The Google Maps planning tools provide detailed information about routes from A to B and provide the length or distance for route planning and navigation with an accuracy of a few meters. This is very practical, but sometimes you just want to know the linear distance between two places or measure areas. Both are easily possible with Google Maps both in the browser and the smartphone app.
It is not always necessary to use route planning to measure the distance between two or more points – as people used to love to do and were then annoyed that the route took unpredictable curves. Instead, Google Maps provides a simple ruler that can measure the straight line between two or more points. Any routes with numerous intermediate steps can be drawn, which are then displayed both in total and in the individual view. If the route is closed, the area it contains is also displayed.
Measure distance in the browser
- Right-click on the desired starting point on the map
- Now select “Measure distance” from the menu
- Now click on the destination or the first waypoint
- The distance is displayed at the bottom of the screen
The beeline distance between the two points is displayed with a small overlay and with further clicks on the map any number of additional waypoints can be added. At the bottom of the screen, you can always see the total distance, the lines on the map are labeled differently depending on their length.
Individual points can be moved freely or removed again with a click. The map can also be freely moved and zoomed in during the measurement. As soon as you press the starting point again, the area is closed and the area is displayed in square meters.
Measure distance in the Google Maps app
- Hold the starting point on the map for a long time until the red marker appears
- Drag the info bar up, then select Measure Distance
- Now slide the black crosshairs on the map to the destination or next waypoint and tap on the “+”.
- The total distance is displayed at the bottom
In contrast to the desktop, it is unfortunately not possible to delete or move individual intermediate points on Android, but the last point can be removed with the undo button. An advantage over the desktop is the live display of the distance when moving. Unfortunately, it is not possible to close an area and display its content on a smartphone.
The feature is far from new and has been available in Google Maps for many years, but is probably only known to very few users. With the measuring function, however, not only longer distances or distances can be measured, but also relatively precise measurements can be carried out at the highest zoom level. Do you want to measure areas of houses or lots? No problem with a ruler and a steady hand.
Note that Google Maps still has a large distance even at the highest zoom level and each individual pixel can make a difference of several meters or square meters in an area. So use it more as an informative guideline and not for actual area information.