How to Convert KML to GPX (Fastest Method)
To convert a KML file to GPX, open the free KML to GPX Converter at gpxanalyzer.com/tools/kml-to-gpx.html, load your .kml file, and click Convert to GPX — the converted file downloads immediately, ready for a GPS unit or navigation app. Placemark points become GPX waypoints, LineString paths become GPX tracks, and Google Earth gx:Track recordings convert with their original timestamps intact. Everything runs locally in your browser: no account, no install, and nothing uploads to a server.
- Open the KML to GPX Converter — it runs in your browser with no account or install.
- Drag your .kml file onto the upload area or click to browse. Files up to 25 MB are processed locally and never uploaded.
- Review what was found — the tool lists the placemarks, tracks, track points, and waypoints it detected before anything is converted.
- Click Convert to GPX. The .gpx file downloads immediately.
The output is standard GPX 1.1, so it loads into Garmin units, hiking apps, and anything else that speaks the Topografix GPX 1.1 schema. Going the other direction? See How to Convert GPX to KML.
First: Get a .kml Out of Google Earth (Not a .kmz)
Most KML-to-GPX conversions start in Google Earth, and the one trap is the file extension. To export your data, right-click the item (or folder) in the Places panel and choose Save Place As. In the save dialog, set the file type to .kml — Google Earth defaults to .kmz, which is not KML but a zip archive containing it.
Already stuck with a .kmz? No conversion tool is needed to open it: rename the file from something.kmz to something.zip, extract the archive, and load the doc.kml found inside. The converter rejects .kmz files directly and shows the same unzip instructions, so nothing silently fails.
What Converts to What
KML is a visualization format (an OGC standard built for Google Earth), while GPX is a GPS data-exchange format — so conversion maps the geographic data across and skips the display-only features. Names, descriptions, and elevation carry over, and nested Documents, Folders, and MultiGeometry containers are walked automatically, so folder structure never matters.
| KML element | GPX output |
|---|---|
| Placemark > Point | Waypoint (<wpt>) with name and description |
| LineString path | Track (<trk>) with one segment |
| LinearRing outline | Track, converted as a path |
| gx:Track recording | Track with per-point timestamps (<time>) |
| MultiGeometry / MultiTrack | Each child geometry converted individually |
| Document and Folder nesting | Walked recursively — structure doesn't matter |
| Polygons, overlays, styles | Not converted — display-only, no GPX equivalent |
One detail the converter handles for you: KML writes coordinates as lon,lat,ele tuples, while GPX stores lat and lon as attributes in the opposite order. The tool swaps the order automatically and validates every coordinate's range, so a malformed tuple gets skipped instead of producing a point in the wrong ocean.
Alternative: GPSBabel on the Command Line
For batch jobs or scripted workflows, the open-source GPSBabel utility converts KML to GPX in one line:
gpsbabel -i kml -f input.kml -o gpx -F output.gpxGPSBabel handles hundreds of files as easily as one, which makes it the right choice when you're migrating an entire Google Earth archive rather than a single path. For everyday one-off conversions, the browser tool is faster — there's nothing to install.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I convert a KMZ file to GPX?
Not directly — KMZ is a zip archive, not KML. Rename the file to .zip, extract it, and convert the doc.kml found inside. Any images bundled in the archive are display overlays and have no GPX equivalent anyway.
Are Google Earth timestamps preserved?
Yes. gx:Track recordings pair each coordinate with a <when> timestamp, and those convert to GPX <time> elements — so speed and duration analysis still works after conversion. Plain LineString paths have no timestamps to begin with, so their tracks convert as geometry only.
What happens to polygons and image overlays?
They are skipped. Polygons, ground overlays, and styles are visualization features with no GPX equivalent. If a file contains only those, the tool tells you nothing is convertible rather than producing an empty GPX.
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No. The KML is parsed and the GPX generated entirely by JavaScript in your browser; nothing is sent to a server. The practical limit is 25 MB per file.