MapBench tool category
Distance & Bearing Map Tools
Distances, bearings and midpoints. This hub groups 37 tools that answer related geographic questions while keeping the underlying method, data source and limitations visible.
Start with these tools
Choose the tool that matches the question rather than the one with the most familiar name. Related tools can use different geographic models and legitimately return different answers.
Distance Between Two Places
Great-circle distance, bearing and midpoint between any two places.
Open tool →Distance Matrix Calculator
Pairwise great-circle distances between many places — table and CSV export.
Open tool →Flight Distance Calculator
Calculate great-circle flight distance between two cities, airports or places.
Open tool →Qibla Direction Finder
Find the direction to the Kaaba in Mecca from any place on Earth.
Open tool →Geographic Meeting Point Finder
Find the geographic centre of two to six locations on Earth.
Open tool →Bearing Calculator
Compass bearing between two points — initial, final, cardinal.
Open tool →As the Crow Flies Distance
Great-circle distance between two points on the WGS84 sphere.
Open tool →Halfway Between Two Places
Geographic midpoint on the great-circle path between two places.
Open tool →Shipping Distance Calculator
Great-circle distance between ports or cities for rough shipping estimates.
Open tool →Map Scale Calculator
Convert a map distance and representative fraction into real-world distance.
Open tool →Competitor Distance Map
Measure distance between your site and competitor locations.
Open tool →Optimal Meeting Point
Find a geographic midpoint between people for a fair meetup.
Open tool →How to use this category well
Distances and bearings use haversine great-circle math on the WGS84 mean sphere (R = 6371.0088 km), accurate to ~0.3% of ellipsoidal geodesics; the methodology page documents the full recipe.
- Always confirm which distance you need before quoting one: straight-line for physical questions, road distance for driving, and network time for schedules. The three can differ by half again in mountainous or island geography, and quoting the wrong one is the most common distance mistake in reports.
- Remember that bearings are true-north by default. If you are transferring a bearing to a magnetic compass, add (or subtract) your local declination — it exceeds 10° in many inhabited regions and flips hemispheres of behaviour.
- Use the midpoint tool instead of averaging coordinates when splitting journeys: latitude/longitude averages distort over long legs and fail across the date line, while the spherical midpoint follows the actual path the distance was measured along.
Key terms
Great circle
A circle centred on Earth's centre; its arcs are the shortest surface paths.
Haversine
The standard stable formula for great-circle distance on a sphere.
Initial bearing
Compass angle from true north at departure along a great circle.
Geodesic
The ellipsoid-true shortest path; haversine approximates it within ~0.3%.
Related guides & original research
Distance Calculation: Haversine, Geodesics & When It Matters
Understand the spherical distance model, ellipsoidal alternatives and when precision matters.
Radius vs. Drive Time vs. Straight-Line Distance
Understand when straight-line separation is the right metric.
Most Isolated Major Cities
A reproducible nearest-neighbour study built from great-circle distances.
When to verify with an official source
MapBench is designed for analysis, learning and planning. If the result affects a legal boundary, surveying, emergency response, engineering, regulated eligibility, official statistics or a financial commitment, verify the underlying information with the responsible authority or qualified professional.