Your GPS watch, cycling computer or hiking app speaks GPX, but Google Earth wants KML. This free GPX to KML converter bridges that gap in seconds: drop in the .gpx file you exported from Garmin, Strava, Komoot or your phone, and download a clean KML 2.2 file with every waypoint as a placemark and every route and track drawn as a line. Names, descriptions and elevations travel with the points, so the hike, ride or road trip you recorded looks exactly as you remember it when it opens on the globe.
How to convert GPX to KML
Export the activity or route from your GPS device or app as a .gpx file, then drag it onto the drop zone above or click to pick it. The converter reads the file straight away and shows a summary card with the counts that matter: how many waypoints, routes and tracks it found. Under the counts you get a preview of the first forty lines of the KML, so you can check a placemark name and its coordinates before saving anything. Press the Download button and the file arrives with the same name as your original, ending in .kml — a file called morning-ride.gpx downloads as morning-ride.kml, ready to open in Google Earth Pro, Google Earth on the web, or Google My Maps.
Your tracks never leave your device
Location history is some of the most personal data you own: it shows where you live, where you run and where your family walks. This converter protects that privacy by design. The file is converted locally in your browser and never uploaded to any server — the GPX is parsed and the KML is written by code running on your own machine. Nothing is stored, logged or shared, and once the page has loaded you could even switch off your connection and still convert.
GPX and KML: the two languages of GPS tracks
GPX (GPS Exchange Format) is the recording format of the outdoor world. GPS watches, bike computers and apps like Strava, Komoot, AllTrails and Wikiloc save waypoints, planned routes and recorded tracks as GPX because it is a compact, open XML standard that every device understands. KML (Keyhole Markup Language) is Google’s format for displaying geographic data: Google Earth and Google Maps were built around it, so a KML file does not just list coordinates, it tells Earth how to present them — placemark pins you can click, lines drawn across the terrain, names and descriptions shown in balloons. Converting GPX to KML is therefore less a translation of the data than a change of audience: the same ride or hike, repackaged for the globe instead of the GPS unit. That is why hikers archive favourite routes as KML, teachers build geography lessons from recorded tracks, and travellers plot a whole trip in Google Earth before they go.
Limits and what does not convert
The converter handles the core of GPX 1.1: waypoints with names, descriptions and elevations, routes made of route points, and tracks with one or more segments. Coordinates are written in KML order — longitude, latitude, elevation — exactly as Google Earth expects. A few GPX extras have no KML equivalent here and are skipped: heart-rate, cadence and power extensions, per-point timestamps, waypoint symbols and links. If a file contains no usable points at all, the tool says so instead of handing you an empty document, and files over 10 MB are refused so your browser tab stays responsive.
GPX to KML Converter – frequently asked questions
Is this GPX to KML converter free?
Yes. It is completely free, with no sign-up and no limit on how many GPX files you can convert.
Is my GPX file uploaded anywhere?
No. The conversion happens locally in your browser, so your tracks, routes and location history never leave your device.
How do I open the KML file?
Double-click it with Google Earth Pro installed, drag it into Google Earth on the web, or import it into Google My Maps to share it as an interactive map.
Will my waypoint names and elevations survive?
Yes. Names and descriptions become the placemark title and balloon text, and each point keeps its elevation as the third coordinate value.
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Versión en español: Convertir GPX a KML gratis – Pasa tus rutas GPS a Google Earth. You may also like: KML to GPX Converter – Convert Google Earth Files to GPS Tracks Free · vCard to CSV Converter – Turn VCF Contacts into a Spreadsheet Free.
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