This holiday period, doorsteps will be dotted with bundles galore.
With many of us preparing (or already beginning) to buy gifts online, we all could use a simpler method to monitor packages en route to our homes.
There’s no shortage of apps that let you follow shipments when you have a tracking code, but with so many choices, which ones stand out?
We made it simple by calling out the top package tracking apps to watch over your deliveries this holiday season. Just install a package tracker app and input your tracking number.
What Is a Package Tracking App?
Instead of hopping between retail apps to check on deliveries or searching tracking numbers on websites, you can rely on dedicated tracking apps.
Putting a package tracking app on your smartphone lets you see all your shipments from numerous carriers in one spot — no more juggling apps on your iOS or Android device.
Tracking apps vary in features, but many share common functions that we’ll describe. Our preferred package trackers will automatically include new shipments in your list by linking with your Amazon account or scanning your email for tracking details.
We focused on tracking apps that are free or provide most features without charge — simply enter a tracking code to begin.
Although all the tracking apps below are worthy picks, be sure to review each one’s specifics to pick the best fit for your shopping style.
Route: Our Top Package Tracking App
After testing many package tracking apps on iOS and Android, we picked Route as our top choice. This excellent package tracker is free and provides a visual map showing where your deliveries are during transit.
Route features a clean, user-friendly design and connects with several email providers, including Gmail, Outlook and iCloud. When Route finds a tracking number in an incoming email, it will add the shipment automatically.
Route also syncs smoothly with Amazon, letting you monitor orders. Amazon has made it trickier for third-party apps to access tracking, but tools like Route use clever methods to preserve that capability.
The Route app even bundles a built-in tool for handling order problems. In just a few taps, you can report packages that were stolen, arrived damaged, or went missing. For the holidays, Route is truly our preferred package tracker.
Honorable Mentions for Package Tracking Apps
Route gave us an outstanding overall experience that most people will enjoy. Still, because tastes differ, we’ve listed a few honorable mentions for those wanting alternative ways to follow deliveries.
Shop
The Shop app has grown in popularity thanks to close ties with many independent online retailers on the Shopify platform. Beyond linking with small merchants, the Shop app can import shipments straight from Amazon.
If the store you bought from — whether Amazon or an independent seller — doesn’t automatically work with Shop, you can allow the app to scan your emails for tracking numbers. Shop supports Gmail and Outlook accounts. (No iCloud support here.)
Opening Shop will drop you into a shopping tab aimed at showcasing stores and products you might like, but getting to your orders takes just one tap. If you buy through Shop, you can even opt to pay later with monthly installments.
Deliveries
The Deliveries tracker is the sole paid app in our selection, but at $4.99 a year or 99 cents a month, it’s worth considering. If you cancel the subscription, you’ll still see past package history but won’t be able to add new deliveries.
Like the others, Deliveries lets you monitor all your shipments in one place. For automatic tracking, you can have any email service forward tracking codes to the app.
Deliveries you add sync across your devices through iCloud, so you can keep tabs on packages from multiple gadgets. We also appreciate that Deliveries lets you add delivery dates to your calendar for convenient reminders.
And the best part? Deliveries doesn’t try to pitch products to you when you open the app, unlike many other tracking apps on this list.
Download for iOS (no Android version available).
FedEx, Postal Service, UPS and DHL Tracking
If you don’t need a single unified app, you can install individual courier apps for services like FedEx, the U.S. Postal Service, UPS and DHL.
While these apps won’t consolidate everything, they often provide more detailed tracking capabilities, such as rescheduling deliveries and adding shipment instructions.
If you lack a tracking number, many postal services let you see incoming mail based on your address alone.
Here are apps from several major couriers:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Package tracking apps pull shipment data supplied by carriers like USPS or FedEx to show location updates. You typically won’t see live, continuous tracking, but you will see approximate locations based on the latest carrier updates.
Usually, you cannot track a delivery using only an order number. If you have an order number, you can contact the retailer and request the parcel’s tracking number.
We suggest installing a package tracking app on your Android or iOS device to keep tabs on orders. Our top pick isRoute.
If you search your tracking number on Google, Google will show tracking details. Still, a package tracking app offers a cleaner, more organized method.
Jordan Keane is a senior writer for Savinly focusing on technology.
