KML to GPX Converter

KML to GPX converter

Turn a KML or KMZ file into GPX

Lines become

The file is read and converted in your browser. It is not uploaded or stored, and the GPX is made on your device.

Placemark points become waypoints; lines become tracks or routes; Google Earth tracks keep their times. Styles, icons, polygons and folders are left out.

KML is the format of Google Earth and Google My Maps; GPX, the GPS Exchange Format, is a light XML format for exchanging waypoints, routes and tracks between programs, used by hundreds of them. Choose a .kml or .kmz file above and the converter turns its placemarks into a GPX 1.1 file you can download: points become waypoints, and lines become tracks or routes. It all happens in your browser: the file is not uploaded anywhere and nothing is stored.

KML Point → GPX waypoint (wpt) · KML LineString → GPX track (trk) or route (rte) · Google Earth track (gx:Track) → GPX track with times · KML coordinates “longitude,latitude,altitude” → GPX lat="…" lon="…". Both use decimal degrees on WGS84.

How to Convert KML to GPX

  1. Get the KML or KMZ file. In Google My Maps on a computer, open the map, click the menu in the left panel and choose Export to KML/KMZ. Google Earth can save your places as KMZ files too.
  2. Choose it above. A KMZ file is a ZIP archive with the main KML file inside; the converter unzips it in the browser.
  3. Pick tracks or routes for the lines, then download the GPX file and open it in a GPS program or navigation app that reads GPX.

For example, this small KML file has a waypoint and a three-point line:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<kml xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/kml/2.2">
  <Document>
    <name>Sample trip</name>
    <Placemark>
      <name>Point A</name>
      <description><![CDATA[Sample waypoint<br>Second line]]></description>
      <Point><coordinates>-79.5,26,0</coordinates></Point>
    </Placemark>
    <Placemark>
      <name>Sample line</name>
      <LineString><coordinates>-79.5,26,0 -79.45,25.9,0 -79.4,25.8,0</coordinates></LineString>
    </Placemark>
  </Document>
</kml>

Converted with lines as tracks, it becomes:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<gpx version="1.1" creator="BoatCalculators KML to GPX Converter" xmlns="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1">
  <metadata><name>Sample trip</name></metadata>
  <wpt lat="26" lon="-79.5"><name>Point A</name><desc>Sample waypoint
Second line</desc></wpt>
  <trk><name>Sample line</name>
    <trkseg>
      <trkpt lat="26" lon="-79.5"></trkpt>
      <trkpt lat="25.9" lon="-79.45"></trkpt>
      <trkpt lat="25.8" lon="-79.4"></trkpt>
    </trkseg>
  </trk>
</gpx>

Tracks or Routes?

The GPX 1.1 schema defines a route as an ordered list of waypoints representing a series of turn points leading to a destination, and a track as an ordered list of points describing a path. Choose routes for a passage you plan to follow from point to point, and tracks for a path to show on a map, such as a trip you recorded. Google Earth tracks, which carry a time for each point, always become tracks; times in KML that have no time zone are left out, because GPX times are in UTC.

What the Converter Keeps and What It Leaves Out

  • Kept: the names and descriptions of placemarks (a description’s HTML is turned into plain lines), the positions of points and lines, the times of Google Earth tracks and of placemarks with a time stamp, and the name of the document.
  • Altitudes: kept only where the KML says they are above sea level (altitude mode “absolute”). By default, with the altitude mode “clampToGround”, KML ignores the altitude, and so does the converter.
  • Left out: styles, colors and icons, folders (all placemarks end up in one list), polygons, which GPX has no way to describe, images and other files inside a KMZ, network links, and extended data.
  • Several lines in one placemark become segments of one track, or one route each.
  • Positions outside −90 to 90° of latitude or −180 to 180° of longitude are left out and counted; a longitude of 180° is written as −180°, the same meridian, as GPX requires.
  • Text is read as UTF-8, as UTF-16 when the file starts with a byte order mark, or in the character set the file declares, such as ISO-8859-1. Comments in the KML are ignored, and characters XML does not allow are dropped.

A KMZ file is read the way Google Earth reads it: the first .kml file in the archive is the one converted. Opening a KMZ needs a browser that can unzip data, such as Chrome or Edge 103, Firefox 113, Safari 16.4 or later; with an older browser, rename the file to .zip, unzip it and choose the .kml file inside. Files over 50 MB, and KMZ files whose KML is over 50 MB unzipped, are not accepted.

Using the GPX File on the Water

A route drawn on a map is not a checked route by water: a line in Google My Maps can cross land, shoals or restricted areas. Our guide Google Maps for Boats explains what Google’s maps can and can’t do for boaters, and the Sea Distance Calculator measures distances along water. To check or convert a single position, use the Latitude and Longitude Converter.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I convert KML to GPX?

Choose the .kml or .kmz file in the converter above, pick whether lines become tracks or routes, and download the GPX file. The conversion runs in your browser, so the file is not uploaded.

Is a KMZ file the same as a KML file?

A KMZ file is a ZIP archive that holds a KML file, usually named doc.kml, with any images or other files it uses. The converter unzips it and converts the first KML file inside, as Google Earth does.

How do I export KML from Google My Maps?

On a computer, sign in to My Maps, open the map, click the menu in the left panel and choose Export to KML/KMZ, then follow the steps on the screen. The file it saves can be converted here.

Should lines become tracks or routes?

Routes are for following a series of turn points to a destination; tracks are paths, such as a trip you recorded. Pick routes for a planned passage from point to point and tracks to show a path on a map.

Are my files uploaded?

No. The converter reads the file in your browser, converts it there and gives you the GPX file as a download made on your device. Nothing is sent to a server or stored.

Why are some features missing from the GPX file?

GPX holds waypoints, routes and tracks only. Polygons, styles, icons, folders, images and extended data have no place in it, so the converter leaves them out and tells you how many polygons it skipped.

Sources

  • Google for Developers, KML Reference: coordinates, Point, LineString, Polygon, MultiGeometry, altitudeMode, gx:Track, TimeStamp (read Oct 21, 2026).
  • Google for Developers, KMZ Files: a KMZ is a ZIP archive with a main KML file, usually doc.kml; Google Earth reads the first .kml file; renaming to .zip to unzip (read Oct 21, 2026).
  • Google, My Maps Help, Share, download, or print your map: Export to KML/KMZ (read Oct 21, 2026).
  • TopoGrafix, GPX 1.1 Schema Documentation and GPX: the GPS Exchange Format: WGS84 and metric units, latitude and longitude ranges, waypoints, routes, tracks and track segments, element order, times in UTC (read Oct 21, 2026).
  • PKWARE, .ZIP File Format Specification (APPNOTE.TXT) 6.3.10: local file header, central directory, end of central directory, encryption flag, data descriptor, stored and deflated files (read Oct 21, 2026).
  • MDN Web Docs, DecompressionStream and its browser compatibility data: the deflate-raw format in Chrome and Edge 103, Firefox 113 and Safari 16.4 (read Oct 21, 2026).