Amap vs Baidu Maps: Which Should Foreigners Use in China?

Published Sep 4, 2026 · Updated Sep 6, 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

Amap or Baidu Maps for foreigners — which one?

Amap, via its AMap Global international version: native English interface, built-in taxi and transit planning, designed for visitors. Choose Baidu Maps when you want China's deepest POI data and can work around its Chinese-first search and ride flow — or run both, as many expats do.

Does Amap have an English version?

Yes. AMap Global is a separate, natively English app for international visitors (English + Chinese per its official store listings, verified September 2026). The domestic Amap app (高德地图) also has an English interface toggle, but its content stays Chinese-first — same shape as Baidu Maps' English mode.

Which is more accurate, Amap or Baidu?

In central districts they're effectively equivalent — both are excellent, and locals split between them. Baidu's advantage shows at the edges: denser POI coverage, more reliable building-entrance detail, and stronger live-traffic data. For metro and bus routing, both are equally dependable.

Can Amap hail a taxi in English?

On AMap Global, yes — taxi-hailing is built in with an English flow and bilingual help cards for drivers. On the domestic app and on Baidu Maps, ride-hailing works but runs Chinese-first, which is why most foreign visitors either use AMap Global or DiDi's international version.

Do these map apps work without a Chinese phone number?

Yes — both install and navigate without a +86 SIM (a foreign number or data-only eSIM is enough for maps and directions). Full registration may ask for one, but the core navigation doesn't. Connectivity options are in our eSIM for China guide.

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Quick Summary: For a foreign visitor, Amap is the easier pick — specifically AMap Global, its separate international version: a native English interface with taxi-hailing, transit planning, and visitor features like bilingual help cards, verified on its official store pages (September 2026). Baidu Maps counters with China’s deepest points-of-interest and transit data and a partial English mode (setup here) — but search and ride-hailing stay Chinese-first. Short trip and English matters: Amap Global. Long stay and you read some Chinese: run both, like half of expat China does.

This page is where every “Amap vs Baidu” comparison on this site lives — we keep it in one place so the answer never forks. Supporting pages: Baidu Maps in English (setup tutorial), Baidu Maps outside China (the border question), and Google Maps alternatives (why you need a replacement at all).

The verdict matrix

ScenarioWinnerWhy
Interface language for foreigners✅ AmapAMap Global is natively English end-to-end; Baidu’s English mode is a partial toggle
Taxi / ride-hailing inside the app✅ AmapBuilt-in hailing with an English flow and bilingual driver cards; Baidu’s flow is Chinese-first
Map & POI data depth in China✅ BaiduThe deepest POI, live-traffic, and transit dataset of any Chinese map app
Walking navigation in dense cities✅ Baidu (narrowly)Finer-grained building entrances and POI detail
Transit directions🤝 TieBoth excellent and live for metro + bus across major cities
Use outside mainland China✅ Amap GlobalBuilt as an international product; Baidu abroad degrades (details)
What locals use🤝 SplitBoth enormous; Amap’s domestic app (高德地图) currently leads market share

Bottom line: if you install one app for a trip measured in weeks, it’s AMap Global. Baidu Maps is the power tool you grow into — typically once you’re navigating like a local, pasting Chinese addresses, and want its superior POI detail.

Does Amap have an English version?

Yes — two different answers depending on what you mean:

  • The international version (AMap Global) is natively English. It’s a separate app from the domestic one: English interface, English search, taxi and transit planning, plus practical visitor touches — arrival guides, bilingual “help cards” to show drivers, hotel routes. This is what foreign visitors should install (verified on AMap Global’s official Google Play and App Store listings, September 2026; the store pages list both English and Chinese support).
  • The domestic app (高德地图) has an English interface toggle. It covers menus and labels, but the experience — reviews, driver chat, support — remains Chinese-first, much like Baidu’s English mode.

So if someone told you “Amap is Chinese-only,” they were half right: the app 1.4 billion people use daily is; the Global version for visitors isn’t.

If you’ve never used a Chinese map app at all, China’s immigration authority publishes official how-to material for visitors: its map navigation apps tutorial (December 2025) walks through installing and using map apps in China step by step — ten well-spent minutes before you fly.

How to choose in 30 seconds

  1. Tourist, trip under a month, no Chinese? Install AMap Global. Done. Add Google Maps only if your route includes Hong Kong/Macau/Taiwan.
  2. Settling in, or staying months? Install both domestic-grade apps: Amap (高德地图 or keep Global) for riding, Baidu Maps for its unmatched POI depth when walking and exploring. Toggle Baidu to English with our 60-second tutorial.
  3. Ride-hailing is your priority? Amap Global’s built-in taxi flow is the smoothest English path — though for dedicated ride-hailing, most foreigners still default to DiDi (see the essential apps list).
  4. Going abroad mid-trip? Neither replaces local apps overseas: Amap Global holds up better, Baidu degrades to a fallback (the full border story).

Amap vs Baidu: the details behind the verdict

Where Amap wins for foreigners. The Global version is the only map app in China designed around the inbound-visitor problem: you land, your Chinese is zero, and you need a taxi in ten minutes. English interface, English search that forgives pinyin, fare display, and a bilingual help card to show the driver cover that exact scenario. Its transit planner handles the metro systems of every major city with English station names.

Where Baidu wins for everyone. Data. Baidu’s point-of-interest database is the deepest in China — the hole-in-the-wall noodle shop inside the residential compound, the correct building entrance, the live traffic layer that actually reroutes you. Its desktop-web sibling also drives most of China’s location searches. For walking navigation in dense city centers, that detail gap is real and noticeable.

Where they tie. Core navigation. Both get you across Beijing or Shanghai by metro flawlessly; both handle driving directions better than any foreign app can; both are free with ads you’ll learn to ignore. Accuracy arguments between superfans are effectively noise — when one mislocates a place, the other usually nails it, which is the strongest argument for installing both.