How to Check Your Speed on iPhone (4 Easy Ways)

iPhone doesn’t come with a built-in speedometer app, but its GPS can measure your speed very accurately. Here are four ways to see how fast you’re going, from zero-install to fully featured.

1. Use a free online speedometer in Safari (no download)

The quickest option, and it costs nothing:

1. Open trydriven.app/speedometer in Safari.
2. Tap Start speedometer.
3. When Safari asks to use your location, tap Allow.
4. Wait a few seconds outdoors for a GPS fix. Your speed appears in mph, km/h, or knots.

It also shows max speed, average speed, distance, and a full-screen HUD mode. The limitation: Safari pauses location when the screen locks or you switch apps, so it’s best for quick checks rather than long trips.

If location doesn’t work: go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services, make sure Location Services is on, then find Safari Websites and choose While Using the App.

2. Use a navigation app

Some navigation apps, such as Google Maps and Waze, can display your current speed during turn-by-turn navigation once you turn the option on in their settings. It works, but the speed is a small number in the corner, and you generally have to be navigating to a destination to see it.

3. Use a dedicated speedometer app

A speedometer app is built around the speed readout, so it’s bigger, clearer, and does more. The Speedometer: Speed Monitor app for iPhone, for example, offers:

• Large digital or analog speedometer in mph, km/h, or knots
• Driving, cycling, on-foot, and boating modes
• A mirrored windshield HUD
• Speed alerts by vibration or voice
• Automatic trip recording in the background, with route maps and stats
• A GPS 0–60 mph timer
• Odometer and trip history that stay on your phone — no account needed

4. Use CarPlay or your car’s display

If your car has CarPlay, the car’s own instrument cluster remains the main speed reading. Keep in mind that car speedometers usually read a few percent high, so a GPS reading on your iPhone is a useful cross-check.

Tips for an accurate reading on iPhone

• Turn on Precise Location for your speedometer app or Safari Websites (Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services). Approximate location isn’t accurate enough for speed.
• Give it a view of the sky. A dashboard or windshield mount works best.
• Start it before you move so the GPS has time to lock on.
• Expect gaps in tunnels and garages — GPS can’t reach there.

Stay safe

Put your iPhone in a mount, set everything up before you drive, and don’t touch it while the car is moving. Follow your local laws on phone use behind the wheel.