Google Maps Coordinates Distance Calculator
Calculate the "as the crow flies" distance between two sets of GPS coordinates using the Haversine formula.
Point A (Origin)
Point B (Destination)
Calculated Distance:
How to Calculate Distance Between Coordinates
When you use Google Maps to find the distance between two points, the app usually provides the travel distance via roads. However, for aviation, marine navigation, or scientific research, you often need the Great Circle Distance—the shortest path between two points on the surface of a sphere.
The Haversine Formula
This calculator uses the Haversine formula to account for the Earth's curvature. Because the Earth is not flat, a simple Pythagorean calculation would result in significant errors over long distances. The formula is as follows:
c = 2 ⋅ atan2( √a, √(1−a) )
d = R ⋅ c
Where φ is latitude, λ is longitude, and R is Earth's mean radius (6,371 km).
Example Calculation: New York to Los Angeles
To see the calculator in action, let's look at a real-world example of calculating the distance between major hubs:
| Location | Latitude | Longitude |
|---|---|---|
| New York (JFK) | 40.6413° N | 73.7781° W |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | 33.9416° N | 118.4085° W |
The straight-line distance (displacement) between these two points is approximately 3,982 kilometers (2,474 miles). Note that a commercial flight path might be longer due to air traffic control and jet streams.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. This tool calculates the straight-line distance. Driving distance is always longer because it follows the geometry of roads and terrain.
The Haversine formula is accurate to within 0.5% for most calculations. The slight error occurs because the Earth is an oblate spheroid (slightly flattened at the poles) rather than a perfect sphere.
Our calculator requires Decimal Degrees. If you have coordinates in Degrees, Minutes, Seconds (DMS), you must convert them. For example, 40° 42′ 46″ N becomes 40.7128.