Coordinates Converter: Fast and Simple

What the two formats mean

Decimal degrees express a coordinate as a single signed number, like 40.7128, -74.0060 for New York City — positive for north/east, negative for south/west. Degrees-minutes-seconds (DMS) splits the same value into degrees, arcminutes (1/60 of a degree), and arcseconds (1/60 of an arcminute), written as 40°42'46.8"N 74°00'21.6"W. Both describe the exact same point; DMS is the older surveying/navigation convention, decimal degrees is what GPS devices and mapping APIs generally expect.

The conversion math

Decimal to DMS: take the whole number part as degrees, multiply the remainder by 60 for minutes, take the whole number of that as minutes, and multiply its remainder by 60 for seconds. Worked example: 40.7128° → degrees = 40, remainder 0.7128 × 60 = 42.768 minutes → minutes = 42, remainder 0.768 × 60 = 46.08 seconds, giving 40°42'46.1"N (the script rounds seconds to one decimal).

DMS to decimal reverses it: decimal = degrees + minutes/60 + seconds/3600, negated for S or W. Worked example: 74°00'21.6"W → 74 + 0/60 + 21.6/3600 = 74.006° → -74.006000 in decimal.

Input formats this tool accepts

Type 40.7128, -74.0060 for decimal input, or 40°42'46.8"N 74°00'21.6"W for DMS (degree, minute, and second symbols required, direction letters N/S/E/W required). The tool auto-detects which format you typed by pattern-matching the input string, then converts to the other and gives you a direct Google Maps link for the result.

Where precision gets lost

Each additional decimal degree place roughly corresponds to a 10x change in ground precision — the fourth decimal place (0.0001°) is about 11 meters at the equator, so rounding coordinates for display can shift a pin by a city block if you're not careful. The DMS output here keeps one decimal place on seconds, which is precise to a few centimeters — more than enough for mapping use.