MileIQ vs. a Free iPhone Mileage Tracker for Gig Drivers (2026)

Updated September 28, 2026. The comparison hub, with Tax Miles, MileIQ, and Everlance in one price table, is Tax Miles vs MileIQ and Everlance. This page keeps the MileIQ-only notes and links back up to that hub. Prices in the table below were checked earlier; the three-way page re-checked public pricing on September 28.

If you drive for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, or any other 1099 platform, the mileage app decision is mostly four questions: what it costs once you go over the free-trip cap, whether it actually auto-detects drives, whether the export looks like an IRS log, and whether it can handle 2026’s two rates — 72.5¢ through June 30 and 76¢ from July 1. Everything else is branding.

MileIQ is the name most drivers already know. It is a Microsoft product, it runs on iPhone and Android, and it does the swipe-to-classify job well. The question is whether a full-time gig driver on iPhone needs to pay MileIQ Unlimited prices for that job, or whether a free iPhone tracker with a cheaper Pro plan covers the same IRS requirements.

Who This Comparison Is For

This is written for self-employed and 1099 drivers who will take the standard mileage rate on Schedule C. Employees who get reimbursed by an employer, and fleets that need admin dashboards, have different needs — MileIQ’s Teams plans exist for that. If you are a solo driver logging your own car, keep reading.

Price: What You Actually Pay After 40 Trips

Both products advertise a free plan. The useful number is what unlimited tracking costs, because a full-time gig week blows past 40 drives.

	MileIQ (individual)	TaxMiles (iPhone)
Free plan	40 drives / month	40 business trips total
Reports on the free plan	Pricing page lists “Auto-generated reports” on the free plan	None. Every PDF and CSV export is Pro
Paid monthly	$13.99 / month	$7.99 / month (Pro)
Paid annually	$11.66 / month billed annually (about $140 / year)	$59.99 / year (about $5.00/mo)
Platforms	iPhone and Android	iPhone (iOS)
Publisher	Microsoft	Tax Miles — App Store id 6758579463

MileIQ prices above are the individual Unlimited figures published on MileIQ’s own pricing page. Team seats are a different product. TaxMiles prices are the current App Store plans: Free and Pro. No promo codes, no “launch discount” — those are the list prices.

On a two-year horizon, MileIQ Unlimited annual is roughly $280. TaxMiles Pro annual is $120. That gap does not make MileIQ a bad app. It does mean price is not a reason to pick it if you only need an iPhone log.

Auto-Detect: The Feature That Decides Whether You Keep the Deduction

The IRS wants a contemporaneous log — records made at or near the time of the trip. Drivers who start and stop a timer by hand drop trips within a week. That is why auto-detect is the only method that survives a real gig schedule. See how to track mileage for taxes for the four methods and why GPS apps grade highest.

Both MileIQ and TaxMiles detect when you start driving, record the route, and let you classify the trip as business or personal afterward. That swipe is the habit that matters. Classify the same day. A pile of unclassified drives in December is how people either miss miles or guess purpose — both of which fail an audit.

What auto-detect does not do: decide commuting vs. business for you. The drive from home to a regular office is still personal. The first paid pickup of the day, a reposition while you are online, and a supply run generally count. If that line is fuzzy, read the commuting-miles rules before you swipe everything as business.

The IRS Log: Five Fields, Not a Dollar Total

A tax-compliant report is not a screenshot of “you drove 12,400 miles.” Publication 463 expects, for each business trip:

1. Date
2. Destination
3. Business purpose
4. Miles driven
5. A way to show total annual mileage (business plus personal) so the business-use percentage can be checked

MileIQ’s selling point is a tax-compliant report you can submit. TaxMiles Pro exports IRS-ready PDF and CSV with the same job in mind. On the free TaxMiles plan you still get auto-detection, swipe classification and every trip with its totals on screen, but no export: every PDF and CSV is Pro. MileIQ’s pricing page lists auto-generated reports on its free plan (checked October 3, 2026), so if a free report file is what you need, MileIQ’s free tier is ahead there. If you will hand a TaxMiles file to a CPA in March, budget for Pro.

