Distance Calculator
Find the straight-line (great-circle) distance between two cities or two latitude/longitude points, in kilometers, miles, nautical miles and meters. Choose from about 100 major cities or enter any coordinates. Distance between two points on a graph? Use the distance-formula calculator below.
Kilometers
Miles
Nautical Miles
Meters
Travel Planning
Plan trips with accurate distance and time estimates
Logistics & Shipping
Calculate delivery routes and shipping distances
GIS & Mapping
Geospatial analysis and location-based services
Distance Between Two Points on a Graph
For maths and physics problems: enter the coordinates of two points on a plane, or in 3D, to get the straight-line distance with every step of the distance formula, plus the midpoint, slope and direction.
How the distance formula works
The distance formula is the Pythagorean theorem: the horizontal and vertical differences between the points are the two shorter sides of a right triangle, and the distance is its hypotenuse, d = √[(x₂ − x₁)² + (y₂ − y₁)²]. In 3D, add (z₂ − z₁)² inside the square root.
For a walk or a displacement problem, put the start at (0, 0) and treat east as +x and north as +y. "4 km west, then 2 km north" ends at (−4, 2), so you are √20 ≈ 4.47 km from the start, in a direction 26.6° north of west.
For distances between places on Earth, use the calculator above, which accounts for the Earth's curvature.
How this distance calculator works
The calculator finds the great-circle distance between two points: the shortest path between them along the surface of the Earth, "as the crow flies". You can pick two cities from the built-in list of about 100 major cities, or enter any two latitude/longitude coordinates.
It uses the Haversine formula, which treats the Earth as a sphere with a mean radius of 6,371 km:
The result is shown in kilometers, miles, nautical miles and meters, along with rough flight, driving and walking times.
Example distances
Results from this calculator, using its built-in city-center coordinates:
| Route | Kilometers | Miles | Nautical miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| London → Paris | 343.56 | 213.48 | 185.51 |
| New York → Los Angeles | 3,935.75 | 2,445.56 | 2,125.13 |
| New York → London | 5,570.22 | 3,461.17 | 3,007.68 |
London is taken as 51.5074, −0.1278 and Paris as 48.8566, 2.3522. A different point in either city gives a slightly different result.
How to use it
Between two cities
- Choose City Names.
- Start typing each city and pick it from the suggestions. Capital letters don't matter.
- Select Calculate Distance. If your city isn't in the list, use coordinates instead.
Between two coordinates
- Choose Coordinates.
- Enter latitude (−90 to 90) and longitude (−180 to 180) in decimal degrees, for example 40.7128 and −74.0060. Use negative numbers for south latitudes and west longitudes.
- Select Calculate Distance.
Have coordinates in degrees, minutes and seconds (like 40° 42′ 46″ N)? Convert them first with the coordinate converter.
Accuracy and limitations
- Straight-line, not road distance. Driving or walking routes follow roads and paths, so they are almost always longer than the great-circle distance.
- The Earth isn't a perfect sphere. It is slightly flattened at the poles, so a spherical formula can differ from an ellipsoidal (WGS 84) calculation by up to about 0.5%. That's fine for travel planning and general use, but not for surveying or other work that needs meter-level accuracy.
- Cities are single points. Each city uses one central coordinate. Large cities span tens of kilometers, so the distance between two specific addresses can be noticeably different.
- Travel times are rough. Flight time assumes 800 km/h plus 30 minutes for take-off and landing. Driving assumes 80 km/h and walking 5 km/h, both along the straight-line distance. They ignore actual routes, stops, traffic and water crossings.
Distance units
Kilometers (km)
1 km = 1,000 meters. The standard unit for road distances in most countries.
Miles (mi)
1 mile = 1.609344 km. Used for road distances in the US and UK.
Nautical miles (nmi)
1 nautical mile = 1,852 meters, close to one minute of latitude. Used in aviation and at sea.
Meters (m)
The SI base unit of length, useful for short distances between nearby coordinates.
Frequently asked questions
Why is this different from the distance in my maps app?
Maps apps usually show the driving or walking distance along roads. This calculator shows the straight-line distance over the Earth's surface, which is shorter. It's closer to the distance a plane flies, although real flight paths also detour for air traffic routes and weather.
Why do flight routes look curved on a map?
Flat maps stretch the Earth's surface, especially near the poles. The shortest path on the globe — the great circle — appears as a curve on most flat maps, even though it's the most direct route.
How do I get the coordinates of a place?
In most map apps you can tap and hold (or right-click) a spot to see its latitude and longitude in decimal degrees. Copy those two numbers into the Coordinates fields.
Which cities are included?
About 100 major cities across North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Start typing in a city field to see the suggestions. For anywhere else, enter coordinates.
Do you store the locations I enter?
The cities or coordinates you enter are sent to the Orbit2x server to calculate the distance, and the result is sent back to the page. They aren't saved, and you don't need an account. See the privacy policy for details.
Related tools
- Coordinate converter — convert between decimal degrees, DMS and other formats
- Bearing calculator — the compass direction from one point to another
- Area calculator — the area of a polygon from its coordinates
- Unit converter — convert between other length units