Measure distance on Google Maps — on a computer or a phone.

Measure distance on a computer

1. Open Google Maps in a browser and find your starting point.
2. Right-click that point and choose Measure distance.
3. Click anywhere on the map to add the next point. Each click extends the path, so a series of clicks measures a series of straight segments.
4. Drag a point or the path to move it, or click a point to remove it.

The running total appears at the bottom of the map. Google's own example is a straight line between two cities, so the number is the length of the path you placed — not a road distance and not a route.

One caveat from the same page: if Google Maps is running in Lite mode, you cannot measure at all. Lite mode shows a lightning bolt at the bottom of the map.

Measure distance on Android or iPhone

1. Open the Google Maps app and touch and hold a spot on the map that is not a place name or icon. A red pin appears.
2. Select Measure distance.
3. Tap Add point at the bottom right for every further point.
4. Tap Undo to remove the last point you added, or More → Clear to start over.
5. Tap the back arrow at the top left when you are finished.

Android and iPhone follow the same steps; Google's help page uses the same wording for both.

Can you measure distance on Google Maps?

Yes — on a computer or in the app, as long as Maps is not running in Lite mode. What the number means is narrower than it looks:

• It measures your points, not roads. The line runs straight between the points you place. On a bendy road, a measurement taken from two endpoints is shorter than the drive.
• It is temporary. Google's page describes placing points, moving them, and clearing them. It does not describe saving, sharing, or exporting a measurement, so close the tab and the line is gone.
• It is a measuring tool, not a route. Nothing here tells you whether a path is walkable, open, or safe.

Keep the line as a GPX file

When you need the line to outlive the tab — for a Garmin, a phone app, or a record of a planned ride — it has to become a file. Plot the same points on the Map to GPS canvas: the distance updates as you draw, the map samples terrain so each point can carry an elevation, and the download is a GPX 1.1 track that GPS devices and apps open.

Measuring on Google Maps and plotting here are the same gesture — placing points in order. The difference is the output: a measurement you read, or a file you keep. If your goal is to put the result on a Google map instead, My Maps imports GPX files; the GPX guide has those steps.

Where these steps come from

Both sets of steps, the Lite mode caveat, and the wording about straight-line mileage are taken from Google's help page for measuring distance, checked on 23 September 2026. Google changes its menus without notice, so that page stays the authority.