Vacation Planner vs Wanderlog: Which Travel App Is Better in 2026?

When you start searching for a travel planning app, two names come up again and again: Vacation Planner and Wanderlog. Both promise to simplify your trip planning with itinerary builders, budget tools, and sharing features. But they take very different approaches to delivering on that promise, especially when it comes to AI-powered planning and what you get for free.

Wanderlog has been around since 2019 and has built a loyal following thanks to its integrated maps, explore recommendations, and polished mobile apps. Vacation Planner is newer but has quickly gained traction thanks to its AI vacation planning expert that creates personalised itineraries, plus a generous free plan and an affordable paid tier with advanced features. If you are trying to decide which one deserves a spot on your home screen (or your browser bookmarks), this head-to-head comparison will help you make an informed choice.

We tested both apps by planning the same multi-city European itinerary, ten days across Lisbon, Barcelona, and Rome, and evaluated every major feature along the way. Here is what we found.

Quick Feature Comparison

Before diving into the details, here is a high-level look at how the two apps compare across the features that matter most to travelers.

Feature	Vacation Planner	Wanderlog
Price	Free + Paid plan	Free tier + Pro at $39.99/yr
AI Planning	AI vacation expert (personalised itineraries)	Pro only
Itinerary Builder	Drag-and-drop	Drag-and-drop
Budget Tracking	Real-time, unlimited	Available (some limits on free)
Sharing	Share itineraries with others	Collaborative editing (free)
Maps Integration	Planned	Color-coded by day
Explore / Recommendations	Manual research	Aggregated from TripAdvisor & Google
Reservation Import	Email sync (paid plan)	Unique email per trip + Gmail scanner (Pro)
Offline Access	Browser caching	Pro only ($39.99/yr)
Route Optimization	Not yet available	Pro only
Mobile Apps	Web app (responsive)	iOS + Android + Web
Platform	Web	Web, iOS, Android

Both apps cover the fundamentals well, but the differences in pricing philosophy and feature access are significant. Let’s break down each category.

Itinerary Building

A travel planning app lives or dies by its itinerary builder. If it is clunky or confusing, you will end up back in a Google Doc before the week is over.

Vacation Planner

Vacation Planner takes a clean, AI-powered approach to itinerary building. You tell the AI vacation planning expert your preferences (travel style, budget, interests) and it generates a personalised day-by-day itinerary that you can customise further. The drag-and-drop interface makes reordering your schedule intuitive; click, hold, and move an activity from the morning to the afternoon, or from Tuesday to Wednesday.

What stands out is the combination of AI-generated suggestions and manual control. The AI does the heavy lifting of researching and structuring your trip, while you retain full control to tweak every detail. The itinerary builder is available on the free plan, making it easy to get started without commitment.

Wanderlog

Wanderlog also offers a solid drag-and-drop itinerary builder, and it has had several years to refine the experience. One area where it truly shines is its tight integration with maps. Each day of your itinerary is color-coded on an embedded map, so you can visually see whether your planned activities are geographically sensible or whether you are zigzagging across a city unnecessarily.

Wanderlog also features an Explore tab that pulls in recommendations from TripAdvisor, Google, and other sources. You can browse popular restaurants, attractions, and experiences for your destination and add them to your itinerary with a single click. This discovery element is something Vacation Planner does not currently offer, and for travelers who enjoy browsing curated suggestions, it is a meaningful perk.

Verdict

Both apps handle the basics of itinerary building well. Wanderlog has an edge with its map integration and explore features. Vacation Planner wins with its AI vacation planning expert that generates personalised itineraries for you, plus a clean drag-and-drop builder. If you value visual map-based planning, Wanderlog is strong. If you want AI-powered personalised planning, Vacation Planner is the better pick.

Budget Tracking

Tracking trip expenses is one of the most underrated features in a travel planning app. Overspending is easy when you are on vacation, and having real-time visibility into your budget can save you from an unpleasant surprise when you get home.

Vacation Planner

Budget tracking is one of Vacation Planner’s standout features. You set an overall trip budget and break it down into categories like flights, accommodation, food, activities, transportation, and miscellaneous. As you add expenses and planned costs to your itinerary, the budget dashboard updates in real time with a clear breakdown of spent versus remaining amounts.

There are no limits on the number of expense entries or caps on categories on the free plan. The budget tracker is fully functional from the moment you sign up. You can also share your itinerary, including budget details, with travel companions, which is useful for group trips where costs need to be coordinated.