The five fields, and what auditors actually reject, are spelled out in IRS mileage log requirements.

2026’s Mid-Year Rate Change: The Log Now Has Two Halves

This year is the trap. The IRS raised the business standard mileage rate mid-year:

• 72.5¢ per mile for miles driven January 1 – June 30, 2026
• 76¢ per mile for miles driven July 1 – December 31, 2026

A single annual total × one rate is the wrong deduction. The app has to stamp the rate in effect on the trip’s date. TaxMiles applies that split automatically. If you stay on MileIQ — or any other tracker — open a mid-year export and confirm June trips and July trips are not blended. The mechanics are in the July 1 rate-change explainer.

Worked example, not a promise: 8,000 business miles in the first half and 9,000 in the second half is $5,800 + $6,840 = $12,640. The same 17,000 miles at 72.5¢ all year would understate the deduction by $315. That is why the date stamp matters more than the brand name on the icon.

Where MileIQ Still Wins

• Android. TaxMiles is iPhone-only. If your daily driver phone is Android, this comparison is over.
• Teams / employer reimbursement. MileIQ sells per-seat admin plans. A solo 1099 driver does not need them; a company that reimburses employees might.
• Name recognition. Accountants have seen MileIQ exports for years. A TaxMiles CSV is the same kind of file, but you may need to say so once.

Where a Free iPhone Tracker Is Enough

• You are already on iPhone and do not need Android sync.
• You will exceed 40 trips and do not want a $140/year subscription for unlimited drives.
• You care about the 2026 two-rate year being applied per trip, plus a report you can archive with the return.

TaxMiles Free covers your first 40 business trips, swipe classification, a running tax estimate, and no credit card; it has no exports. Pro is $7.99/month or $59.99/year: unlimited trips, every PDF/CSV export, the tax tools, Apple Watch, CarPlay, and the rest of the export toolkit. Feature list and current plans live on taxmilesapp.com.

How to Decide in Fifteen Minutes

1. Count last month’s drives. Under 40? MileIQ’s free tier may hold month to month. TaxMiles Free covers your first 40 business trips in total, then needs Pro.
2. If you are on Android, MileIQ (or another Android tracker) is the path. TaxMiles will not run there.
3. If you are on iPhone, price the paid tier you will actually use. MileIQ Unlimited vs. TaxMiles Pro is the real comparison.
4. Export a sample report. Confirm date, destination, purpose, miles, and a year-to-date total.
5. For 2026, confirm first-half miles at 72.5¢ and second-half miles at 76¢. If the app cannot split the year, do not use its annual total on Schedule C.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is MileIQ worth it for gig drivers in 2026?

It can be, if you want one brand on iPhone and Android or you already live in Microsoft’s tools. It is harder to justify on price alone for an iPhone-only driver who just needs an automatic, IRS-ready log.

Does a free mileage tracker produce an IRS-ready log?

Yes, if the records are contemporaneous and include the five fields. Paying for an app does not make a sloppy log compliant, and a free log is not automatically rejected. The usual paid upgrade is unlimited trips plus a file you can email to a tax pro.

How should a mileage app handle the 2026 mid-year IRS rate change?

Apply 72.5¢ through June 30 and 76¢ from July 1, trip by trip. Do not multiply one yearly total by 76¢ or by 72.5¢.

Is TaxMiles the same app as MileIQ or Everlance?

No. Tax Miles is App Store id 6758579463. The listing may still say TaxMiles: IRS Mileage Tracker. It is not MileIQ, not Everlance, and not “Mileage Tracker for Taxes” (id 6758426140).

Related reading: Everlance vs TaxMiles, how to track mileage for taxes, IRS mileage log requirements, the mid-year 76¢ rate change, standard mileage vs. actual expenses, the rideshare driver tax guide, and how to amend if you already missed the deduction.

Updated September 28, 2026. This article is general tax education, not tax advice, and not an audit of MileIQ’s full feature set. MileIQ prices in the table were taken from MileIQ’s public individual pricing page and can change; the September 28 three-way comparison re-checked them. Tax Miles is App Store id 6758579463 and is not affiliated with the IRS. Consult a tax professional about your specific situation.