How to Measure Distance and Area in Google Maps and Google Earth

Choose the number you actually need

Do not start by asking which app has a ruler. Start with the quantity you need. If the larger question is which mapping product fits the whole job, use the Maps, My Maps, and Earth comparison.

When a trip has several destinations, the route distance also depends on their sequence. Use the multiple-stops guide to enter and reorder destinations before comparing that road total with a straight-line measurement.

Measure distance in Google Maps on a computer

1. Open Google Maps on a computer and frame both endpoints.
2. Right-click the starting point.
3. Select Measure distance.
4. Click the next point. Keep clicking to trace a multi-segment path.
5. Read the total in miles and kilometres on the card at the bottom.
6. Drag a point or path to move it, or click a point to remove it.
7. Choose Close on the measurement card when finished.

The same right-click menu also shows the point’s latitude and longitude. To copy or enter them, see Google Maps coordinates.

If a lightning-bolt symbol shows that Maps is in Lite mode, Google says Measure distance is unavailable. Switch to the full Maps experience or use another supported tool.

Measure distance in Google Maps on Android

1. Open the Google Maps app.
2. Touch and hold a spot that is not a place name or icon. A red pin appears.
3. Select Measure distance.
4. Move the map until the black circle reaches the next point.
5. Tap Add point. Repeat for a traced path.
6. Read the total in miles and kilometres at the bottom.
7. Use Undo to remove the last point, or More → Clear to remove them all. Tap the back arrow when finished.

You move the map beneath the target circle. If a named business or feature opens instead, dismiss it and long-press an unlabeled patch nearby.

Measure distance on iPhone or iPad

1. Open Google Maps on the iPhone or iPad.
2. Touch and hold a map spot without a place name or icon to drop a red pin.
3. Select Measure distance.
4. Move the map until the black circle is over the next endpoint.
5. Tap Add point for that point and any further segments.
6. Read the total in miles and kilometres.
7. Use Undo for the last point or More → Clear for all points, then use the back arrow.

App labels can change. If yours differ, compare them with Google’s current iPhone/iPad Help before continuing.

Straight-line distance is not route distance

Suppose two trailheads sit on opposite sides of a river. Measure distance can draw a short direct line across the water. Directions may follow a bridge much farther away. Neither number is “wrong”: one describes selected points, while the other describes a travel route.

Use Directions when the question includes driving, walking, or cycling. Use Measure distance when the question is direct separation or a path you deliberately trace yourself. A longer sequence of points can follow a bend more closely, but it does not turn the line into a routed journey.

Can Google Maps measure area?

For area, use Google Earth Measure: close the shape and read its area. When tracing in Maps, do not assume that closing the line on a phone will produce an area result.

Measure distance and area in Google Earth on a computer

1. Open Google Earth on a computer and search for or frame the place.
2. Choose Measure on the left. Earth switches to a top-down view.
3. Click to set the first point, then add the remaining points.
4. For a line or path, double-click the last point or choose Done. Read the length on the right.
5. For area, connect the final segment to the first point to close the shape. Read the area on the right; the boundary length is its perimeter.
6. Use Undo to remove a point. After finishing, drag points to correct the line or shape.
7. Open the unit dropdown beside the result, or use Tools → Settings → Format and Units, to choose another unit.

Zoom in enough to place each vertex intentionally, but keep the whole boundary visible. If you need to pick exact endpoints by latitude and longitude, the coordinate guide explains order, signs, notation, and why extra digits do not guarantee real-world accuracy.

Measure area in Google Earth on Android

1. Open the Google Earth app and frame the feature.
2. Tap Measure.
3. Move the map and tap Add point at each corner or bend.
4. Connect the last segment to the first point, then tap Close Shape.
5. Read the result at the bottom and use the unit dropdown when another area unit is more useful.
6. Use Undo for the last point, Start New for another measurement, or Back to leave the tool.

Measure area on iPhone or iPad

The current iPhone/iPad Earth Help separately documents the same sequence: tap Measure, move the map, use Add point, return to the first point, and tap Close Shape. Tap Done to finish a line measurement; use Undo for the last point. The result and its unit control appear at the bottom.

On either mobile platform, trace only public or fictional features in class. A touch interface also makes very fine boundary placement harder, so repeat important estimates on a larger screen.

What Google Earth Pro adds

Google Earth Pro’s installed desktop Tools → Ruler window adds named measurement modes. Polygon reports ground distance or area; Circle reports circumference; 3D path measures between a building and places on the ground; 3D polygon can measure dimensions and area of 3D buildings.

