Measure a Distance
The measure distance tool is a simple way of find the distance between two points on a map. Start Clicking!
Measure Distance Map
Options
[Map Height : Small - Medium - Large]
| Total Distance Miles km Nautical Miles Yards | |||||
| Autopan ? | |||||
How to use the Measure Distance Tool
Simply click once on one point, then click again on the second point. The distance should then be displayed. You can click more than two points in order to build up a continuous route.
Use the miles / km / nautical miles / yards switch to measure distances in km or in miles or nautical miles. The Autopan option will move the map as you click the points.
The Quick Find text box allows you to quickly get to an area you wish without spending time zooming and panning to find it. For example if you wish to find the city of Rome in Italy, type "Rome, Italy" and then click go. The map will then go straight to Rome. Note the "[city][comma][space][county]" format.
Toggle markers will show or hide the markers if they get in the way.
Clear last will remove the last point from the map
Zoom to fit will zoom and pan the map to get the best fit of all your points on as large a zoom as possible.
Clear Map is a reset button that will clear all points and allow you to start measuring a distance again.
You can edit the position of any existing points by dragging the marker (when they are displayed) and dropping the marker in it's new position
You can also adjust the height of the map to have it large, medium or small in size.
Future Ideas and Improvements
- Export to kml option
- Auto-reroute for optimum distance (traveling salesman problem)
Version History
- 20th February 2008 - Revamp of design now with draggable markers
- 1st November 2007 - Added quick find text box
- 19th October 2007 - Yards now added as a unit of measurement
- 9th October 2007 - Nautical Miles added as unit of measurement
- 5th September 2007 - Descriptive Text Updated
- 28th June 2007 - Page Created
Relevant Links
If you are trying to measure the distance between two cities, then the How far is it Between tool is probably more suitable for your needs.
Previous Comments For This Page
how ībout a save your home waypoint so you always start from you homeif you want instead of always quick search your hometown and slowly zoom in on your street before you can start messure? (for runners etc) think that would be usefull
By Rikard on 22/06/2009
That's just your opinion I suppose, but anyone who can work a mouse should have no difficuly operating this site.
On 13/06/2009
went for a cycle ride this morning and wanted to find out how far i'd been, would have been quicker to re ride it on my motorbike than using this site...far too time consuming, not very good
On 28/05/2009
If you fancy a ride this is your best tool ; )
By Sean , Ontario. on 26/05/2009
Surprising how difficult it is to find a site that lets you find out the straight line distance between two points/addresses. I needed that to find distance from houses I am interested in to the fixed point in a school. This is really great, I use the hybrid view to pinpoint the house and the centre of the school. Thanks!
On 26/05/2009
Great tool
I'm wondering if you can print the map, I suppose 'Print Screen' and paste might work. Also, can you save a route to go back at a later time? I have tried bookmarking but it doesn't work.
On 17/05/2009
Myanmar(burma) Liberia and the U.S.A. time to do METRIC !!!
On 16/05/2009
Great tool. So glad I found it and hope I'll br able to find it again if needed. Needed to find the distance measured within a certasin radius and it was here. Thanks.
On 14/05/2009
Excellent tool. I am a runner and find it very helpful to plan routes. Thank you
By Tim Bradley UK on 09/05/2009
What would be great is pick the city you live in. Pick four or five locations. and then have it make a sign post. Hawaii 4200 miles, New York 800 etc.
By Joebert on 04/05/2009
Conversion doesn't work once you have finished your trip.
If you extend the trip once you have changed the conversion then it uses the value from the last unit (eg. Km) and adds to that value for the new conversion (eg. Miles) so the distance becomes invalid.
By Andy on 30/04/2009
thank you - is there any way you can build in the 'terrain' view feature that is present on google maps?
On 29/04/2009
thank you - is there any way you can build in the 'terrain' view feature that is present on google maps?
On 29/04/2009
Brilliant - will pass this site on to all my running friends!
