Converting KMZ to GeoJSON unzips the Google Earth package and transforms its KML into web-native JSON features.
What is KMZ?
KMZ is a ZIP archive that packages a KML document (conventionally named doc.kml) together with any assets it references, such as icons, images, and overlays.
Structurally a KMZ is just a compressed container: unzip it and you get a main doc.kml plus an optional folder of supporting files. Zipping typically shrinks verbose KML text substantially and keeps a placemark set and its custom icons together as one shareable file, which is why Google Earth exports KMZ by default. Everything true of KML applies to the KML inside a KMZ; the wrapper only adds compression and asset bundling.
What is GeoJSON?
GeoJSON is an open, JSON-based format for encoding vector geographic features and their attributes, standardized as RFC 7946 by the IETF.
A GeoJSON document is plain UTF-8 JSON built from Feature and FeatureCollection objects, each pairing a geometry (Point, LineString, Polygon, and their Multi* variants, or a GeometryCollection) with a free-form "properties" object. Because it is human-readable text, it works well with version control, text diffing, and any JSON tooling, and it is the de facto interchange format for web maps and JavaScript libraries such as Leaflet, Mapbox GL, and OpenLayers. Unlike Shapefile it imposes no field-name length limit, mixes geometry types freely within one collection, and stores everything in a single file.
Why convert KMZ to GeoJSON?
GeoJSON is the format web maps and JavaScript libraries consume directly, so this is how compressed Google Earth data reaches the browser or an API. It extracts the geometry and attributes from inside the KMZ and delivers them as a clean, single text file. That file is much easier to process, diff, and version than a binary archive.
Coordinate systems
Because the payload is ordinary KML, a KMZ is inherently WGS84 (EPSG:4326) longitude/latitude/altitude, with no projection metadata and no possibility of reprojection inside the format.
Per RFC 7946, coordinates are longitude/latitude in decimal degrees on the WGS84 datum (EPSG:4326), and the specification removed the older "crs" member, so a compliant GeoJSON file is always assumed to be WGS84. Coordinate order is [longitude, latitude], optionally followed by elevation.
What to watch out for
- The KMZ is unzipped to reach its doc.kml, and only that document’s features are converted.
- Both formats are WGS84, so coordinates transfer without reprojection.
- KML styling, icons, and balloon HTML bundled in the KMZ are presentation data that GeoJSON does not retain.
- Folder hierarchy inside the KML is flattened into one FeatureCollection.
How to convert KMZ to GeoJSON
- Drag your KMZ file (.kmz) into the converter above, or click to browse.
- Confirm the source is KMZ and choose GeoJSON as the output format.
- Optionally pick a target coordinate system (EPSG) to reproject.
- Click Convert and download your GeoJSON file. Everything runs in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need to unzip the KMZ first?
- No. The conversion opens the KMZ archive for you, reads the doc.kml inside, and produces the GeoJSON.
- Will bundled icons or images be included?
- No. GeoJSON stores only geometry and attributes, so any assets packed in the KMZ are not carried over.
- Are coordinates reprojected?
- No. The KML content is WGS84, matching GeoJSON, so coordinates stay the same.