Pro also documents a durable save workflow: select the mode, draw the measurement, choose Save, name it, and find it under Places. Open it again by double-clicking; right-click and choose Properties on Windows or Get Info on Mac to edit it. For a drawn or saved path, Edit → Show Elevation Profile plots elevation against distance. Current Earth on the web now has a separate inspector-panel profile for a line drawn with Measure or Path or polygon.

Pro’s Ruler modes, Places workflow, and lower-viewer chart are not promises of identical controls on web or mobile. Use the Earth web, mobile, and Pro comparison before choosing a version for saved files and 3D modes.

Convert perimeter and area units without adding accuracy

Length conversions apply to perimeter; area conversions use squared units. One hectare is 10,000 m², one acre is 4,046.8564224 m², one square kilometre is 1,000,000 m², and one square mile is 640 acres or 2.589988110336 km².

For a purely mathematical rectangle measuring 100 m by 200 m:

• Perimeter: 2 × (100 m + 200 m) = 600 m.
• Area: 100 m × 200 m = 20,000 m².
• 20,000 m² = 2 hectares = 0.02 km² ≈ 4.94 acres ≈ 215,278 ft².

The rectangle is synthetic, not a property measurement. Rounding the converted values sensibly avoids fake precision. Changing 20,000 m² into acres or square feet does not improve the map trace that produced the original number.

How accurate are Google Maps and Google Earth measurements?

Google warns that Earth measurements may not be fully accurate, especially around 3D terrain and buildings, and recommends a top-down view. Treat Maps and Earth results as estimates whose usefulness depends on the question.

• Endpoint placement: a few pixels can move an endpoint across a curb, bank, or roof edge.
• Points on a curve: several straight segments approximate a bend; another person may choose different vertices.
• Imagery: satellite and aerial images are collected over time, not live. Use Historical imagery to compare the dates available for a place, and check the displayed image date before treating a visible edge as current.
• Terrain: Earth can now display elevation and slope statistics and a profile for a line, but its length, distance, and area measurements still do not account for elevation changes.
• Boundary choice: the number describes the shape you drew, not necessarily the feature someone else intended.
• Rounding: a long decimal can make a weak boundary look more certain than it is.
• Projection: a flat map can stretch how shapes look on screen. Read the measurement output; do not calculate surface area from screen pixels.

Does the measurement include hills or elevation?

Not in the displayed length itself: Google says length, distance, and area measurements do not account for elevation changes. A ground path that rises and falls can therefore be longer than its top-down trace. Current Earth’s Advanced measurements can separately summarize sampled terrain elevation and slope, and its elevation-profile chart can show how estimated terrain changes along the chosen line.

Earth can report the ground elevation at one point, but that is not automatically the elevation difference between two points, a cumulative climb, or a profile. For change along a path, follow the dedicated Google Earth elevation-profile guide, which separates the current web inspector from Earth Pro’s Edit → Show Elevation Profile workflow. Pro’s 3D path and 3D polygon modes remain specialized tools based on the available model; they are not a promise of exact terrain or building geometry.

Can you measure property lines or land area?

You can trace a visible feature and obtain an estimated area. You cannot use that trace to establish who owns land or where a legal parcel ends. A fence, roof edge, shoreline, track, or road may be displaced from the recorded boundary, and the imagery may predate a change.

For a legal, purchase, construction, tax, financing, or dispute decision, consult the authoritative cadastral or recorded documents for that jurisdiction and a qualified local survey professional when required.

Fix a result that looks wrong

Classroom idea: compare three distances

Choose two fictional points or public landmarks with no student home or routine attached. Ask groups to record:

1. the straight-line distance in Maps;
2. a manually traced three-to-six-point path;
3. one walking or cycling result from Directions, where available.

Students should predict the order before measuring, then explain why the values differ. Add a synthetic 100 m by 200 m rectangle in Earth for perimeter and area, and require every group to record the product, mode, point count, units, imagery date when relevant, and one limitation.

The teacher mapping workflow covers account and public-location choices; mapping lesson structures can extend the comparison across subjects. For assessment, ask students to document method, units, sources, and uncertainty instead of rewarding the longest decimal.

Save or share the result

Earth Pro has the documented Save route to Places and a reopen/edit workflow. For Maps or current Earth web/mobile, do not assume every temporary measurement becomes a saved object. Record the value, unit, date, product, view, and endpoints in class notes; add a privacy-safe screenshot only when policy permits.

If you already have many known public points, organize them with the My Maps spreadsheet-import workflow. A shared class map should carry the method and uncertainty beside the result, not expose a student’s location.