GPS Coordinate Converter — Convert Between All Formats

How to convert GPS coordinates

Understanding coordinate formats

Every point on Earth can be described with latitude (north-south) and longitude (east-west). But different professions and systems represent these numbers in different ways. A surveyor uses UTM in meters, a pilot reads DMM from a flight plan, a soldier reports MGRS over radio, and a web developer stores decimal degrees in a database. All seven formats encode the same physical location — they just serve different workflows.

Conversion reference: 10 famous landmarks

Pre-computed conversions for well-known locations. Use these to verify your own conversions or as quick-copy references.

What people use this tool for

Surveyors and GIS professionals

Surveyors work in UTM because meter-based coordinates make distance and area calculations straightforward. When a client sends decimal degrees from Google Maps, this converter bridges the gap instantly. GIS analysts switching between coordinate reference systems can verify conversions against the authoritative WGS84 math here.

Hikers and geocachers

Handheld GPS devices from Garmin and Magellan typically display DMS or DMM. Geocaching.com publishes coordinates in DMM format. When you find coordinates on a web map in decimal degrees, this tool converts them to the format your GPS expects. Just paste, convert, and copy.

Military and emergency services

NATO uses MGRS for all ground operations because it encodes a precise location in a short, unambiguous alphanumeric string that works well over radio. Search and rescue teams, fire services, and disaster response organizations increasingly adopt MGRS for the same reason. This converter generates a full MGRS grid reference from any input.

Developers and data engineers

APIs return coordinates in different formats: Google uses decimal, some government datasets use DMS, spatial databases use geohash for indexing. Converting between them is a common development task. This tool validates your implementation, and you can use the address-to-coordinates tool for batch geocoding when building datasets.

Aviation and maritime navigation

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) standardize on DMM format for flight plans and ship logs. Converting between decimal (used in electronic flight bags) and DMM (used in official documents) is a daily task for pilots and navigators.

Real estate and logistics

Property descriptions sometimes include coordinates in DMS from old survey records. Logistics platforms need decimal degrees for routing APIs. Converting is routine. If you also need to measure distances between properties, use the distance calculator.

How coordinate conversion works

All seven formats encode the same underlying position on the WGS84 ellipsoid. The conversion math varies by format:

DD, DMS, DMM conversions

These are simple arithmetic. Decimal degrees are the base representation. To convert to DMS: extract the integer degree, multiply the fractional part by 60 to get minutes, multiply the fractional minutes by 60 to get seconds. DMM stops at the decimal minutes step. The hemisphere letter (N/S for latitude, E/W for longitude) replaces the sign.

UTM projection

UTM uses a Transverse Mercator projection applied to 60 zones, each 6° wide. The math involves the WGS84 ellipsoid parameters (semi-major axis a = 6,378,137 m, flattening f = 1/298.257223563), the eccentricity derived from these, and a series expansion to compute easting and northing in meters. A scale factor of 0.9996 is applied at the central meridian of each zone. Easting has a false origin of 500,000 m; in the southern hemisphere, northing has a false origin of 10,000,000 m.

MGRS derivation

MGRS is built on top of UTM. It takes the UTM zone number and adds a latitude band letter (C through X, skipping I and O). Then it adds a 100 km square identification (two letters derived from lookup tables that cycle every 6 zones). Finally, the easting and northing within that 100 km square are appended as numeric digits.

Geohash encoding

Geohash interleaves the binary representations of latitude and longitude, then encodes groups of 5 bits using a base32 alphabet (0-9, b-z excluding a, i, l, o). Each additional character narrows the bounding box. A 9-character geohash gives approximately 5 m precision.

Plus Code (Open Location Code)

Plus Code normalizes latitude to [0, 180] and longitude to [0, 360], then encodes pairs of digits using a base20 alphabet (23456789CFGHJMPQRVWX). The first 10 characters encode pairs; a “+” separator is inserted after the 8th character. Additional characters use a 4×5 grid refinement for finer precision.

How this tool compares

Most online converters only handle 2–4 formats and lack MGRS, Plus Code, and reverse geocoding. Here is how SimpleMapLab compares:

Glossary

Decimal degrees (DD)

Coordinates as a single decimal number per axis: 48.8584, 2.2945. The standard for digital mapping, web APIs, and GIS software.

Degrees Minutes Seconds (DMS)

The traditional sexagesimal format: 48°51'30.2"N, 2°17'40.2"E. Each degree has 60 minutes; each minute has 60 seconds.

Degrees Decimal Minutes (DMM)

A hybrid format: 48°51.5040'N. Degrees are integers, minutes are decimal. Standard in aviation and maritime.

UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator)

A projected coordinate system that divides Earth into 60 zones, each 6° wide. Coordinates are in meters as easting (distance from the zone’s central meridian) and northing (distance from the equator).

MGRS (Military Grid Reference System)

A geocoordinate standard derived from UTM. Adds a zone letter and 100 km square ID to UTM coordinates. Used by NATO and US military.

Geohash

A short alphanumeric string that encodes a lat/lng with hierarchical precision. Adjacent locations share common prefixes, enabling efficient spatial indexing.

Plus Code (Open Location Code)

A location code developed by Google. Uses a base20 alphabet to encode coordinates into a short string like 8FW4V75V+8Q. Useful for addressing in areas without street names.

WGS84

World Geodetic System 1984 — the global standard datum for GPS, modern mapping, and most digital geographic data. All conversions in this tool use WGS84.

Ellipsoid

A mathematical model of Earth’s shape. WGS84 defines Earth as an ellipsoid with semi-major axis 6,378,137 m and flattening 1/298.257223563.

Datum

A reference frame that defines the size and shape of Earth and the origin and orientation of the coordinate system. Different datums (WGS84, NAD83, ED50) place the same lat/lng at slightly different physical locations.

Easting

In UTM, the distance in meters east of a zone’s false origin (500,000 m west of the central meridian). Values range from ~160,000 to ~834,000.

Northing

In UTM, the distance in meters north of the equator (or 10,000,000 m south of the equator in the southern hemisphere). Values range from 0 to ~9,328,000.

Related tools and resources

If you need to plot coordinates on a map without converting them, the latitude-longitude map tool lets you drop pins and share the result. To find coordinates for a place name rather than convert existing ones, use the latitude and longitude finder.

For batch geocoding — converting a list of addresses to coordinates — the address-to-coordinates tool processes multiple addresses at once. For dedicated UTM work, the UTM to Lat/Long Converter handles bidirectional UTM conversions with zone/easting/northing inputs.

Need to measure the distance between two sets of coordinates? The distance between two places calculator computes great-circle distance using the Haversine formula. And if you want to check the elevation at your converted coordinates, try the elevation finder.

Data sources & methodology

Frequently asked questions