Free Online GPS Coordinate Converter
Convert decimal degrees to DMS and DMS back to decimal.
Decimal to DMS
Negative latitude means south and negative longitude means west. The hemisphere letter is derived from the sign automatically.
DMS to decimal
Minutes and seconds must be below 60. A negative degree value reverses the selected hemisphere, which lets you paste coordinates that already carry a minus sign.
About the GPS Coordinate Converter
Global positioning systems report locations as latitude and longitude, but those numbers appear in several different notations depending on the device, map, or country. Decimal degrees are compact and easy to compute with, while degrees-minutes-seconds are traditional in navigation and surveying. Degrees and decimal minutes sit between the two and are common on marine charts and handheld GPS units. This converter translates between the formats in both directions, preserves the correct hemisphere, and validates the ranges so a mistyped coordinate does not silently produce a location in the wrong part of the world.
Decimal degrees
Decimal degrees express the entire position as a single signed number. Latitude ranges from −90° at the South Pole to +90° at the North Pole, with 0° at the equator. Longitude ranges from −180° west to +180° east, with 0° at the Prime Meridian. The sign carries the hemisphere, so −33.8688 is south of the equator and 151.2093 is east of Greenwich. Many mapping APIs and spreadsheet formulas expect this format because it requires no parsing of symbols or units.
Degrees, minutes, and seconds
One degree is divided into 60 minutes, and one minute is divided into 60 seconds. A coordinate such as 51°30′26.64″ N therefore means 51 degrees, 30 minutes, and 26.64 seconds north of the equator. To convert to decimal degrees, add the minutes divided by 60 and the seconds divided by 3600, then apply the hemisphere sign. The reverse conversion multiplies the fractional part by 60 to obtain minutes, then multiplies the remaining fraction by 60 again to obtain seconds. Rounding can push seconds to 60, so a careful converter carries that overflow into the minutes and degrees.
Degrees and decimal minutes
The DDM format keeps whole degrees and expresses the remainder as decimal minutes, for example 51°30.444′ N. It is popular in marine navigation because nautical charts are marked in minutes, and one minute of latitude is approximately one nautical mile. The format avoids the awkwardness of seconds while retaining more precision than whole minutes. This page shows DDM alongside the DMS result so you can copy whichever form your equipment expects.
Practical cautions
- Always check the hemisphere. A missing minus sign can move a point to the opposite side of the planet.
- Do not confuse latitude and longitude order; many systems expect latitude first, but some APIs use longitude first.
- Keep enough decimal places. Four decimals is about 11 metres of latitude; six decimals is about 11 centimetres.
- Use a proper geodetic datum when surveying. This converter assumes the common WGS 84 convention used by GPS.
- Coordinates copied from web maps may use a different order or include labels such as “lat” and “lng”.
Frequently asked questions
Why does a negative degree reverse the hemisphere selector?
The magnitude of the angle is stored in the degree, minute, and second fields, while the selector stores the direction. If you paste a negative degree value, the converter treats the minus sign as a direction reversal so the result still matches the number you supplied.
How precise is six decimal places?
At the equator, one degree of latitude is about 111 kilometres, so the sixth decimal place represents roughly 11 centimetres. Longitude lines converge toward the poles, so the east-west precision shrinks with latitude.
Does the converter handle the international date line?
Yes. Longitude is limited to −180° to 180°, and a value of exactly 180° is accepted. Points just east and just west of the line are represented as +179.999° and −179.999° respectively.