What is Distance Calculator?

A distance calculator computes the straight-line (great-circle) distance between any two points on Earth using the Haversine formula. Enter coordinates or city names to find the distance in kilometers and miles — useful for travel planning and logistics.

The Haversine formula assumes Earth is a perfect sphere with a radius of 6371 km, so results are accurate to within roughly 0.5% across most of the globe. The output appears in both kilometres and miles, with the swap button reversing the two points and a built-in example loading the New York to London pair so you can sanity-check the format.

How to use

1. Type latitude and longitude into the inputs, paste a "lat, lon" pair from Google Maps, tap Use my location, or click anywhere on the map to drop a pin for the active point. Switch to Destination from bearing to find where a heading and distance lead from a start point.
2. The distance, initial bearing, and midpoint update instantly in kilometres, miles, and nautical miles using the Haversine formula.
3. Drag either marker on the map to fine-tune a position, or use Swap to reverse the two points and Reset to start over.

When to use

• Estimating fuel costs or carbon footprint between two airports for travel planning.
• Checking how far apart two warehouses are when comparing logistics providers.
• Verifying coordinates from a GPS device or geocaching log against a known landmark.

Result

Distance from New York (40.7128°N, 74.0060°W) to London (51.5074°N, 0.1278°W): approximately 5,570 km or 3,461 miles.

FAQ

Is this the same as the driving distance from Google Maps?

No. This is the great-circle distance, the shortest line over Earth's surface as if you could fly directly. Driving distance follows roads and is always longer. For walking or car routes, use a routing service like OpenStreetMap or Google.

How accurate is the Haversine formula?

Within about 0.5% over most distances, because the formula treats Earth as a sphere. The planet is slightly flattened at the poles, so for very long arcs (over 10,000 km) the Vincenty formula gives a closer answer. For everyday use the difference is negligible.

What coordinate format should I paste?

Decimal degrees (e.g. 40.7128, -74.0060) or degrees-minutes-seconds (40°42'46" N) — both are accepted directly, no conversion needed. North and east are positive; south and west are negative. You can also paste a "lat, lon" pair (the format Google Maps copies on right-click) into either box and it splits across both fields automatically.

Why does the same city pair show slightly different numbers on other sites?

City coordinates aren't standard. One site might use the city hall, another the geographic centre, another the airport. A 5 to 20 km variation between sources is normal even for the same 'New York to London' lookup.

Does altitude matter for the calculation?

The Haversine formula assumes both points are at sea level. For flights over mountains or distances under 50 km where one end is high (e.g. La Paz at 3,640 m), the actual path is slightly longer, but the difference is usually less than 0.1%.

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