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GPS Coordinates Converter

Convert coordinates between decimal degrees and DMS.

Privacy: your files never leave your device. All processing happens locally in your browser.

How to use

  1. 1.Pick a direction with the toggle: decimal degrees to DMS, or DMS to decimal degrees.
  2. 2.Enter your latitude and longitude — decimal numbers, or degrees, minutes and seconds with an N/S/E/W selector.
  3. 3.Read the converted coordinates instantly below; nothing is uploaded and there is no button to press.

About GPS Coordinates Converter

This GPS coordinates converter changes a latitude and longitude between the two formats every map and GPS device uses, the moment you type them, with no button to press and nothing uploaded. Switch direction with one toggle: decimal degrees to DMS, or dms to decimal degrees. It handles both latitude and longitude at once and shows the result instantly in your browser.

Decimal degrees (DD) write a coordinate as a single signed number, such as 40.7128, -74.0060 for New York City. It is the format used by Google Maps URLs, most APIs, GeoJSON and spreadsheets, because it sorts, stores and does math cleanly. Degrees, minutes, seconds (DMS) split the same angle into whole degrees, arc-minutes and arc-seconds with a compass letter, such as 40°42′46.08″N, 74°0′21.6″W. DMS is the classic form printed on paper maps, nautical charts and aviation documents, and it is how latitude and longitude were written long before computers.

The conversion is pure arithmetic. To go from DMS to decimal degrees, add the parts up: decimal = degrees + minutes / 60 + seconds / 3600, then make the number negative if the direction is South or West. So 40°42′46.08″N becomes 40 + 42/60 + 46.08/3600 = 40.7128. To go the other way, from decimal degrees to DMS, take the whole part of the absolute value as the degrees, multiply the leftover fraction by 60 to get minutes, take the whole part of that, and multiply its leftover by 60 again to get the seconds. This tool rounds seconds to four decimal places and carries them up correctly, so a value that rounds to 60 rolls over into the next minute instead of showing an impossible 60 seconds.

Signs and hemispheres are two ways of saying the same thing. A positive latitude means North and a negative latitude means South; a positive longitude means East and a negative longitude means West. That is why -74.0060 and 74°0′21.6″W describe the identical meridian. In DMS the degrees, minutes and seconds are always written as positive numbers and the letter carries the direction, which is why this converter asks you to pick N/S and E/W rather than typing a minus sign.

Valid latitude runs from -90 to 90 degrees (the poles) and valid longitude from -180 to 180 degrees (the antimeridian), and the tool flags anything outside those ranges. You will reach for this whenever you copy coordinates from a paper map, a survey, a photo's EXIF data or an aviation chart into software that expects decimal degrees, or when you need to read a decimal pair off a phone and write it in the DMS form a chart or logbook expects. For related angle and area work, see the angle converter, the area converter and the basic calculator.

Frequently asked questions

How do I convert DMS to decimal degrees?
Add the parts: decimal degrees = degrees + minutes / 60 + seconds / 3600, then make the result negative for South or West. For example 40°42′46.08″N is 40 + 42/60 + 46.08/3600 = 40.7128. This converter does the arithmetic and the sign for you as you type.
How do I convert decimal degrees to DMS?
Take the whole number of degrees from the absolute value, multiply the remaining fraction by 60 for minutes, take the whole minutes, then multiply the leftover by 60 for seconds. So 40.7128 becomes 40°42′46.08″N. The sign of the decimal sets the hemisphere: positive latitude is N, negative is S; positive longitude is E, negative is W.
What is the difference between decimal degrees and DMS?
Decimal degrees write a coordinate as one signed number like 40.7128, which is ideal for maps, APIs and spreadsheets. DMS splits the same angle into degrees, minutes and seconds with a compass letter like 40°42′46.08″N, the format used on paper and nautical charts. They describe the exact same point on Earth.
Why is my longitude or latitude negative?
A negative longitude means the Western hemisphere and a negative latitude means the Southern hemisphere. In decimal degrees the minus sign carries the direction, so -74.0060 is the same as 74°0′21.6″W. In DMS the direction is shown by the letter W or S instead of a minus sign, so the numbers stay positive.
What are the valid ranges for latitude and longitude?
Latitude runs from -90 to 90 degrees, where 0 is the equator and plus or minus 90 are the poles. Longitude runs from -180 to 180 degrees, where 0 is the prime meridian and plus or minus 180 is the antimeridian. This converter flags any value outside those ranges.

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