Distance Between Two Points
Measure the distance between two map points or GPS coordinates in miles, kilometers, meters or nautical miles.
Results are provided as is, for general information. Check anything important before relying on it. See the Terms of Use.
About this tool
Measure the distance between two points as the crow flies. Enter latitude-first coordinate pairs in decimal degrees or degrees, minutes and seconds (DMS), or place and drag the two markers on the map. The result is the shortest great-circle arc on a spherical Earth with a radius of 6,371,000 meters. It is an approximation of surface distance: it does not include terrain, altitude, roads or travel time. Map images load from OpenStreetMap; calculations run locally.
When to use it
Questions
How do I measure distance on the map?
Select Start point or End point, then click the map to place it. Drag either marker to adjust that endpoint. You can also pan and choose Use map center, or enter coordinates directly. Scroll over the map to zoom. Switch units without moving the points.
How do I calculate distance between coordinates?
Enter latitude followed by longitude for each point, separated by a comma, semicolon or new line. Decimal degrees and DMS are accepted. Latitude ranges from −90° to 90°, longitude from −180° to 180°. South and west are negative in decimal notation.
Is this driving distance?
No. This is great-circle distance, or distance as the crow flies, on a sphere. Roads, terrain, bridges and transport routes can make a journey longer. No driving directions or travel times are calculated.
How accurate is the distance?
The tool uses a sphere with a mean Earth radius of 6,371,000 meters and displays up to six significant digits. Earth is not a perfect sphere, so this is not an ellipsoidal surveying calculation. More displayed digits do not improve the accuracy of the input coordinates or the Earth model. For example, the listed London and New York coordinates are approximately 5,570.22 km apart on this model.
Which distance units are available?
Kilometers, miles, meters and nautical miles. One international mile is exactly 1,609.344 meters; one international nautical mile is exactly 1,852 meters. Changing the unit does not change either endpoint.
What happens near the date line or poles?
The distance follows the short great-circle arc across the international date line. Calculations accept polar coordinates, but the map preview supports only latitudes between 85°S and 85°N. Arcs leaving this preview range are omitted. At or extremely near opposite sides of Earth, the distance remains valid but the arc is omitted because its direction is ambiguous or unstable.
What does a shared map link reveal?
The link includes both coordinate pairs and the selected distance unit in its fragment after #. Anyone receiving it can read the locations. The fragment is not included in the initial page request; loading map images still sends your IP address and viewed map areas to OpenStreetMap.