Navigation tools
Distance Calculator
Enter two GPS coordinates to calculate the distance between them. Compare the standard great-circle route with an optional constant-bearing rhumb-line route.
Point A
Tip: paste a full pair here, for example 51.5074, -0.1278 or 51° 30′ N, 0° 07′ W
Point B
Tip: paste a full pair here, for example 51.5074, -0.1278 or 51° 30′ N, 0° 07′ W
Calculate the distance between two GPS coordinates
The calculator compares two routes using the WGS84 mean Earth radius of 6,371.0088 km:
- Great-circle route — the shortest path over the Earth’s surface, calculated with the haversine formula. Its bearing is the initial bearing and changes along the route.
- Rhumb-line route — a constant-bearing path, useful for comparing a course that can be followed without continually changing heading.
Neither result accounts for coastlines, traffic separation schemes, hazards, weather, or other routing constraints.
Units
- Nautical miles (nm) — the standard unit for marine and aviation navigation. 1 nm = 1.852 km exactly.
- Statute miles (mi) — commonly used for reference in US and UK contexts.
- Kilometres (km) — the SI unit; used on most modern charts and GPS devices.
Input tips
- Accepts decimal degrees (
51.5074) or DMS (51° 30' 26" N). - Both points can use different input formats.
- Negative latitude = South; negative longitude = West.