Wanderlog

Wanderlog includes budget tracking as well, allowing you to log expenses by category and see running totals. The implementation is solid, though some of the more advanced reporting features and integrations are reserved for Pro subscribers. On the free tier, you get the basics, enough to keep a rough handle on spending, but not the full picture.

Verdict

For budget tracking specifically, Vacation Planner takes the win. The feature is more deeply integrated into the planning workflow, updates in real time, and is available on the free plan. Wanderlog’s budget tools are competent but not as central to the experience, and the best functionality requires a Pro subscription.

Group Collaboration

If you have ever tried to plan a trip with three or more people using a group chat, you know how quickly things devolve into chaos. A good collaboration feature can be the difference between a well-organized group trip and a trail of conflicting screenshots.

Vacation Planner

Vacation Planner lets you share your itineraries with travel companions so everyone can see the plan. You can share your AI-generated itinerary with friends and family, giving them visibility into the day-by-day schedule, accommodation details, and activity plans. This keeps everyone on the same page without the back-and-forth of group chats and screenshots.

Wanderlog

Wanderlog supports full collaborative editing, allowing multiple users to work on the same itinerary simultaneously with changes syncing in real time. The experience is comparable to working in a shared Google Doc. Wanderlog does not impose strict limits on collaborators on its free tier, which is a positive.

Verdict

Wanderlog has the edge here with real-time collaborative editing, while Vacation Planner focuses on itinerary sharing. If your group needs everyone to edit the same plan simultaneously, Wanderlog is the stronger choice. If you prefer one person to plan (with AI assistance) and then share the result, Vacation Planner’s approach works well.

Maps and Navigation

When you are in a new city, being able to visualize your itinerary on a map is incredibly helpful. This is one area where the two apps diverge significantly.

Wanderlog

Maps are one of Wanderlog’s strongest features. The app embeds Google Maps directly into the itinerary view, and each day’s activities are plotted with color-coded pins. This makes it easy to spot inefficient routes. If your morning museum visit is on the opposite side of the city from your lunch reservation, you will see it immediately.

Pro subscribers also get route optimization, which automatically reorders your daily activities to minimize travel time between stops. For cities with complex transit systems or travelers who want to maximize their sightseeing time, this is a genuinely useful feature.

Vacation Planner

Vacation Planner does not currently offer the same level of map integration. You can add location details and addresses to your itinerary items, but there is no embedded map view that visualizes your daily route. This is an area where the app is actively developing new functionality, but as of early 2026, Wanderlog has a clear advantage.

Verdict

Wanderlog wins this category decisively. If map-based planning and route visualization are high priorities for you, Wanderlog is the stronger choice. Vacation Planner acknowledges this gap and is working to close it, but today, maps are a Wanderlog strength.

Pricing and Value

This is where the philosophical differences between the two apps become most apparent.

Vacation Planner

Vacation Planner offers a generous free plan that includes the AI vacation planning expert, itinerary builder, budget tracking, and itinerary sharing. The paid plan adds advanced features like email sync, which automatically reads your booking confirmation emails and imports the details into your itinerary, a significant time saver for trips with multiple bookings.

For travelers who want to get started without commitment, the free plan covers the core planning experience including AI-generated personalised itineraries. The paid plan is there when you want the convenience of automatic booking imports.

Free plan available. Paid plan for advanced features.

Wanderlog

Wanderlog operates on a freemium model. The free tier is reasonably generous: you get the itinerary builder, basic budget tracking, collaborative editing, and the explore tab. But several high-value features are reserved for Wanderlog Pro, which costs $39.99 per year:

• Offline access: View your itinerary without an internet connection. This is arguably essential for international travelers who may not always have reliable data.
• AI assistant: Get AI-powered suggestions and help with planning.
• Route optimization: Automatically reorder your daily activities for the most efficient route.
• Gmail scanner: Automatically import flight, hotel, and restaurant reservations from your email.
• Ad-free experience: Remove ads from the interface.

The Pro price is reasonable compared to many SaaS subscriptions, but the fact that offline access, a feature many travelers consider essential, requires payment is a sticking point. When you are navigating a foreign city with spotty cell service, not being able to view your itinerary offline can be a real problem.

Verdict

Both apps use a freemium approach, but Vacation Planner’s free plan is notably generous: you get AI-powered itinerary planning, budget tracking, and sharing without paying anything. Wanderlog locks AI features, offline access, and route optimization behind its $39.99/year Pro plan. Vacation Planner’s paid plan focuses on convenience features like automatic email sync for booking confirmations, while keeping the core AI planning experience free.

