How to Avoid Tolls [Google Maps, Alternate Routes + MORE]

In this article we’re going to show you how to plan routes to avoid road tolls.

Specifically, we’re going to explain:

• How to avoid tolls in Google Maps (desktop + mobile)
• How to plan alternate routes to stay clear of tolls
• How to reduce your route costs beyond tolls

So if you’re looking to raise route efficiency and save some serious money, we’ve got you covered.

Let’s get started.

How to Avoid Toll Roads in Google Maps (Mobile)

To avoid tolls in the Google Maps app, here’s what you need to do:

1. Go to the Google Maps app.

2. Input your destination in the search bar and select it.

3. Tap the Directions button on the screen.

4. Tap the three vertical dots in the top right corner next to Your Location:

And then tap Options:

5. Turn on the slider next to Avoid Tolls. (If you want, you can also turn on other boxes to avoid highways and/or ferries.)

Pro Tip: Toggle on the slider next to See toll pass prices to see the cost of a tolled route (when available)

6. Tap X and the app should generate multiple routes without tolls. This is the Fastest route now, avoids road closures and you can see that the selection box for avoiding tolls is now selected.

The map will also generate alternative routes on the map that also avoid tolls (in grey), which you can select by tapping on each one.

Pro Tip: If there is a faster way to reach your destination with a different mode of transportation, Google Maps will recommend it to you under Also consider. It should be marked as Faster.

That’s it.

Google Maps app will now give you directions that avoid toll roads on your route.

NOTE: Keep in mind that sometimes there is no other option than to travel using a toll road. We found that this is particularly true when it comes to places that are connected via tolled bridges.

How to Avoid Toll Roads in Google Maps (Desktop)

To avoid tolls in Google Maps on your computer, this is what you should do:

1. Go to Google Maps in your browser.

2. Type your destination (or address) into the search bar in the top left corner of your screen.

3. Click on Directions (located beneath your destination), and then input your starting point.

NOTE: As you start typing, various locations will start to autofill below the search bar. When the right one pops up, click on it. Alternatively, you can select an address preset (like Home, Office, Customer 1, 2, etc.) or you can copy and paste an address or its geocode.

4. Click on the Options, located just under the location and destination addresses (blue part of the menu).

5. Under the label Avoid check the box next to Tolls. Once you do that, your new route will be generated automatically. (Sometimes, there are multiple routes to the same destination that avoid tolls.)

As soon as you select this option, Google Maps will generate a route that avoids all tolls:

NOTE: This option is available for Google Maps Offline, as well. You can create the map on your computer and save it for later use on your phone when travelling across remote areas without cell or data coverage.

Always Avoiding Tolls in Google Maps

You can set your Google Maps mobile app to always create toll-free routes whenever you use it.

To do this:

1. Tap on Settings from the menu.

2. Next, tap on Navigation Settings.

3. Scroll down until you see Route Options and tap it.

4. Toggle ON the switch next to Avoid Tolls.

Now your Google Maps app is set to generate routes that steer clear of toll roads whenever you ask it for directions.

(But try not to forget this, if you choose to do it. Otherwise, you’ll be unpleasantly surprised when the app generates a 6-hour route for a trip that’s typically a 2-hour drive.)

How to Find Alternative Routes in Google Maps (When You’re Unhappy with the Results)

If the default route suggestion in Google Maps doesn’t work for you, it’s helpful to know how to find alternate routes. Here are a few ways you can do this:

Approach #1: Explore Different Route Options

• Open your Google Maps app.
  
  
• Go to the From search field and select Your Location to auto-fetch your current address. If you want to start the route from a different address, start typing the address in the From field and select it once it shows up in the suggestions.

NOTE: To use the Your Location option you need to allow Google Maps to access your current location. To do this, you’ll have to enable Location Access for the app in your phone’s settings.

• In the To field type in the address of the destination you want to go to. Google Maps will provide you with suggestions as soon as you start typing so you can tap on the right address once it pops up.
  
  
• Tap Options under the To field to open different route options. Toggle the slider to select the factors you want Google Maps to take into account for your route (e.g. Avoid Tolls, Avoid Highways, etc.).

And that’s it.

Google Maps will create different routes based on your request.

Approach #2: Clicking Route Suggestions

• Open the Google Maps app on your phone.
  
  
• Enter your destination in the To field.
  
  
• Tap Directions.
  
  
• Google Maps will display one path in blue and several others that are greyed out. The blue route is the best determined by the app, the greyed out ones are alternate routes.

• To select a different route, click on the greyed-out route that you want to use. Once you click it, it will turn blue.

• Tap Start to use that route to reach your destination.

NOTE: You may also notice a route with a green leaf badge. This is the most fuel-efficient route according to the app. This feature is part of the recent Google Maps update roll out.

Is the Effort of Avoiding Tolls Worth Your While?

Yes and no. While the decision to avoid tolls does save you money, there are some challenges that you’ll need to consider:

Challenge #1: Cost vs. Time: Toll Fees vs. Operational Efficiency

While tolls are an upfront expense, they often buy you time. By choosing toll routes, you can complete more deliveries, fit in extra service calls, or reduce driver hours.

So it’s crucial to weigh the toll cost against the potential for increased revenue and lower fuel, labor, and other transportation expenses. In many cases, toll roads offer a better ROI when viewed from a total cost-of-operation perspective.

Challenge #2: Increased Travel Time

Longer toll-free routes may help avoid toll fees, but they often require more time on the road. 
Extended drive times translate to higher labor costs, especially for hourly drivers or field staff.

