Converting KML to GPX moves Google Earth placemarks and paths into GPS waypoints, routes, and tracks.
What is KML?
KML (Keyhole Markup Language) is an XML-based format for expressing geographic annotation and visualization, adopted as an OGC standard and popularized by Google Earth.
KML describes Placemarks, geometries (points, lines, polygons), and their presentation using an XML tree that also supports folders for organization, rich styling (icons, colors, line widths, fills), balloon descriptions, and ground overlays. It is designed for display and sharing rather than analysis, and is opened natively by Google Earth, Google Maps, and most GIS packages. Because it targets a single global view, it has no concept of reprojection.
What is GPX?
GPX (GPS Exchange Format) is an open, XML-based schema for exchanging GPS data such as waypoints, routes, and tracks between devices and applications.
GPX models data through three primary elements: waypoints (individual named points of interest), routes (an ordered list of routepoints describing a planned path), and tracks (recorded paths made of one or more segments of trackpoints, often carrying timestamps and elevation). It is the common tongue of handheld GPS units, fitness watches, and outdoor apps like Garmin, Strava, and Komoot. It is a point- and line-oriented format built around navigation, not a general-purpose polygon or attribute-table format.
Why convert KML to GPX?
GPX is what GPS units and outdoor apps read, so this conversion loads KML points and lines onto real navigation hardware. It is useful for taking shared Google Earth trails or points of interest into Garmin, Strava, or similar apps. Point and line placemarks translate cleanly into waypoints and tracks.
Coordinate systems
KML coordinates are always geographic WGS84 longitude, latitude, and (optionally) altitude in that order; the format has no CRS or projection field, so any data written to KML is expressed in EPSG:4326 by definition.
The GPX specification fixes all coordinates to WGS84 latitude/longitude with elevation in meters, so like KML it carries no projection information and any exported data is expressed in EPSG:4326.
What to watch out for
- GPX cannot represent polygons; KML polygon placemarks are dropped or reduced to their outline.
- Both formats are WGS84, so no reprojection occurs.
- KML styling and description balloons are not part of the GPX schema and are lost, though attributes can be kept as GPX <extensions>.
- GPX’s fixed waypoint/route/track model means rich KML structure is flattened to those element types.
How to convert KML to GPX
- Drag your KML file (.kml) into the converter above, or click to browse.
- Confirm the source is KML and choose GPX as the output format.
- Optionally pick a target coordinate system (EPSG) to reproject.
- Click Convert and download your GPX file. Everything runs in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I convert KML polygons to GPX?
- No. GPX has no polygon element, so area features cannot be represented and are omitted. Use point or line placemarks for GPX.
- Will my placemark names carry over?
- Yes, placemark names map to waypoint/track names, and other attributes can be preserved as GPX <extensions>.
- Do coordinates change?
- No. KML and GPX both use WGS84, so coordinate values pass through unchanged.