GPS Bearing & Distance Calculator
Enter two or more GPS coordinate pairs to instantly see the straight-line distance in kilometres, miles, or nautical miles, the compass bearing between them, and a live map with a line connecting the points. Nothing uploaded.
Learn more: great-circle bearing and magnetic declination
Bearing on a sphere
Between two points on the Earth, the shortest path is a great-circle route. The calculator finds the initial compass heading along it from both points' latitude and longitude, using the standard great-circle bearing formula, and the distance with the haversine formula on a 6,371 km sphere.
The heading changes as you travel along a great circle, so the bearing back is not simply 180 degrees from the bearing out. London to New York is 5,570 km at an initial bearing of 288.3 degrees. The initial bearing from New York back to London is 51.2 degrees, not 108.3. Over short distances the difference is small. Paris is 343.6 km from London at 148.1 degrees, and the way back is 330.0 degrees.
True bearing and magnetic bearing
True bearing is measured from geographic north. A compass points to magnetic north, and the difference is the magnetic declination, which depends on where you are and changes over the years. NOAA's World Magnetic Model page lists the WMM2025 model, valid for 2025 to 2030, and a declination calculator.
The calculator does not guess the declination. You enter the value for your location, with east positive, and it gives the magnetic bearing as true bearing minus declination. For a true bearing of 285 degrees and a declination of 10 degrees west (-10), the magnetic bearing is 295 degrees.
FAQ
What is the difference between true and magnetic bearing?
True bearing points to the geographic North Pole and magnetic bearing points to magnetic north, which a compass follows. The gap between them is the declination at your location.
Why do I have to enter the declination myself?
An accurate value needs a geomagnetic model that is updated every few years. The calculator does not include one, so look up the figure for your location and date and type it in. East declinations are positive and west declinations are negative.
Does bearing stay constant along a great-circle route?
No. The bearing changes gradually as you travel along a great circle. A route that holds one constant bearing, called a rhumb line, is usually a slightly longer path between the same two points.