Google Maps is the undisputed king of navigation when you need driving directions from point A to point B. However, driving directions calculate the distance based on the road network, which involves twists, turns, and one-way streets. What if you need to know the exact, straight-line distance (“as the crow flies”) between two locations?
Whether you are planning a hiking route, calculating the distance across a large lake, or trying to figure out exactly how far your house is from a nearby airport flight path, Google Maps has a hidden measuring tape tool built right in.
In this guide, we will show you how to measure the precise distance between two or more points on both the Google Maps desktop website and the mobile app.
How to Measure Distance on a Desktop Computer
Using a mouse on a large monitor is the easiest way to measure highly precise distances across large areas of the map.
- Open your web browser and go to Google Maps.
- Navigate to your starting location. Right-click exactly on the spot where you want to begin your measurement.
- A context menu will appear. Click on Measure distance at the very bottom of the list. A small white circle will appear on the map at your starting point.
- Click anywhere else on the map to place your second point. A black line will immediately connect the two points.
- Look at the bottom of your screen. A small white box will appear displaying the total distance in both miles (mi) and kilometres (km).
Measuring Complex Routes
The tool is not limited to a single straight line. You can click multiple times to draw a complex path (like tracing the perimeter of a park or the edge of a property line). Google Maps will continuously update the total distance in the bottom box.
If you make a mistake, simply click on a white dot to remove it, or click and drag a dot to move it to a more accurate location. To remove the measurement tool entirely, right-click anywhere and select Clear measurement.
How to Measure Distance on the Mobile App (iPhone & Android)
If you are out in the field and need to quickly measure a distance using your smartphone, the tool is slightly more hidden but works just as well.
- Open the Google Maps app on your mobile device.
- Find your starting point. Tap and hold your finger on the map until a red dropped pin appears. (Do not tap on an existing business or landmark icon; you must drop a custom pin on an empty space).
- At the bottom of the screen, tap the white panel that says “Dropped pin” to expand it.
- Tap the option labelled Measure distance (it has a small ruler icon next to it).
- Your screen will now display a crosshair icon. Drag the map around with your finger until the crosshair is positioned over your destination. The straight-line distance will update in real-time at the bottom of the screen.
- If you want to add multiple points to trace a route, tap the blue Add point (+) button in the bottom right corner, then drag the map to the next location.
To clear the measurement on mobile, simply tap the back arrow in the top-left corner, or tap the three dots in the top-right corner and select Clear.
