KML Converter
This KML converter opens a KML or KMZ file from Google Earth or Google My Maps, shows the placemarks on a map with their data in a table, and saves them as a shapefile, GeoJSON, GPX, CSV or KMZ. It runs in your browser with GDAL, so the file is not uploaded. ExtendedData fields are kept, and each folder becomes its own layer.
Did a file not convert correctly? E-mail [email protected], ideally with a small sample file, and it will be fixed.
Key facts
- Input: KML (.kml). Output: Shapefile, GeoJSON, KMZ, GPX, CSV.
- Your files are not uploaded: the work is done in your browser, on your own device.
- File size: no fixed limit; very large files are limited by your device's memory.
- Needs a current browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari) on a computer, tablet or phone; nothing to install.
- Free to use, with no sign-up.
All KML conversions
From KML to another format
- Convert KML to Shapefile (SHP)
- Convert KMZ to Shapefile (SHP)
- Convert KML to GeoJSON
- Convert KMZ to GeoJSON
- Convert KML to GPX
- Convert KML to CSV
From another format to KML
More KML tools
One converter for KML from Google Earth and My Maps
KML is the format of Google Earth and Google My Maps: placemarks, paths and polygons in folders, with styles, descriptions and extra fields stored as ExtendedData, always in WGS84 longitude and latitude. A KMZ is the same KML zipped together with its icons and photos. GIS programs, GPS devices, web maps and Excel each need something else, so this page reads the KML or KMZ and first shows what is in it: every placemark on a map, its name, description and extra fields in a table you can search, and the folders as layers. Then you choose the output. A shapefile suits ArcGIS and QGIS, GeoJSON suits web maps and developers, GPX suits Garmin devices and hiking apps, CSV opens the placemarks in Excel, and KMZ packs a KML with its images into one file to share. The conversion uses GDAL, the library behind QGIS, compiled to run in the browser, so a client's sites or a planned route never leave your computer. The pages linked below explain each single conversion in more detail.
How to convert a KML or KMZ file
- Drop a .kml or .kmz file on the page, or click to select it; for KMZ output, choose its icons and photos with it.
- Check the map, the placemark table and the folders in the summary.
- Choose the output format and its options, then click Convert to download the file.
What changes with each output format
Points, lines and polygons are split for shapefiles
One KML folder can mix placemarks, paths and polygons, but a shapefile holds only one geometry type. The converter writes one shapefile per folder and type, such as Sights_points.shp and Sights_lines.shp, in one .zip, and cuts field names to 10 characters, so Description becomes Descriptio.
Styles become fields
Shapefiles, GeoJSON and CSV cannot store a style, so the icon, line and fill colors of each placemark are written as fields such as line_color and fill_color. Shapefiles also get a .qml file that makes QGIS draw them in those colors. GPX keeps no styles at all.
Extra fields from My Maps and ArcGIS
Columns imported into My Maps and attributes from QGIS are stored as ExtendedData and become fields. ArcGIS often writes the attributes as an HTML table inside the description instead; the converter reads that table into fields too.
KML stays in WGS84
KML is always longitude and latitude in WGS84, and so are GeoJSON, GPX and KMZ. For a shapefile or a CSV you can enter an EPSG code, such as 25832 for UTM 32N or 27700 for the British National Grid, to get coordinates in meters.
Network links are not followed
A KML that only holds network links points to data on a web server, which the converter does not download. Open the link in Google Earth and save the data as KML first. Time-stamped tracks (gx:Track) become lines, and their times come along to GPX.
About the formats
KML
KML (Keyhole Markup Language) is the XML format behind Google Earth and Google My Maps, and an OGC standard since 2008. Besides geometry it can hold styles, icons, folders and descriptions in HTML.
- Always WGS84 longitude, latitude and optional altitude.
- Folders group placemarks; each folder can become its own layer when converting.
- Styles (colors, line widths, icons) are specific to KML and Google Earth.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert KML to a shapefile?
Drop the KML or KMZ on this page, keep Shapefile as the output format and click Convert. You get a .zip with a shapefile per folder and geometry type, each with a .prj in WGS84 or the EPSG code you entered.
Can I convert a KMZ file as well?
Yes. A KMZ is a zipped KML, and the converter unpacks it in the browser and reads the KML inside, so you can drop the .kmz directly. Choose KMZ as the output to pack a KML together with its icons and photos instead.
How do I export a KML from Google My Maps?
Open the map, click the three dots next to its name and choose Export to KML/KMZ. Pick the whole map or one layer, and tick the option to export as KML if you want a plain .kml file instead of a KMZ.
Why are my placemark colors gone?
Only KML and KMZ store styles. In the other formats the colors are kept as fields such as line_color and fill_color, and a shapefile gets a .qml file so QGIS shows them again.