The Best GPS Art Apps in 2026

Want to run a heart, ride a dinosaur or write a name across your city? You need an app that turns a drawing into a route along real streets, then hands you a GPX file for your watch. There are more of those than ever, and they differ a lot in price and in how much they do for you.

Short answer: for a completely free tool with the most ride-planning features, pick RouteDoodle. If you want the app to find a good spot for your shape, try Draw My Loop or GPSArtify. Cyclists who want the route sent straight to a Garmin should look at TrainCraft. And if you want AI shapes, routes that write words, photo tracing, videos for Instagram and a public gallery for a one-time price, that's RouteSketcher.

We make RouteSketcher, so we're not neutral. That's why every fact about the other apps below comes from their own website or App Store page, checked on 25 October 2026, and we say where they do things better than we do.

Quick Overview

All of them run in the browser, except ArtTrails (iPhone and iPad only) and Strava's route builder (Strava's website and app). How each one turns your idea into a shape is in its section below.

RouteSketcher

Best for: creative shapes, words and photos, and sharing the result.

RouteSketcher runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or laptop. You draw freehand and the line snaps to real streets and paths as you go, or switch to Freestyle for parks, beaches and fields where you can move in any direction. Short on ideas? Pick one of hundreds of shapes from the GPS Art Directory, describe one to the AI Doodle Generator, type a word with Text to Sketch, or upload a logo or photo and let the auto-tracer turn its outline into a route.

When it looks right, download the GPX for Strava, Garmin, Komoot or any app that reads GPX. You can also turn the sketch into a flyover reel or a transparent overlay for your Stories, and publish it to the gallery where others can clone it.

• Price: free account with 2 sketches, then $19.99 once for unlimited sketches. No subscription.
• Where others are better: no turn-by-turn directions, no elevation, no TCX or FIT files, and no automatic "find me a spot" placement. You place the shape yourself.

RouteDoodle

Best for: free planning with serious ride tools.

RouteDoodle is free for everyone, with no signup, no limits and no ads. You draw with a pencil or move a wireframe over the map, or drop in an image and let it trace it, and RouteDoodle finds the real roads that follow your line. It has the most tools for the ride itself: turn-by-turn directions, an elevation chart, a ride time estimate and exports as GPX, TCX or FIT.

• Watch out for: drawings live in your browser and in links you bookmark, since cloud saving isn't there yet. There's no public gallery.
• More detail: RouteSketcher vs RouteDoodle.

GPSArtify

Best for: letting a generator fit a ready shape to your neighbourhood.

GPSArtify's Urban Generator takes a shape and a neighbourhood and snaps it to streets for you. There's also a Freestyle planner for open spaces, a custom shape creator for your own sketch or picture, a shape library, AI custom shapes, its own tracker and a reel maker for TikTok and Instagram. It runs in the browser and exports to Garmin, Komoot, Strava and Wahoo.

• Price: the account is free, but generating routes, GPX export and the tracker are part of a paid subscription. GPSArtify shows the current plans inside the app after you sign up.
• More detail: RouteSketcher vs GPSArtify.

Draw My Loop

Best for: a big shape library and automatic placement.

Draw My Loop snaps your drawing to streets for a walk or a ride. You draw with the pencil, pick from 400+ library shapes, upload an image to vectorize or type text. Its Auto-Fit looks for the spot where your shape distorts the least, and there's an elevation profile and a community gallery with more than 3,100 shared routes.

• Price: the studio, the shapes and snapping are free. Your first GPX download works without an account; after that you need a free account. Auto-Fit runs on credits, from €4.99, with one accepted result free when you sign up.

Motera

Best for: quick and free, nothing to sign up for.

Motera's GPS Art Route Planner is a free browser tool with no signup. You click waypoints on the map, or start from a template like a heart, star, circle or arrow, and it connects them along real roads and footpaths. Then you download the GPX. It's the simplest tool here, which is exactly why some people like it. Motera also makes an iPhone running game where the streets you run become territory.

TrainCraft

Best for: cyclists who want the route on a Garmin.

TrainCraft is a cycling training platform with a shape mode in its route planner. You draw a shape, type an emoji or upload an SVG path, pick a start area, and it generates road-based alternatives with a score for how well each one matches. You export a GPX or push the route to Garmin as a course once your account is connected.

• Price: the route planner is part of the free plan. PRO AI is for training plans and other training features.

ArtTrails

Best for: a native iPhone or iPad app.

ArtTrails is an App Store app. You draw freehand or pick from 50+ shapes, tap Snap to Roads to fit it to walkable paths, and export a GPX. There are five map styles, including satellite.

• Price: free with ads and in-app purchases. Pro options listed on the App Store run from $1.99 to $14.99, and include uploading your own image to trace, unlimited saved routes, all map styles and no ads.
• Watch out for: Apple devices only, with no Android or web version.

Strava's route builder

Best for: Strava subscribers drawing something simple.

You don't strictly need a GPS art app. Strava's own route builder lets you click waypoints on the map and routes between them, with preferences for your sport, surface and elevation. It's the way many people did Strava art before these tools existed. It has no idea you're drawing, though, so every corner of the shape is a waypoint you place by hand.

• Price: creating routes on the Strava website needs a Strava subscription.

Which One Should You Choose?

• You want it free: RouteDoodle or Motera. Draw My Loop's studio is free too.
• You don't want to place the shape yourself: Draw My Loop's Auto-Fit, GPSArtify's generator or TrainCraft's alternatives.
• You ride with a Garmin: RouteDoodle exports TCX files with turn-by-turn directions, and TrainCraft pushes the course straight to Garmin.
• You're on an iPhone and want a native app: ArtTrails.
• You want AI shapes, routes that spell words, photo tracing, reels and a gallery, and to pay once: RouteSketcher.
• You already pay for Strava and want a heart: the Strava route builder is fine.

You can also mix them. A GPX from one app imports into most of the others, so you can draw in one and plan the ride in another.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a free Strava art generator?

Yes. RouteDoodle and Motera are completely free. Draw My Loop's drawing studio and GPX export are free with a free account, and only its Auto-Fit costs credits. RouteSketcher gives you 2 free sketches before the one-time $19.99.

Can Strava make GPS art by itself?

Not directly. Strava's route builder can follow waypoints you click, so you can trace a simple shape by hand if you have a subscription. GPS art apps do the hard part: they take a whole drawing and find the streets that match it.

Do GPS art apps work with Garmin?

All eight give you a route you can load on a Garmin. Most export a GPX file that you import into Garmin Connect as a course, and TrainCraft can push the course straight to Garmin. Here's how to do it step by step.

What's the best GPS art app for iPhone?

You don't need an app store app: the browser-based tools open on a phone too, and RouteDoodle and RouteSketcher are both made to work on small screens. If you prefer a native App Store app, ArtTrails is the one built for iPhone and iPad.

Try RouteSketcher

1. Sign up for free, no credit card needed.
2. Draw a shape, pick one from the directory or describe one to the AI.
3. Snap it to your streets and download the GPX.

New to all this? Start with the Strava art guide or follow our first sketch tutorial. Happy drawing! 🎨