BYTETOOLS

Route Distance Calculator

Add up the great-circle distance across a list of waypoints, with a per-leg table of distances and bearings in kilometres, miles and nautical miles.

Drop a .gpx, .geojson or .txt waypoint file here, or click to browseMeasured locally — the file is never uploaded

Paste a waypoint list or drop a GPX or GeoJSON file to measure the route leg by leg.

What is the Route Distance Calculator?

This route distance calculator measures every consecutive leg of a waypoint list with the haversine formula and adds them up.

  • Accepts pasted coordinates, GPX tracks and GeoJSON LineStrings in the same box
  • Per-leg distance, initial bearing and compass point, with running totals
  • Totals in kilometres, miles and nautical miles side by side
  • Compares the route against the direct great-circle line and shows the detour percentage
  • Scale drawing of the route on a canvas, with the direct line dashed for contrast
  • Leg table exports to CSV, and nothing is ever uploaded

How to use the Route Distance Calculator

  1. 1

    Paste your waypoints one per line as "latitude, longitude", with an optional label after a second comma.

  2. 2

    Or drop a .gpx track, a GeoJSON LineString or a text file — the format is detected automatically.

  3. 3

    Read the total distance in kilometres, miles and nautical miles, next to the direct start-to-end distance.

  4. 4

    Scan the per-leg table for distances, compass bearings and cumulative totals.

  5. 5

    Copy or download the leg table as CSV for a spreadsheet.

About the Route Distance Calculator

This route distance calculator measures every consecutive leg of a waypoint list with the haversine formula and adds them up. Paste coordinates one per line, drop a GPX track or hand it a GeoJSON LineString and it produces a leg-by-leg table of distances, bearings and running totals, plus the straight-line distance from start to finish for comparison.

It is built for flight planners adding up sectors, sailors checking a passage plan, cyclists and hikers costing out a route, and logistics teams estimating a multi-stop run. Distances are great-circle over the ground, so they are the shortest path between points rather than a road or sea distance.

The route is sketched to scale on a canvas drawn from your own points — no map tiles are loaded and nothing is uploaded. Everything is calculated in your browser, so it works offline and keeps confidential routes private.

Frequently asked questions

How is route distance calculated between waypoints?

Each consecutive pair is measured with the haversine formula on a sphere of mean radius 6,371.0088 km, then the legs are added together. That gives the great-circle distance over the ground, which is the shortest possible path between the two points.

Is this the same as driving distance?

No. This measures straight great-circle legs between your waypoints, not roads, one-way streets or terrain. Road distance is typically 15–30% longer. Add more waypoints along the actual path and the total converges towards the real route length.

What coordinate formats can I paste?

Decimal degrees like 51.5074, -0.1278 work, and so does DMS such as 51°30'27"N 0°7'40"W. Lines are split on commas, semicolons or tabs, and anything after the second field is treated as a label. Lines that cannot be read are counted and reported rather than silently dropped.

Why is the route longer than the straight-line distance?

Because a multi-leg route bends. The straight line is the single great circle from the first point to the last; every detour through an intermediate waypoint adds length. The tool shows that gap as a percentage so you can see how indirect a plan is.

Why nautical miles as well as kilometres?

Aviation and marine navigation work in nautical miles because one nautical mile is one minute of latitude, which makes chart work simple. A nautical mile is exactly 1,852 m, so the tool shows all three units rather than making you convert.

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