On 22/04/2009
Needed to measure off-road running distance for training. Did exactly what I needed thank you!
By Mike on 18/04/2009
nice!!! it would be much more useful if you can add the distances according to the real routes and not just a straight line. However its great! thanks!
By Lore on 17/04/2009
Absolutely love this, exactly what I was looking for. Nice accurate measurements.
On 02/04/2009
great! but i wish you could save the map...maybe you can , i might be being a bit stupid?
On 29/03/2009
Great tool to work out jogging plan. Only comment: Would be great if you could move the toggles for another route
By Kirky on 25/03/2009
excellent tool. uber helpful. thanks!
By marie linsangan on 22/03/2009
this website sucks aand doesn't help in no way
On 17/03/2009
whoever wrote "However wrote "How do you use this" needs glasses." needs a dictionary
On 17/03/2009
However wrote "How do you use this" needs glasses.
On 08/03/2009
how do you use this!
On 03/03/2009
this shows nothing about the different ways to measure distance on a map.
On 01/03/2009
A very wonderful tool. I use it to map river routes for distance when I'm going out kayaking. I have used it many times to plan trips. Thank you for such a good site.
On 27/02/2009
thi is a great tool. it made my homework very easy for me!!!
On 05/02/2009
its cool
On 28/01/2009
Really impressed with this tool was a great help to map my jogging route, however it would be nice to have numbers on the markers so you can clearly see the route like when you come back on yourself. Also be able to extend previous markers off a different path without having to clear all the way back to them!, otherwise a brilliant free tool.
By Dan. H on 22/01/2009
Very useful, turns out my 'mile' jogging route is actually just over half a mile!!!!
By Paul on 21/01/2009
This is a great facility for all sorts of distance measurements both on and OFF road. In my case Husky Sled Dog Racing. Thank you. It is also useful for marking routes in order to provide directions for friends and colleagues. Can we have an "email to a friend" facility so you can send route electronically rather than printing and fax? Many thanks.
By Robin Hudson. on 09/01/2009
I would like to know at which point distances are measured when you are travelling on motorways. Ie if I'm on the M4 going to London and it says, London 81 miles, at which point in London is it measured from. Anyone know?
On 08/01/2009
It is very useful tool for http://www.textilesinfomediary.com clients to relocate their expansion center in and around the world. To analyse marketing feasibility.
By textilesinfomediarydotcom on 17/12/2008
say whaa ... too many words ...i dunno what it mean
By Summer on 10/12/2008
Do you mean something like How Far is it Between?
By Free Map Tools on 04/12/2008
it's wrong, i liked this example:
http://turizmas.info/distances-between-cities/
unfortunatly it calculates only those cities that are on they database, but U guys can check the script they usefull!!
On 04/12/2008
Brilliant!
On 28/11/2008
A good idea inded. But it's tough going over exact road
By DON 005 on 26/11/2008
Great tool! When we moved into our home a few years ago, I measured the jogging path behind our house by the lake with a construction "walking wheel" and came up 5,240 feet. (Just under a mile. I used your tool today (11-08-08) and came up .978 mi. Fantastic!
Thank you
By Clyde V. Davis, Fort Worth, TX on 08/11/2008
Agree on half marathon in London. I have a $2 casio stop watch and this website - what more do you need!
A nice feature would be to be able to save your running routes/any routes and refer back to them, alter them etc.
At the moment I am taking screen grabs of routes I have built, but I can't go back and adjust them.
Top stuff though - very useful.
By Kevin Bolt on 10/09/2008
Does not show "Distance by Land Transport" like this page does http://www.freemaptools.com/how-far-is-it-between.htm (but at least you can _move_ the points unlike that other page).
___
Double-clicking (the 'regular' user-action for zooming in) does not zoom in but instead creates a new point but at least there is a "[Clear Last]" button.
__
Will we invent the Triple-Click (to set a point) hmmm....
