Distance Between Two Places

Calculate the straight-line distance between any two locations on Earth.

From

👆 Click map to set start point

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Set your starting point

Search for a location, click the map, or use "Detect My Location" to set where you're measuring from.

How to calculate distance between two places

This tool measures the geodesic distance — the shortest path between two points on Earth's surface, accounting for the planet's curvature. It works for any location worldwide and shows results in miles, kilometers, and nautical miles.

Enter your starting location

Type a city, address, or landmark in the "From" search box, or click directly on the map. You can also use the GPS button to use your current location as the starting point.

Enter your destination

After setting the start, type your destination in the "To" box or click the map again. A dashed line connects your two points and the map automatically zooms to show both locations.

View distance and estimates

The results panel shows the straight-line distance in miles, kilometers, and nautical miles. You'll also see approximate drive time (at 50 mph average) and flight time (at 500 mph cruise speed).

What people use distance calculator for

Flight distance for travel planning

When booking flights, knowing the straight-line distance helps estimate flight times and compare routes. Airlines use this distance for fuel calculations, and frequent flyer programs award miles based on great circle distance.

EXAMPLE

New York (JFK) to London (LHR): 3,459 miles / 5,567 km / 3,005 nautical miles. At 500 mph cruise speed, expect approximately 7 hours flight time. Actual flights average 7-8 hours eastbound and 8-9 hours westbound due to prevailing winds.

Moving and relocation distance

When planning a move, the straight-line distance gives you a baseline for estimating driving time, moving costs, and how far you'll be from family and friends. Moving companies often base quotes on mileage, though actual road distance will be higher.

EXAMPLE

Dallas, TX to Seattle, WA: 1,681 miles / 2,706 km straight-line. Driving distance is approximately 2,100 miles via I-40 and I-5. At 55 mph average including stops, expect about 38 hours of driving over 3-4 days.

Remote work location comparison

Remote workers considering relocation often compare distances to company headquarters, clients, or family. This helps evaluate time zone differences and how accessible in-person meetings would be.

Shipping and logistics baseline

International shipping costs often correlate with distance. While actual shipping routes follow different paths (especially for ocean freight), the straight-line distance provides a quick comparison baseline when evaluating suppliers or distribution locations.

Common city-to-city distances

Reference table showing straight-line distances between major world cities. Actual flight paths may be slightly longer due to air traffic routes and weather avoidance.

Route	Miles	Km	Nautical Mi
New York → London	3,459	5,567	3,005
Los Angeles → Tokyo	5,478	8,815	4,760
Sydney → Singapore	3,907	6,288	3,395
Paris → Moscow	1,544	2,486	1,342
Dallas → Seattle	1,681	2,706	1,461
Miami → Chicago	1,197	1,926	1,040
London → Dubai	3,403	5,477	2,957
New York → Los Angeles	2,451	3,944	2,130

The math behind distance calculation

This tool uses the Haversine formulato calculate the great-circle distance between two points on a sphere, then applies the WGS84 ellipsoid model for higher accuracy on Earth's actual shape.

The great-circle distance is the shortest path between two points on a sphere's surface. On flat maps using Mercator projection, this path appears curved, but it represents the actual shortest route (which is why flight paths often look curved on 2D maps).

Unit conversions: 1 mile = 1.60934 km = 0.868976 nautical miles. 1 kilometer = 0.621371 mi = 0.539957 nm. 1 nautical mile = 1.852 km = 1.15078 mi.

Related tools and resources

If you need to visualize an area around a single point, the Map Radius Tool draws a circle at any distance from your chosen location — useful for seeing what falls within a given range.

For measuring the area of a region, the Map Area Calculator lets you draw a polygon and calculates its size in square feet, acres, square miles, and other units.

To find all US ZIP codes within a specific radius, our Find ZIP Codes in Radius tool combines distance calculation with population data for market analysis and direct mail planning.

For US-specific distance lookups, try the Distance Between ZIP Codes calculator — enter two 5-digit ZIP codes and get the straight-line distance with ZCTA boundary polygons drawn on the map. Useful for shipping zone estimation and CMS mileage reimbursement.

The Distance Between Cities tool works similarly but uses city names with population-sorted autocomplete — ideal for quickly comparing distances between well-known cities without needing exact addresses or coordinates.

Frequently asked questions

This tool calculates the straight-line distance (also called "as the crow flies" or geodesic distance) between two points on Earth. Actual driving distance will be longer due to roads, terrain, and detours. For driving directions, use Google Maps or a dedicated routing service.

The calculation uses the Haversine formula on the WGS84 ellipsoid model of Earth, which is accurate to within 0.5% for any distance. This is the same method used by GPS devices and aviation.

Nautical miles are used in aviation and maritime navigation. One nautical mile equals one minute of latitude (1/60th of a degree). Air and sea routes are typically measured in nautical miles, and aircraft speeds are given in knots (nautical miles per hour).

The estimates are rough approximations: driving time assumes 55 mph (89 km/h) average, cycling 12 mph, walking 3 mph, and flight 500 mph (800 km/h) cruise speed. Real times vary based on traffic, route, terrain, and weather. For planning, always add buffer time.

Yes! This tool works worldwide. You can measure the distance between any two places on Earth — cities, landmarks, coordinates, or any point you click on the map.

Yes. The geodesic distance calculation accounts for Earth's curvature using the WGS84 ellipsoid model. For long distances (thousands of miles), this curvature significantly affects the result compared to a flat-plane calculation.

The tool shows both automatically. For reference: 1 mile = 1.609 kilometers, and 1 kilometer = 0.621 miles. Nautical miles are slightly longer: 1 nautical mile = 1.852 kilometers.

Currently the tool doesn't save results, but you can use the copy buttons to copy distance values, coordinates, and the midpoint to your clipboard. Future updates may add shareable links.

The bearing is the compass direction from your start point to your destination, measured in degrees clockwise from true north (0°). The tool also shows the cardinal direction (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW) for easier interpretation.

The midpoint is the geographic center between your two locations. It's useful for finding a fair meeting spot, identifying refueling points on long trips, or locating the center of a service area.

These "fun comparisons" help visualize distances in familiar terms. Knowing a road trip equals 5 marathons or 0.4% of the way to the Moon makes abstract numbers more tangible and memorable.

Data sources & methodology

Distance calculations use Turf.js geodesic functions with the WGS84 ellipsoid model. Address search uses the Photon geocoder powered by OpenStreetMap data. Reverse geocoding uses Nominatim. Map rendering uses MapLibre GL JS with OpenFreeMap tiles. Travel time estimates are rough approximations and should not be used for precise planning.