Convert KMZ to GeoJSON
Free, private and fast: everything runs in your browser and your KMZ file is never uploaded.
KMZ to GeoJSON: why convert
Google Earth Pro saves places as KMZ by default, and KMZ is a common download format for map data from public agencies and utilities. To use that data in a web map, a JavaScript app or a spatial database, you need GeoJSON. This converter opens the KMZ, finds the KML inside and turns its placemarks into GeoJSON in one step, with names and descriptions kept as properties. Folders become separate GeoJSON files, so the structure of the original survives. It all happens in your browser with GDAL, the engine behind QGIS, and the file is never uploaded.
How to convert KMZ to GeoJSON
- Drop your .kmz file in the box, or click to choose it.
- Check the placemarks on the map and the list of folders.
- Click Convert and download the GeoJSON file, or a zip with one file per folder.
What changes when you convert
Packed images are left out
Icons, photos and image overlays inside the KMZ are not geographic features, so they are not part of the GeoJSON. A description that shows a photo with an img tag keeps the tag, but the image file it points to is not included. Scanned maps placed as ground overlays are not converted either.
Styles are lost
GeoJSON has no place for KML styles, so icon images, colors and line widths disappear and every feature looks the same until you style it. In Leaflet, MapLibre or OpenLayers you can color features by a property such as the folder or the name.
One GeoJSON file per folder
Each KML folder becomes its own layer and therefore its own GeoJSON file, named after the folder, and you download them together as a zip. Placemarks that are not in any folder form a layer of their own.
Height without altitude mode
Altitudes are kept as the third coordinate. KML also says whether a height is measured from the ground or from sea level; GeoJSON cannot express that, so the information is dropped.
Coordinates stay put
KML and GeoJSON both use WGS84 longitude and latitude, so no reprojection is needed. The output follows RFC 7946 with up to 7 decimal places.
About the formats
KMZ
KMZ is a zipped KML file, often with icons and images packed alongside it. Google Earth saves KMZ by default, so it is the format most people get when they export from Google Earth.
- The main file inside the zip is usually doc.kml.
- Images and icons inside the KMZ are not geodata, so they are left out when converting to formats such as GeoJSON or Shapefile.
GeoJSON
GeoJSON is a plain-text JSON format for geographic features, standardized as RFC 7946 in 2016. It is the native format of web maps such as Leaflet, MapLibre and Mapbox, and of many APIs.
- Coordinates are WGS84 longitude, latitude (in that order).
- Points, lines and polygons can be mixed in one file.
- Properties can be any JSON value, with no limit on field name length.
Frequently asked questions
What is inside a KMZ file?
A zip archive with a main KML file, usually doc.kml, and often a folder of icons or photos. The converter unpacks it in memory, so you do not have to unzip it yourself.
My KMZ has several KML files inside. Which is converted?
All of them. The main doc.kml is read first, followed by any other KML files in the archive, and each of their folders becomes a GeoJSON file.
Can I turn the GeoJSON back into KML later?
Yes, with the GeoJSON to KML converter. Styles will not come back, because the GeoJSON does not contain them; keep the original KMZ if they matter.
Is my KMZ uploaded?
No. The file is unpacked and converted by your browser, and nothing leaves your computer.