, reflecting Chevin UK base, which adds currency conversion uncertainty for buyers budgeting in other currencies before a formal quote.
  • The Lite tier is explicitly a simpler feature set, so a fleet that starts there and later needs compliance depth or multi-asset TCO reporting faces a tier upgrade and a new, unpublished price negotiation.
  • As a UK-headquartered vendor, integration depth with US-centric telematics and fuel card providers may be less mature than with UK and European partners.
  • Equipment and asset pricing at $0.50 per asset is a separate line item from the vehicle rate, so a mixed vehicle-and-equipment fleet needs to calculate two different per-unit costs to budget accurately.

SW Maps

  • Android only. There is no iOS version and no sign of one, which rules it out for organisations that issue iPhones and iPads to field staff.
  • There is no back end: no user management, no central project sync, no audit trail. Data lives on the device until someone exports it, and a lost tablet is lost data.
  • No commercial support contract exists, so an organisation with a compliance requirement for vendor support cannot use it for regulated work regardless of technical fit.
  • It is maintained by a small consultancy as a side product of its own project work, so the roadmap follows Softwel’s needs and a feature you depend on may never be prioritised.
  • Form logic is basic compared with dedicated survey platforms: no meaningful skip logic, validation or multi-user assignment, so complex questionnaires quickly outgrow it.

Pricing, plan by plan

Chevin FleetWave

On request
  • FleetWave Lite$undefined/month
    • £3 per vehicle per month
    • Equipment and associated assets $0.50 per asset
    • Simpler feature set aimed at smaller or less complex fleets
  • FleetWave Core / Advanced$undefined/year
    • No published pricing, consultation required
    • Expanded compliance, TCO and multi-asset reporting features

SW Maps

Free
  • SW MapsFree
    • All features included
    • External RTK GNSS support
    • Unlimited layers and exports

Which should you pick?

Choose Chevin FleetWave if

  • You need maintenance scheduling.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want compliance tracking.
Chevin FleetWave review

Choose SW Maps if

  • You need custom feature layers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Android.
  • You also want external gnss support.
SW Maps review

Questions people ask

Is Chevin FleetWave or SW Maps better?
Neither clearly leads. Chevin FleetWave starts at On request and SW Maps at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chevin FleetWave or SW Maps?
SW Maps has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Chevin FleetWave and Free for SW Maps.
Does Chevin FleetWave or SW Maps run on more platforms?
Chevin FleetWave runs on Web, iOS, Android. SW Maps runs on Android.
Can I use SW Maps for free?
Yes. SW Maps has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Chevin FleetWave starts at On request.
What is Chevin FleetWave best used for?
Chevin FleetWave is most often used for a smaller fleet wanting a published, budgetable entry price rather than a full sales negotiation for basic maintenance and compliance tracking, a mixed fleet needing vehicles and non-vehicle equipment tracked in one system rather than separate tools, an operation needing total cost of ownership reporting broken down by vehicle and asset type, a fleet outgrowing fleetwave lite and needing core or advanced tier compliance and reporting depth. Of those, a smaller fleet wanting a published, budgetable entry price rather than a full sales negotiation for basic maintenance and compliance tracking and a mixed fleet needing vehicles and non-vehicle equipment tracked in one system rather than separate tools are not what SW Maps is typically brought in for.
What can Chevin FleetWave do that SW Maps cannot?
Chevin FleetWave covers Maintenance scheduling, Compliance tracking, Fuel management, Total cost of ownership reporting. SW Maps covers Custom feature layers, External GNSS support, Offline basemaps, Geospatial PDF layers.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Chevin FleetWave: Is FleetWave pricing public?

Only for the Lite tier, at £3 per vehicle per month plus $0.50 per equipment asset. Core and Advanced tiers require a consultation.

SW Maps: Is SW Maps really free?

Yes. It is free with no advertising and no paid tier. There is no subscription and no feature paywall.

Chevin FleetWave: What is the difference between Lite, Core and Advanced?

Lite is a simpler feature set for smaller or less complex fleets; Core and Advanced add compliance, TCO and multi-asset reporting depth, priced separately.

SW Maps: Does it support RTK receivers?

Yes, over Bluetooth or USB serial, with NTRIP correction support, antenna height and per-point fix quality recording.

Chevin FleetWave: Does it track non-vehicle equipment?

Yes, equipment and associated assets are tracked within the same platform, priced separately from vehicles.

SW Maps: Is there an iOS version?

No. Android only.

SW Maps: Who maintains it?

Softwel, an engineering consultancy in Kathmandu, Nepal, which built it for its own infrastructure projects.

SW Maps: Can we get support?

Not contractually. There is no commercial support agreement, which is the main reason organisations with compliance obligations choose a paid alternative.

Share

Related pages

More on Chevin FleetWave

More on SW Maps

Keep looking

Other head to heads