The cost of time spent traveling instead of performing billable work or making deliveries can outweigh the savings from tolls. Over time, this inefficiency can reduce your profit margins.

Challenge #3: Higher Traffic Congestion and Fuel Use

Toll-free routes typically see heavier traffic. This can lead to more idling and stop-and-go driving. This increases travel time but also leads to inefficient fuel consumption.

From a business perspective, the fuel cost of sitting in traffic can quickly surpass the amount saved by avoiding tolls. Add to that unpredictable delays and scheduling complications can affect your operational flow.

Challenge #4: Increased Planning Complexity and Hidden Costs

Route planning is more complicated when you want to avoid tolls. Indirect paths mean more mileage, more time on the road, and a higher chance of navigation errors.

While tolls have an upfront cost, the indirect costs of longer, inefficient routes are overlooked by too many businesses, too many times. But they can quietly add up over time.

Maximize Efficiency Beyond Tolls with eLogii

You may want to try to save money by avoiding toll roads. At first glance, this makes sense:

Why should you pay for something you can skip?

But the truth is, avoiding tolls can end up costing more in the long run.

That’s where eLogii comes in.

eLogii doesn’t have a built-in feature to avoid tolls, yes. But it does give you something better:

Full control over route performance.

It helps you plan routes based on time, distance, number of stops, fuel use, and more. This lets you build efficient delivery plans that often make up for the cost of tolls—and then some.

For example, a toll-free route might take 45 minutes longer than a toll route. That’s 45 minutes where your vehicle is burning fuel, your driver is stuck in traffic, and no deliveries are getting done.

eLogii helps you avoid that by planning faster, smarter routes (even if they include tolls).

The result?

You serve more customers, spend less on fuel, and reduce vehicle idle time.

You also may spend extra time figuring out how to avoid fees and still get sidetracked from the schedule.

eLogii helps with that, too. Our route optimization platform cuts that planning time down and handles the tough work for you.

It also allows you to track drivers live and can generate accurate ETAs. Which means your drivers always stay on schedule:

Simply put:

eLogii makes it easier to focus on running your operation, not just dodging toll booths.

So you can choose the route that gets the job done quicker, serves more customers, and runs your fleet more efficiently. That’s the smarter move, and a more profitable one too.

So how does eLogii do this?

What Makes eLogii More Efficient Than Avoiding Tolls?

Here’s what eLogii helps you do better, even with tolls included:

Serve More Customers per Route

eLogii optimizes stop density. That means more deliveries packed into fewer miles.

Example: Instead of doing 6 deliveries in 5 hours on a toll-free route, you could do 7 in the same time with tolls. But because eLogii optimizes your routes you can increase this to ten.

You can also use our route optimization modules:

This feature allows you to prioritize what you want to make more efficient (in this case: increase stop density and no. of stops per route).

And that can increase the number of stops up to 12. Which is a 50% increase of customers per route from the route you started from that simply avoids tolls.

Cut Down on Planning Time

Avoiding tolls usually means more manual work to find alternative roads. With eLogii, you upload your tasks (deliveries or service calls), either via spreadsheet or using our routing APIs.

Once in the system, the software creates the best route automatically, no time wasted:

And assigns it to each driver via the driver app:

This can save you as much as 50 minutes per day on route planning.

Reduce Fuel and Time Waste

Longer, toll-free routes burn more fuel and take more time to complete. eLogii shortens routes, even if they include a toll or two.

Example: A delivery vehicle taking a 20-mile toll-free detour may spend an extra $7 in fuel. The toll might only be $3.

Plus, you can use the Maximize Vehicle Capacity feature to ensure the best use of each vehicle:

And track idle times:

This ensures drivers don’t waste an extra cent or minute on their routes. While you get an extra $10 on every dollar you spend on fuel.

Avoid Traffic and Delays

Toll roads are usually better maintained and have less congestion. eLogii uses traffic and time windows to avoid slowdowns and bottlenecks, and keep your fleet moving.

Make Better Use of Your Fleet

Faster routes = more deliveries per shift = fewer drivers needed to do the same work.

(Or your current drivers can do MORE work.)

This improves overall productivity without needing more vehicles or staff.

How do we know this? And how can you too?

eLogii tracks your fleet in real time:

Avoiding Tolls vs. eLogii: A Real-World Look

Let’s say you run a small fleet of 10 vans doing local deliveries. Each van is scheduled to complete 8 deliveries a day. You decide to avoid tolls to save $5 per van, per day.

• You save $50/day on tolls.
  
  
• But each route is now 30 minutes longer.
  
  
• That’s 5 more hours of total driver time per day.
  
  
• At $15/hour in labor, that’s $75 more in daily costs.
  
  
• Plus, you serve fewer customers and use more fuel.

With eLogii, you may pay tolls—but you save on time, fuel, labor, and get more done.

And that’s what actually moves the needle. And you end up saving $80 in daily costs per driver.

Bottom Line: Is Avoiding Tolls the Best Way to Unlock Efficiency?

Avoiding tolls might feel like saving money. But in many cases, it’s a false economy.

eLogii helps you look at the full picture: Time, Cost, Fuel, and Output.

And when you see the whole picture, it’s clear that optimized routes beat toll-free ones almost every time.

By focusing on real efficiency (Not just skipping fees!), you’ll unlock more value from your fleet, and from every mile driven.

But don’t just take our word for it. See for yourself: