Why Convert CSV to GPX?
CSV is what spreadsheets and data loggers speak; GPX is what navigation apps speak. If you have coordinates in rows and columns, converting to GPX lets you see them on a map, navigate to them in the field, and share them with anyone running a GPS app.
Common cases where a CSV is the starting point:
- GPS logger exports — apps like MyGPSLog can record tracks as CSV
- Race checkpoint or waypoint lists maintained in a spreadsheet
- Telemetry from data-acquisition hardware on a race vehicle
- Coordinate lists copied from documents, reports, or websites
What Your CSV Needs
Only two columns are required. Everything else is optional but carries through to the GPX file if present.
| Column | Required | Accepted header names | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latitude | Yes | lat, latitude, y | Decimal degrees, −90 to 90 |
| Longitude | Yes | lon, lng, long, longitude, x | Decimal degrees, −180 to 180 |
| Elevation | No | ele, elevation, alt, altitude, height | Meters |
| Time | No | time, timestamp, date, datetime | ISO 8601, most date strings, or Unix epoch |
| Name | No | name, title, label, desc, comment | Becomes the point name |
| Heart rate | No | hr, heartrate, bpm, pulse | Beats per minute |
| Cadence | No | cad, cadence, rpm | Revolutions per minute |
| Temperature | No | atemp, temp, temperature | °C |
| Speed | No | speed, spd, velocity | m/s, km/h, mph, or knots — pick the unit in the tool |
Delimiters are detected automatically: comma, semicolon (common in European exports, where the decimal separator is a comma), and tab all work. Quoted fields with embedded commas are handled correctly.
Step by Step with the CSV to GPX Tool
- Open the CSV to GPX converter — everything runs in your browser, so the file never leaves your computer
- Drop your .csv file on the upload area
- Review the Column Mapping panel. The tool auto-detects latitude, longitude, elevation, time, name, and sensor columns from the headers and validates the guesses against the actual values — detected columns show a gold "auto" badge
- Fix any wrong guesses with the dropdowns; the preview table highlights the mapped columns so you can confirm at a glance
- If you mapped a speed column, set the Speed Unit — GPX stores speed in m/s, so km/h and mph values are converted on export
- Choose the output type: Track for a recorded path, Waypoints for a list of standalone locations
- Click Convert to GPX — the file downloads immediately, and a summary reports how many rows converted and how many were skipped
Track or Waypoints?
Track
- Points connected in order as a path
- Right for logger exports and recorded rides
- Apps draw it as a line on the map
- Preserves timestamps for speed analysis
Waypoints
- Independent named locations
- Right for checkpoint and POI lists
- Apps show each as a separate pin
- Names become the pin labels
Common Problems and Fixes
Every row is skipped
Usually swapped latitude and longitude. Check the mapping: longitude values in North America are negative and beyond −90, so a latitude column full of −114.5 values is really longitude.
Coordinates in DMS format
The converter expects decimal degrees. If your cells look like 32°18'43"N, run them through the Coordinate Converter first — it parses DMS, DDM, UTM, and MGRS.
European decimal commas
Values like 32,312064 are fine as long as the file is semicolon- or tab-delimited (which such exports almost always are). The tool reads comma decimals correctly.
Times ignored
Ambiguous date formats can fail to parse. ISO 8601 (2026-07-01T14:30:00Z) always works, and Unix epoch seconds or milliseconds are recognized automatically.
Check Your Work
Drop the converted file into the GPX Analyzer: you should see your points on the map, and if the CSV carried time, elevation, or sensor columns, the distance, duration, elevation profile, and sensor charts will confirm everything survived the trip. Running it through the GPX Validator is a quick way to prove the file is clean before loading it on a device.