Free online TIF to KMZ converter

GIS software and Google Earth use KMZ for portable map overlays, while many scanners, satellite systems, and GIS applications export imagery as TIF or GeoTIFF. Converting the raster creates a shareable, georeferenced overlay that can be opened without the original TIFF workflow.

What the TIF format is

TIF, also called TIFF, is a raster image format used for scanned maps, orthophotos, satellite imagery, and GIS analysis. A GeoTIFF stores the image together with coordinate reference, extent, and pixel-size metadata; an ordinary TIFF may need a matching world file such as map.tfw and projection file such as map.prj.

ArcGIS, QGIS, Global Mapper, ERDAS IMAGINE, surveying software, scanners, and remote-sensing systems commonly create TIF files. You can identify embedded spatial metadata with gdalinfo map.tif; look for a coordinate system, origin, pixel size, and corner coordinates.

What the KMZ format is

KMZ is a ZIP-compressed KML package. KML describes geographic placement and display rules, while the package can contain raster tiles, icons, legends, and other referenced files. Google Earth, Google Earth Pro, many GPS and mapping applications, and GIS programs can open KMZ overlays.

For large images, a KMZ commonly uses a KML superoverlay: the image is divided into tiles at several resolutions, and the viewer loads only the tiles needed for the current zoom level. This reduces initial loading and makes large map images practical to share, but it does not preserve the TIFF as an analysis-ready raster.

How to actually convert TIF to KMZ

Using GDAL

GDAL is the most controllable desktop command-line option for georeferenced GIS rasters.

1. Install GDAL and verify the input with gdalinfo input.tif.
2. If the TIFF uses a projected coordinate system, reproject it to WGS 84 geographic coordinates, which KML expects:

gdalwarp -t_srs EPSG:4326 input.tif overlay_wgs84.tif

3. Create a tiled KMZ superoverlay:

gdal_translate -of KMLSUPEROVERLAY overlay_wgs84.tif output.kmz

For aerial imagery where a smaller file is preferable, use JPEG tiles:

gdal_translate -of KMLSUPEROVERLAY -co FORMAT=JPEG -co QUALITY=85 overlay_wgs84.tif output.kmz

Use the default PNG tiles when transparency or lossless pixel values matter. Open output.kmz in Google Earth Pro or another KML-compatible viewer and check that the overlay aligns with known roads, boundaries, or coordinates.

Using QGIS

Open the georeferenced raster in QGIS, confirm its CRS in the layer properties, and use Raster → Projections → Warp (Reproject) to create an EPSG:4326 copy when necessary. In Raster → Conversion → Translate (Convert format), choose the GDAL KMLSUPEROVERLAY output driver if it is available in the installed GDAL build, set the output filename to output.kmz, and run the conversion. If that driver is not listed, use the GDAL commands above.

Using the online converter

You can upload the file to 101convert.com, choose KMZ as the output format, and download the result without installing software. This is suitable for a straightforward, already-georeferenced raster; verify the resulting overlay because online conversion settings may not expose CRS, tiling, compression, or resampling controls.

Quality, compatibility, and limitations

A TIFF without valid georeferencing cannot be placed correctly on a map by conversion alone. Assign the correct CRS and extent first using GIS georeferencing tools or a trusted world file; otherwise the KMZ may open but appear at the wrong location.

KMZ supports display overlays, not the full TIFF data model. Multiple scientific bands, raster attributes, pyramids, processing metadata, and native GIS coordinate information may be discarded. JPEG tile output is lossy, while PNG preserves pixel values and transparency but usually produces larger files.

Very large rasters may produce many tiles and a large archive. Crop the source to the required area, reduce unnecessary resolution, or choose JPEG quality around 80–90 for visual imagery. KML viewers can also differ in support for very large archives, opacity, datums, and antimeridian-crossing extents.