Fleet Management · head to head
Motive vs SW Maps
Motive
Fleet Management
ELD compliance, AI dashcams and spend management for North American commercial fleets
- From
- On request
- Free plan
- No
SW Maps
Maps
Free Android GIS data collector that pairs with external RTK GNSS receivers
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
The short version
- Only SW Maps has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Motive contracts are multi-year and per vehicle with hardware embedded, so a fleet that shrinks keeps paying for units that are sitting in a yard.; 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: Motive covers ELD compliance, 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 Motive and SW Maps actually diverge.
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 Motive
- ELD compliance
- AI dashcams
- GPS tracking
- Driver safety scoring
- Vehicle diagnostics
- Spend management
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.
Motive
- A trucking fleet that must run FMCSA compliant electronic logs and wants cameras from the same vendornot SW Maps
- An operator facing an insurance renewal that requires evidence of a driver coaching programmenot SW Maps
- A construction fleet tracking both vehicles and unpowered assets such as trailers and generatorsnot SW Maps
- A fleet suspecting fuel card misuse and wanting transactions matched against vehicle locationnot 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 Motive
- A survey team pairing a low-cost RTK receiver with Android tablets to collect centimetre-accurate attributed features without buying field software seatsnot Motive
- A university field course teaching GNSS data collection where every student needs the tool on their own devicenot Motive
- 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 Motive
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Motive
- Contracts are multi-year and per vehicle with hardware embedded, so a fleet that shrinks keeps paying for units that are sitting in a yard.
- Driver facing cameras generate real workforce resistance, and fleets in tight labour markets have lost drivers over the rollout rather than the technology.
- Installation and calibration across a distributed fleet takes weeks of vehicle downtime, which is rarely costed into the comparison at the point of purchase.
- The rebrand from KeepTruckin means older documentation, integration guides and third-party references are inconsistent, which slows technical work on connections.
- Coverage depends on cellular networks, so remote route segments produce gaps in tracking and delayed log uploads that drivers then have to reconcile.
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
Motive
On request- Motive$undefined/year
- Per-vehicle subscription over a multi-year term
- Hardware supplied within the agreement rather than purchased outright
- Dashcams, asset trackers and spend management priced as separate lines
SW Maps
Free- SW MapsFree
- All features included
- External RTK GNSS support
- Unlimited layers and exports
Which should you pick?
Choose Motive if
- You need eld compliance.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want ai dashcams.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Motive or SW Maps better?
- Neither clearly leads. Motive 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, Motive or SW Maps?
- SW Maps has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Motive and Free for SW Maps.
- Does Motive or SW Maps run on more platforms?
- Motive 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. Motive starts at On request.
- What is Motive best used for?
- Motive is most often used for a trucking fleet that must run fmcsa compliant electronic logs and wants cameras from the same vendor, an operator facing an insurance renewal that requires evidence of a driver coaching programme, a construction fleet tracking both vehicles and unpowered assets such as trailers and generators, a fleet suspecting fuel card misuse and wanting transactions matched against vehicle location. Of those, a trucking fleet that must run fmcsa compliant electronic logs and wants cameras from the same vendor and an operator facing an insurance renewal that requires evidence of a driver coaching programme are not what SW Maps is typically brought in for.
- What can Motive do that SW Maps cannot?
- Motive covers ELD compliance, AI dashcams, GPS tracking, Driver safety scoring. SW Maps covers Custom feature layers, External GNSS support, Offline basemaps, Geospatial PDF layers.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Motive: Is Motive the same company as KeepTruckin?
Yes. KeepTruckin renamed to Motive in 2022. The products and account relationships carried over.
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.
Motive: Can hardware be bought outright?
It is normally supplied inside a multi-year subscription rather than sold, which is why the exit cost of a shrinking fleet is high.
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.
Motive: Does it work outside the United States?
Canada and Mexico are supported, including Canadian electronic logging requirements. Coverage elsewhere is limited.
SW Maps: Is there an iOS version?
No. Android only.
Motive: Are the driver facing cameras optional?
Yes, road facing only configurations are available, and fleets worried about driver retention often start there.
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.
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