Converting KMZ to Shapefile unpacks a Google Earth archive and rebuilds its features as an Esri multi-file dataset.
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 Shapefile?
The Shapefile is a widely used vector data format developed and published by Esri, stored as a set of sibling files that share a common base name.
A single "shapefile" is really a bundle: the mandatory .shp (feature geometry), .shx (a shape index for fast seeking), and .dbf (a dBASE table of attributes), usually alongside a .prj (coordinate system) and sometimes a .cpg (attribute encoding). It is the lingua franca of desktop GIS and is read by virtually every tool, from ArcGIS and QGIS to GDAL/OGR. Its age shows in several hard limits: DBF attribute field names are truncated to 10 characters, each file component is capped at 2 GB, every file holds a single geometry type, and attribute types are constrained to what DBF supports (limited-width text, numbers, dates, and booleans).
Why convert KMZ to Shapefile?
Shapefile is the input many desktop GIS and agency workflows demand, so converting brings compressed Google Earth data into professional analysis. It turns a presentation-oriented archive into an indexed, attribute-tabled layer suited to geoprocessing. This is the standard route for analyzing data that arrived as a KMZ.
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.
The coordinate reference system lives in the optional .prj sidecar as a WKT (well-known text) string. When the .prj is absent the CRS is genuinely unknown and consumers typically fall back to assuming WGS84, which can silently misplace data that was in another projection.
What to watch out for
- Field names longer than 10 characters are truncated to satisfy the DBF specification.
- Shapefile allows one geometry type per file, so a KMZ mixing points, lines, and polygons may be split or partially dropped.
- The KMZ content is WGS84, and a .prj declaring EPSG:4326 is written; the output is delivered as a .zip.
- Styling and rich descriptions inside the KMZ do not fit the DBF model and are lost or clipped.
How to convert KMZ to Shapefile
- Drag your KMZ file (.kmz) into the converter above, or click to browse.
- Confirm the source is KMZ and choose Shapefile as the output format.
- Optionally pick a target coordinate system (EPSG) to reproject.
- Click Convert and download your Shapefile file. Everything runs in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
- Does the KMZ need to be extracted beforehand?
- No. The tool opens the KMZ, reads the KML inside, and writes the Shapefile set for you.
- What CRS will the Shapefile use?
- WGS84 (EPSG:4326), since KMZ content is always WGS84; a matching .prj is included.
- Why do long field names get shortened?
- The DBF component of a Shapefile caps field names at 10 characters, so longer names are truncated on export.