Maps / 01
Distance Calculator
Find the straight-line distance between two cities or any two coordinates, in kilometres, miles, and nautical miles, with the initial heading and a rough flight time.
Distance Calculator: The distance is the shortest path over the Earth's surface, measured on the WGS-84 ellipsoid that GPS uses, with Vincenty's formula, which is accurate to well under a millimetre. City distances are measured between city centres. The flight time is a rough guide: half an hour for take-off and landing plus the distance at a typical cruising speed of 800 km/h. Runs 100% locally in your browser with zero server file uploads.
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- Everyday tools
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- In your browser
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- Free · no sign-up
- Availability
- Ready to use
Runs entirely in your browser
5,585 km
3,471 miInitial heading 288° (WNW). A direct flight would take roughly 7 h 29 min in the air.
The shortest distance over the Earth's surface, measured on the WGS-84 ellipsoid that GPS uses. Roads and flight paths are longer. City distances are measured between city centres.
Great circles and flat maps
The shortest route between two points on a sphere follows a great circle, a circle with the same centre as the Earth. On a flat map these routes look curved, bending towards the poles, which is why long flights seem to take a detour. The initial heading shown is the direction to set off in; along a great circle it changes as you go.
The Earth is slightly flattened: the poles are about 21 km closer to its centre than the equator is, so measuring on a perfect sphere can be off by up to about 0.5%. This calculator uses the ellipsoid instead.
Time and daylight at the other end
For a trip or a call, the time zone converter shows the local time at the destination, and sunrise and sunset shows how much daylight it gets on any date.
How to use it
- Pick a city for each place, or choose Enter coordinates and type the latitude and longitude.
- Read the distance in kilometres, miles, and nautical miles.
- Use Swap to measure the other way round.
Privacy & limitations
Everything is calculated in your browser; no places or coordinates are sent anywhere. Your last two places are kept in this browser.
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Frequently asked questions
Why is the distance shorter than the drive or the flight?
It is the distance as the crow flies: the shortest path over the Earth's surface. Roads wind round obstacles, and aircraft follow air routes and winds, so real journeys are longer.
Why do flights between Europe and North America go so far north?
On a globe, the shortest path between two places, a great circle, curves towards the nearer pole when drawn on a flat map. London to New York starts out heading west-north-west, over Ireland, not straight west.
How do I find the coordinates of a place?
In most map apps, press and hold or right-click a spot to see its latitude and longitude. Enter them as decimal degrees, such as 48.8566, 2.3522, with south and west as negative numbers, or in degrees, minutes, and seconds followed by N, S, E, or W.
What is a nautical mile?
1,852 metres, roughly one minute of latitude. Ships and aircraft use it, with speeds in knots, nautical miles per hour.
Free tool · runs in your browser · no account required