Best Group Travel Planning Apps and Websites in 2026

Planning a group trip is one of those things that sounds fun until you’re 47 messages deep in a group chat and still can’t agree on a destination. Someone wants beach, someone wants mountains, and someone keeps sending links to that one hostel in Prague they found on Reddit.

I’ve been through this cycle more times than I’d like to admit. After testing pretty much every trip planning tool out there, I’ve found that the best group travel planning app in 2026 is Roamly for its ability to collect everyone’s preferences privately and generate itineraries the whole group can actually agree on. Full disclosure: Roamly is our app, so we’re obviously biased. But I’ve done my best to give an honest breakdown of how every option on this list stacks up.

Whether you’re coordinating a bachelor party, a family reunion, or a friends trip to Europe, here are the 9 best travel planning apps and websites I’ve found for group trips, ranked by how well they actually handle the “group” part.

What We Looked For

Every app on this list was evaluated through the lens of group travel coordination. Here’s what mattered most:

• Group collaboration - Can multiple people contribute to the plan? Is it real-time?
• Preference handling - How does it deal with different opinions, budgets, and travel styles?
• Budget and expense tools - Can you track costs and split expenses within the app?
• Itinerary building - How easy is it to create and share a day-by-day plan?
• Platform availability - Can everyone in the group access it regardless of their device?
• Price - Is the free tier usable, or does it paywall the features groups actually need?

1. Roamly

Roamly is an AI-powered group travel planner built specifically for the hardest part of group travel: getting everyone on the same page. Each person in the group privately submits their preferences (destinations, budget, dates, adventure level) and the AI reads all of them, does real-time research, and generates destination recommendations with full day-by-day itineraries.

Pros:

• Private preference collection means nobody anchors to the loudest opinion in the group chat
• AI-generated itineraries are completely unique to your group’s combined inputs
• Automatic date overlap detection finds travel windows that work for everyone
• Budget-aware recommendations that respect the tightest budget in the group
• Free to use with tiered AI model options

Cons:

• Does not include airfare or hotel pricing in the budget estimates
• Web only at the time of writing, no native mobile app
• Newer platform with a smaller user base than established tools

Pricing: Free tier available. Paid tiers unlock more powerful AI models for itinerary generation.

Platforms: Web

Best for: Groups that can’t agree on where to go and want AI to find the compromise.

We wrote about the full technical build process in this post if you’re curious about what’s under the hood. You can also check out the Roamly project page for a deeper feature overview.

2. Wanderlog

Wanderlog is the strongest all-around trip planner I’ve used. It’s built around an interactive map where you can drag and drop places into a day-by-day itinerary, and the collaboration features make it easy to plan with a group in real time.

Pros:

• Beautiful map-based interface that makes visual planning intuitive
• Real-time collaboration so multiple people can edit the itinerary simultaneously
• Budget tracking and expense logging built in
• Route optimization calculates drive times between stops
• Generous free tier that covers most casual trip planning needs

Cons:

• AI features limited to 5 messages per trip on the free plan
• PDF export and offline maps locked behind Pro ($39.99/year)
• Mobile app can get slow with large, complex trips

Pricing: Free for unlimited trips and collaborative editing. Pro is $39.99/year for route optimization, Gmail auto-import, offline maps, and PDF export.

Platforms: iOS, Android, Web

Best for: Groups that want a visual, map-first planning experience with solid collaboration.

3. Lambus

Lambus is the one I’d recommend if your group’s biggest pain point is money. It combines itinerary planning with built-in expense tracking and automatic debt calculation, so you don’t need a separate app like Splitwise to figure out who owes what.

Pros:

• Group expense tracking with automatic “who owes whom” calculations
• Direct payment integration for settling debts within the app
• Interactive map-based itinerary planning
• Document storage for boarding passes and reservations with offline access
• GPX file import for hiking and biking routes

Cons:

• Smaller user base means fewer community resources and guides
• AI features are less developed than Roamly or Wanderlog
• Discovery and inspiration features are minimal

Pricing: Free tier available. Monthly at $3.99/mo, yearly at $24.49/yr, or lifetime access for $89.99. Also offers a pay-per-trip option at $8.99.

Platforms: iOS, Android, Web

Best for: Groups where splitting costs fairly is just as important as planning the itinerary.

4. TripIt

TripIt takes a completely different approach. Instead of planning from scratch, you forward your booking confirmation emails and it automatically builds a master itinerary. For groups where everyone books separately and you just need to see it all in one place, it’s incredibly useful.

Pros:

• Email forwarding auto-import is genuinely magic. Forward a confirmation, done.
• Shareable itineraries keep the whole group informed
• Calendar sync puts your travel plans alongside everything else
• Pro tier adds real-time flight alerts, gate change notifications, and fare tracking
• Clean, no-nonsense interface

Cons:

• Not a planning or discovery tool. It organizes what you’ve already booked.
• No budget tracking or expense splitting
• Pro at $49/year is steep if you only travel a couple times a year

Pricing: Free for core itinerary organization. Pro is $49/year for flight alerts, seat tracking, and auto-sharing.

Platforms: iOS, Android, Web

Best for: Groups that book independently and need one shared view of the full trip logistics.

5. Google Travel

Google Travel is the quiet workhorse that most people forget exists. It automatically pulls trip information from your Gmail confirmations and gives you a clean timeline. The real value is in its flight and hotel search with price tracking.

