Free online GPX to KML converter

Google Earth and some GIS workflows use KML for displaying and sharing geographic data, while GPS receivers and outdoor apps commonly export GPX. Converting the file lets you move waypoints, routes, and tracks into a map viewer that supports folders, descriptions, icons, and styling.

What the GPX format is

GPX, or GPS Exchange Format, is an XML-based interchange format for GPS and navigation data. Handheld GPS receivers, cycling and hiking apps, route planners, fitness platforms, and GIS software use it to exchange:

• Waypoints: individual locations such as addresses, campsites, landmarks, or points of interest.
• Routes: ordered points that define a planned journey.
• Tracks: recorded sequences of positions, often with timestamps, elevation, speed, and other sensor values.

GPX stores geographic coordinates as latitude and longitude, normally using the WGS 84 datum. Its standard data model focuses on navigation and recording rather than visual presentation, so it does not provide KML's native system for folders, icons, line styles, polygons, or rich map descriptions.

What the KML format is

KML, or Keyhole Markup Language, is an XML-based geographic format developed for Earth browsers and standardized by the Open Geospatial Consortium. Google Earth, Google Earth Pro, and many GIS applications can open KML files.

KML can represent points, paths, polygons, image overlays, folders, descriptions, camera positions, icons, colors, line widths, and altitude behavior. It is suited to viewing and presenting geographic information in a map application. KML coordinates use longitude, latitude, and optional altitude, normally in the WGS 84 coordinate reference system. .kmz is a compressed ZIP package containing KML and associated resources such as images; it is not the same as plain-text .kml.

How to convert the file

Using 101convert.com

1. Open the GPX-to-KML converter on 101convert.com.
2. Choose the source file ending in .gpx.
3. Start the conversion and download the resulting .kml file when it is ready.
4. Open the result in Google Earth, QGIS, or another KML-compatible application and check the geometry and attributes.

This option runs without installing desktop software. For confidential tracks or files containing personal location history, check the service's current file-handling terms before uploading.

Using Google Earth Pro

1. Open Google Earth Pro and select File → Open.
2. Choose the .gpx file. If necessary, change the file filter to show GPS or all supported files.
3. In the GPS import dialog, select the required tracks, routes, and waypoints.
4. Locate the imported data under Temporary Places. Drag it to My Places if it must remain in the saved places list.
5. Right-click the imported folder or feature and select Save Place As.
6. Set the output type to KML and save the file. Select KMZ only when a compressed Google Earth package is suitable.

Using QGIS

QGIS is useful when the source contains separate waypoint, route, and track layers or needs inspection before export.

1. Select Layer → Add Layer → Add Vector Layer and open the .gpx file.
2. Choose the required GPX layers, commonly named waypoints, routes, and tracks.
3. Inspect the geometry and attribute table, then right-click a layer and select Export → Save Features As.
4. Set Format to Keyhole Markup Language (KML) and set the coordinate reference system to EPSG:4326 - WGS 84.
5. Save the output with a .kml extension. Export each GPX layer separately if the result must preserve distinct waypoint, route, and track layers.

Using GPSBabel or GDAL

GPSBabel provides a direct desktop or command-line conversion:

gpsbabel -i gpx -f input.gpx -o kml -F output.kml

GDAL can export a specific GPX layer. First inspect available layers:

ogrinfo input.gpx

Then convert the required layer:

ogr2ogr -f KML output.kml input.gpx tracks

Replace tracks with routes or waypoints when appropriate. These tools are useful for batch processing but may require separate exports or additional styling work.

Quality and compatibility limits

• Coordinates usually transfer accurately because GPX and ordinary KML use WGS 84, but selecting a different coordinate reference system in GIS software can reproject the data.
• GPX extensions are not consistently standardized. Heart rate, cadence, power, temperature, manufacturer-specific fields, and similar sensor data may be dropped or copied only into descriptions.
• Routes and tracks are different feature types. Exporting tracks does not preserve route instructions, turn-by-turn metadata, or the intended distinction between a planned route and a recorded path.
• GPX timestamps and elevation may not become a time animation in KML. Playback requires suitable TimeStamp or TimeSpan elements and support from the viewing application.
• Elevation can be interpreted differently by KML viewers because KML supports altitude modes such as clamped to ground, relative to ground, and absolute. Verify a 3D track if vertical accuracy matters.
• GPX normally contains navigation data, not map styling. KML folders, labels, colors, icons, descriptions, and line widths must be created during export; they cannot be recovered if they were never present in the source.
• Long, densely sampled tracks can produce large XML files. Use .kmz for a compressed Google Earth package or simplify the track in QGIS when retaining every recorded point is unnecessary.