Mobile Experience

It is worth addressing platform availability directly, since this is a practical consideration for many travelers.

Wanderlog offers native apps for iOS and Android in addition to its web app. The mobile apps are well-designed and take advantage of platform-specific features like push notifications and offline caching (for Pro users). For travelers who primarily plan and reference their itineraries on their phones, this is a significant advantage.

Vacation Planner is currently web-only, though the web app is fully responsive and works well on mobile browsers. You can add it to your home screen for quick access, and it functions smoothly on both phones and tablets. However, it does not have the same level of polish as a dedicated native app, and features like push notifications are not available.

If having a native mobile app is a dealbreaker for you, Wanderlog currently has the edge. If you are comfortable using a responsive web app on your phone, Vacation Planner works well enough for most use cases.

Which Should You Choose?

After testing both apps extensively, here is our honest recommendation.

Choose Vacation Planner if:

• You want an AI travel expert to create personalised itineraries for you
• Budget tracking is a priority and you want it deeply integrated into your workflow
• You want a generous free plan with core features and an affordable paid upgrade
• You prefer a clean, distraction-free interface
• You want to share itineraries with travel companions easily

Choose Wanderlog if:

• Map-based itinerary visualization is important to your planning style
• You want curated recommendations pulled from TripAdvisor and Google
• You need a polished native mobile app for iOS or Android
• You are willing to pay $39.99/year for offline access, AI features, and route optimization
• You want to automatically import reservations from your email

For travelers who want AI-powered personalised planning, Vacation Planner offers the best overall value. The AI vacation expert creates tailored itineraries that match your preferences, and the generous free plan means you can try everything before committing. Wanderlog is a strong alternative with genuinely useful features like maps and explore, but its AI features require a Pro subscription.

The good news is that both apps are free to try. We would suggest starting with Vacation Planner to see if the AI-generated itineraries match your travel style, and exploring Wanderlog if you find yourself needing map integration or mobile-native features that Vacation Planner does not yet offer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Vacation Planner free to use?

Vacation Planner offers a generous free plan that includes the AI vacation planning expert, itinerary builder, budget tracking, and itinerary sharing. There is also a paid plan that adds advanced features like email sync, which automatically imports booking confirmations from your inbox.

How much does Wanderlog Pro cost?

Wanderlog Pro costs $39.99 per year. It includes offline access, an AI planning assistant, route optimization, a Gmail reservation scanner, and an ad-free experience. The free tier includes the itinerary builder, basic budget tracking, explore recommendations, and collaborative editing.

Can I use Vacation Planner on my phone?

Yes. Vacation Planner is a responsive web application that works well on mobile browsers. You can add it to your home screen for quick access. However, it does not currently offer native iOS or Android apps. Wanderlog has dedicated mobile apps for both platforms.

Does Wanderlog work offline?

Offline access is available only with Wanderlog Pro ($39.99/year). Free-tier users need an internet connection to view their itineraries. Vacation Planner’s web app supports basic browser caching but also requires an internet connection for full functionality.

Which app is better for group trip planning?

It depends on what you need. Wanderlog offers full real-time collaborative editing where multiple people can modify the same itinerary simultaneously. Vacation Planner lets you share your AI-generated itinerary with travel companions so everyone can view the plan. If you need everyone to edit the plan together, Wanderlog has the edge. If you prefer one person to plan with AI assistance and share the result, Vacation Planner works well.

Can I import my hotel and flight bookings into either app?

Wanderlog offers a unique email address for each trip that you can forward confirmations to, and Pro subscribers can use the Gmail scanner to automatically import reservations. Vacation Planner’s paid plan includes email sync that automatically reads your booking confirmation emails and imports the details into your itinerary. On the free plan, you add bookings manually.

Which app has better map features?

Wanderlog has significantly stronger map integration. It embeds Google Maps into the itinerary view with color-coded pins for each day, making it easy to visualize your route. Pro subscribers also get route optimization. Vacation Planner does not currently offer embedded map views, though this is an area of active development.

Is Wanderlog or Vacation Planner better for budget travelers?

Vacation Planner is a strong choice for budget-conscious travelers. The free plan includes the AI vacation expert, itinerary builder, and real-time budget tracking with category breakdowns, all without paying anything. Wanderlog’s AI features require the $39.99/year Pro plan. If controlling costs is a priority, both for the app and for the trip itself, Vacation Planner’s free plan covers the essentials well.