Trying to figure out the “as the crow flies” distance between two points using Google Maps is simple if you know where to look. With a few clicks on your computer or taps on your phone, Google Maps lets you designate two or more points and will calculate the distance for you.
How to measure distance on Google Maps using your computer
To measure distance using your computer:
- Use any browser to go to Google Maps.
- Right click on the starting point of your measurement and choose “Measure Distance.”
- Right click on the place you want to measure the distance to and choose “Distance to Here.” A hashed line will appear showing you the exact distance between the two points.
You can continue to right click to add as many points to your path as you’d like. Accidentally placed points can be dragged for repositioning, or removed simply by clicking on them.
How to measure distance on Google Maps using your phone
To measure distance using the Google Maps App on your phone:
- Open the Google Maps app (pre-installed on Android phones and available for free from the App Store for iPhones)
- Touch and hold on the place on the map where you want to start your measurement. A red pin will appear.
- At the bottom of the screen, you will see the name of the starting place.
- Swipe up on the card that shows the name of the starting place and scroll down to select "Measure Distance."
- Move the map so that the black circle (or crosshairs) is on the place you want to measure distance to. At the bottom of the screen you will see the exact distance between the two points.
You can continue to add points by selecting "Add point" and moving the map to the next location. If you make a mistake, you can clear the last point by selecting the undo arrow at the top. Each time you add a point, you'll see the total distance.
Want to check out some more neat Google Maps features? Find out how to can check current and future traffic, create offline maps, see inside buildings and much more in our story 16 Surprising Things You Can Do with Google Maps.
Updated on 12/10/2020
[Image credit: screenshots via Techlicious]