On 08/09/2008
Doing a Half Marathon in London and needed to work out my training plan, this beats using an OS map and string...!! Very well done and its free too...!!!
By Seb Coe on 05/09/2008
Beautiful. Excellent tool. Great. Thanks so much.
By Mufti, Sep 04, 2008 USA on 04/09/2008
Absolutely superb application - I knew there must be one out there somewhere! Brilliant for jogging routes.
On 03/09/2008
This is fantastic.great for running routes.Thank you
On 02/09/2008
I had this idea just today whilst cycling - I knew it was to good an idea to be original! Brilliantly executed - exactly what I had 'mapped' in my brain.
On 25/08/2008
This is dead handy. For road distances in Europe and North America I usually use Google maps' get directions' tool where you can click and drag the line at any point for unfathomable accuracy.
But I'm motorcycling in India at the moment and the tool doesn't work here! But this free map tool allows me to plot my own route anywhere, even India. Fantastic.
By Graham on 06/08/2008
Very useful and incredibly accurate maps. It has helped me a lot in locating in mapping my route.
By Sunil Chaurasia on 05/07/2008
Excellent tool, really useful for working out how far I cycle (further than I thought as it turns out!)
Another vote for measuring road distances, currently I'm having to click multiple points along a road to get an accurate measurement. Of course, it could be far too complicated to implement for all I know!
On 04/07/2008
MINT!!! coursework made easy!
By Student22 on 20/06/2008
It is a Mercator projection.
Reference here.
By Free Map Tools on 17/06/2008
I want to know if the map or chart represented is Mercator or Gnomonic projection, i.e does it measure great circle distance or rhum line?
On 17/06/2008
This is an excellent tool. Thanks! However it would be even better for me if it measured road distances, in addition to 'as the crow flies'.
By PGS on 13/06/2008
in answer to the last query re printing - if you do a screen print - you can paste this into word and print it out from there :-)
By lisa on 09/06/2008
This is a great tool. I use this to plan out my running routes and the distances are very accurate. Thank you who ever disigned this!!!
By Anthony on 28/05/2008
Hi Elliott,
Do you mean something similar to Range Finder only the points are input and the distance and bearing are output?
By Daft Logic on 07/05/2008
Here's an idea which will make this the best tool for my purposes:
Create the ability to click on a point and then click on another point and have the machine tell you, using UTM and metres, the exact distace between the two points and the bearing. If you could do this - especially in NATO angular mils, the tool would be deadly. I have another program which acurately measures distance, but I have to convert to G.E. to get the coordinates. Then I actually have to enter the coordinates into my handheld GPS, change the map datum to convert the coordinates into NAD27 format from WGS84. Then use an old-fashioned protractor to get the bearing from a very old paper map.
By Elliott on 03/05/2008
Fantastic site - this will help us measure distances for cycling routes when we are training
On 02/05/2008
Great tool. I was trying to measure the distance I cycled recently, measured it in the car and via this tool and it was spot on - thanks.
On 30/04/2008
Great tool, the distance is "as the crow flies" roads are not always straight though.
By Rusty on 08/04/2008
Its a great tool!
Never foun a distance measurer this good before!
On 06/03/2008
This was an excellent tool and greatly assisted me in identifying the distances I needed to get. However, I think that the "How far is it between" distances should also be measured in Nautical Miles.
On 26/02/2008
A mouse-over and/or a table containing the waypoints lat/long would be great!
By Pete Howlett on 12/02/2008
The Nautical Miles option is a good idea
On 04/11/2007
I have looked into printing the map out, but unfortunately there is no easy way to do it reliably. The best quality I can get is from what you can get via File > Print in your web browser but as you will probably see it isn't perfect!
By Free Map Tools on 13/10/2007
This is a great tool. However, it would be better if the map could be printed-out. Maybe it can, but I can't find a way.
On 28/09/2007
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