Pros:

• Completely free with no paid tier
• Automatic trip detection from Gmail booking confirmations
• Flight and hotel price tracking with alerts when prices drop
• New AI-powered Canvas tool for visual trip planning (rolled out in 2025)
• Seamless integration with Google Maps for reviews and directions

Cons:

• No dedicated mobile app. The planner is web only.
• No group collaboration features at all
• Itinerary customization is basic compared to dedicated planning apps
• Feels fragmented across Google Maps, Gmail, and the travel site

Pricing: Free

Platforms: Web (travel.google.com), with Google Maps integration on iOS and Android

Best for: Budget-conscious groups in the research phase who want to compare flights and hotels before committing.

6. TripAdvisor

You probably already know TripAdvisor for reviews, but its “Trips” feature adds collaborative planning on top of that massive review database. You can save places, organize them into lists, and share them with your group for voting and feedback.

Pros:

• Largest travel review database in the world. If a place exists, someone has reviewed it.
• Collaborative “Trips” lists let your group save and organize places together
• AI Trip Builder generates recommendations based on your saved places
• Direct booking for 400K+ experiences and 600K+ hotels
• Trip Cash rewards (5% back on bookings)

Cons:

• Planning tools are secondary to the review platform. The itinerary builder is basic.
• Heavy on ads, which can make the experience feel cluttered
• Not useful for day-by-day scheduling or logistics
• App UX has gotten worse over time according to recent user feedback

Pricing: Free. Revenue comes from bookings and advertising.

Platforms: iOS, Android, Web

Best for: Groups in the early “where should we eat and what should we do” research phase.

7. Roadtrippers

If your group trip involves a car, Roadtrippers is the one to use. It maps out driving routes with points of interest along the way, estimates fuel costs, and has a database of over 5 million places across North America, Australia, and New Zealand.

Pros:

• Massive database of roadside attractions, restaurants, campgrounds, and scenic stops
• Fuel cost and mileage estimation for realistic budgeting
• “Autopilot” AI generates personalized route suggestions based on 38 million planned trips
• Collaborative trip editing so the whole car can contribute
• RV-specific features including 150K+ campground reviews

Cons:

• Free version is very limited. Most useful features require a paid plan ($35.99-$59.99/year).
• Primarily focused on North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Not great for international trips.
• Can lag on longer, more complex routes
• Not useful for non-driving travel

Pricing: Basic at $35.99/year (3 trips, 20 stops), Pro at $49.99/year (5 trips, 50 stops), Premium at $59.99/year (unlimited trips, 150 stops, offline maps).

Platforms: iOS, Android, Web

Best for: Groups planning road trips in North America who want to discover interesting stops along the way.

8. Layla AI

Layla AI is an AI travel agent that generates complete itineraries with live flight and hotel pricing pulled from Skyscanner and Booking.com. It’s impressive technology, but it’s built more for solo or couple planning than group coordination.

Pros:

• AI generates detailed day-by-day itineraries based on your travel style and budget
• Live pricing integration means you see real, bookable numbers
• Short-form video guides for each recommendation add a nice visual element
• PriceLock algorithm tracks prices 24/7 and alerts you to drops
• Family trip planning with kid-friendly activity suggestions

Cons:

• No group collaboration or preference collection features
• Free trial aggressively pushes the paywall. Accessing day-by-day details triggers a payment prompt.
• Mixed reviews on billing practices and pricing transparency
• Relatively new with less of a track record

Pricing: Free for basic planning. Premium at $49/year for live pricing, full itinerary details, and PDF export.

Platforms: Web

Best for: Solo travelers or couples who want AI to handle the itinerary creation with real pricing attached.

9. Rome2Rio

Rome2Rio isn’t a trip planner in the traditional sense. It’s a transport search engine that shows you every possible way to get from point A to point B, whether that’s by plane, train, bus, ferry, or car. For groups figuring out logistics between cities, it’s invaluable.

Pros:

• Covers 240+ countries with 200K+ train lines, 970K+ bus routes, and 53K+ flight paths
• Side-by-side comparison of time, cost, and route for every transport option
• Completely free to search and compare
• Multi-language support
• Particularly strong for European and Asian travel where trains and buses are viable

Cons:

• Not an itinerary planner or organizer. It solves one problem: “how do I get there?”
• Booking through Rome2Rio’s partner links can mean higher prices
• No trip management, budget tracking, or collaboration features

Pricing: Free to search. Booking happens through third-party partners.

Platforms: iOS, Android, Web

Best for: Groups figuring out the cheapest or fastest way to get between destinations, especially in regions with strong public transit.

The Bottom Line

If your group is stuck in the “where should we even go” phase, Roamly is the best tool for getting everyone’s input without the endless group chat debate. The private preference collection and AI-generated itineraries solve the hardest part of group travel planning.

For groups that already know where they’re going and need to build out the day-by-day plan together, Wanderlog is the strongest all-around option. Its map-based interface and real-time collaboration make it easy for everyone to contribute, and the free tier is genuinely useful.

And if splitting costs is your group’s biggest headache, Lambus combines planning with expense tracking so you’re not juggling multiple apps. In practice, most group trips benefit from using two or three of these tools together. Start with Roamly or Wanderlog for planning, add Rome2Rio for figuring out transport between cities, and use Lambus or Splitwise to keep the money side clean.