Compare
Routal vs Excel
The spreadsheet is the real alternative in most delivery operations, and it works for longer than any salesperson will admit. This is about where the limit sits and what changes once you cross it.
What planning in a spreadsheet costs
It never shows up on an invoice, which is exactly why it is hard to see.
The planner's morning
Ordering stops by hand is a puzzle: addresses, time windows, who knows which neighbourhood, the van that cannot enter the old town. That time comes out of someone's day who is paid to solve problems, not to drag cells, and it repeats every working morning of the year.
The kilometres nobody measures
A route ordered by eye can almost always be shortened, but without an optimized route to compare against there is no way to know by how much. The overspend goes unnoticed because it never appears: there is no line item called “extra kilometres”, only a fuel bill that looks normal.
All the judgement in one head
The spreadsheet works because whoever maintains it knows which customer goes first and which driver should not get which area. None of that is written down anywhere. The day that person is on holiday, off sick or takes another job, the delivery round feels it.
Why teams switch from Excel to Routal
The system builds the route
Upload tomorrow's stops, from a CSV or straight from the ERP, and the route comes back with time windows, capacities and zones already respected. What used to be an hour of mental puzzling becomes reviewing a proposal and adjusting what does not fit.
Driver and customer see what you see
A spreadsheet ends the moment it is printed. After that it is phone calls and messages. With Routal the driver carries the route on their phone, captures signature and photo, and the customer gets an ETA without anyone picking up the phone.
The report is already written
Distance, stops, on-time rate, failed deliveries and cost per delivery come out on their own, in-house and subcontracted in one table. No consolidating five tabs on the last day of the month to work out how it went.
What Excel does better
And why it is the hardest competitor in this market.
Already paid for, already installed
No purchase process, no vendor onboarding, no conversation with finance. Nothing competes with the marginal cost of opening a file you already have, and any honest comparison starts by saying so.
It bends to whatever you need
An odd case, an extra column, a calculation that only makes sense in your operation? In a spreadsheet that takes two minutes and nobody's permission. No software, ours included, will match that flexibility, and anyone claiming otherwise has not worked in operations.
Everyone already knows how to use it
No training, no onboarding, no resistance to change. It works offline, it does not depend on a vendor still existing in five years, and the file is yours. For a small, stable operation that outweighs any feature list.
Real results from real operations
Whether you manage a fleet or drive solo, Routal has the right tool for you.
25.6%
lower distribution cost · Prio
+15%
more productivity · Alfil Logistics
26.6%
less fuel and CO₂ · Recoambiente
Ready to switch from Excel?
Import your data and go live in under a week. No long-term contracts required.
No credit card required
Real results from real operations
Whether you manage a fleet or drive solo, Routal has the right tool for you.
25.6%
lower distribution cost · Prio
+15%
more productivity · Alfil Logistics
26.6%
less fuel and CO₂ · Recoambiente
“Routal has become a key tool in our daily operations. We save time, money, and gained full visibility over our entire operation. The experience couldn't be better.”
“The platform is very intuitive and easy to use. It lets you optimize routes quickly and efficiently and monitor deliveries in real time, which translates to significant time and cost savings.”
“It's a very easy-to-use platform, and support is fast and efficient when you have questions. I've been using it for two years without any issues.”
“I've used it at different companies and it has brought great benefits: better fleet utilization, fuel savings, reduced wear, and lower maintenance costs.”
“We're very happy using Routal. It's simple and easy to learn, super useful for new team members. Creating new stops is incredibly easy with bulk and individual upload.”
“What I liked most about Routal is how user-friendly the platform is. The maps, the dynamism, the fonts: everything is very easy and quick to learn.”
“Great route optimization, ease of use, and above all customer support. When you have questions, they're always resolved quickly.”
“My experience has been great. They're always updating with new tools. It's very dynamic and the time calculations are perfect when designing routes.”
“The intuitive way to use it. No thousands of buttons for basic tools, and the interface is super dynamic and pleasant. It's been the most reliable routing platform.”
“I've been using it for over 5 years and I'm satisfied. They focus on functionality while keeping a clean aesthetic. Customer support is fast.”
“It fills me with satisfaction to generate my routes knowing there's no margin of error. The daily route optimization is fantastic and you learn fast.”
What teams ask before making the jump
Real questions from teams who have planned in a spreadsheet for years.
Can you plan delivery routes in Excel?
When does the spreadsheet stop working?
What does Excel do better than any routing software?
Do I have to stop using Excel?
Still missing an answer? Talk to our team