GPS Route Tracker
Press Start tracking on your phone and the page records your route from GPS and draws it on a map. You get live distance, duration, pace, speed and elevation gain, per-kilometer or per-mile splits, and GPX or KML files for Strava, Google Earth or any mapping app.
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Press Start tracking and allow location access. Works best on a phone, outdoors, with a clear view of the sky.
Elevation profile
The profile appears once the GPS reports altitude.
Splits
| km | Split time | Pace | Elev. change |
|---|
A split is added for every full kilometer.
Recording settings
Saved routes
Stored only in this browserNo saved routes yet. Record one and press Stop & save.
How to use the GPS Route Tracker
- Open the page on your phone outdoors and choose km or miles.
- Press Start tracking and allow location access. Wait for the GPS dot to turn green before you set off.
- Keep the page open while you walk, run or ride. Press Pause for breaks and Resume tracking to continue.
- Press Stop & save at the end. The route is stored in this browser with its stats and splits.
- Download GPX or KML to upload the track to a fitness app, Google Earth or a mapping tool.
How the tracker turns GPS fixes into a route
Each time the phone reports a position, the tracker checks its accuracy radius. Fixes worse than your limit are skipped, a point is only added once you have moved at least the minimum distance (5 m by default), and jumps faster than 70 m/s are treated as glitches. The remaining points form the track.
- Distance is the sum of the great-circle (haversine) distances between consecutive points: d = 2R · asin(√(sin²(Δφ/2) + cos φ₁ · cos φ₂ · sin²(Δλ/2))), with R = 6,371 km.
- Pace = moving time ÷ distance, shown as minutes per km or per mile. Speed is the inverse: distance ÷ moving time.
- Current pace uses the last 30 seconds of the route, so it reacts quickly without jumping on every fix.
- Climb and descent add up elevation changes of at least 3 m to filter out altitude noise.
- Pauses start a new track segment. The gap between segments is not counted as distance or time, and GPX files keep each segment as its own <trkseg>.
Choosing the recording settings
| Activity | Accuracy limit | Minimum distance | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walking, hiking | 30 m | 2 to 5 m | Captures switchbacks and tight turns |
| Running | 30 m | 5 m | Smooth line without zig-zag from GPS wobble |
| Cycling | 30 m | 10 m | Fewer points, still follows roads closely |
| Driving, boating | 60 m | 25 m | Keeps files small on long trips |
| City center, forest | 60 m | 5 m | Signals bounce off buildings and leaves, so fixes are less precise |
Tips for a clean track
- Wait a minute outdoors before starting so the phone locks onto several satellites; the indicator turns green at ±20 m or better.
- Plug in or carry a power bank on long outings: GPS and a screen that stays on use a lot of battery.
- Download the GPX after each important route. Browser storage can be cleared by the browser or by clearing site data.
- Open a GPX later with the GPX viewer, or check your live speed with the GPS speedometer.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is browser GPS tracking?
Outdoors with a clear sky, phone GPS is usually accurate to about 3 to 10 meters per fix. Over a whole route, distance is typically within 1 to 3 percent of a measured course. Tall buildings, dense trees and tunnels reduce accuracy; the tracker ignores fixes worse than the limit you set (30 m by default) and sudden jumps.
Does it keep recording when my screen is off?
Usually not. Mobile browsers pause location updates for web pages when the screen locks or you switch to another app. The tracker asks the phone to keep the screen awake while recording, so leave the page open and lower the brightness. If the browser is closed, the unfinished recording is restored the next time you open the page.
What is the difference between GPX and KML?
GPX is the standard format for GPS tracks and is accepted by Strava, Garmin Connect, Komoot and most fitness and hiking apps. Each point keeps its time and elevation. KML is the Google Earth format and is best for viewing the route on a map or in Google My Maps.
Why is the elevation gain different from my watch?
Phone GPS altitude is less accurate than horizontal position, often ±10 to 20 m, and devices with a barometer measure climbing differently. To avoid counting noise as climbing, this tracker only adds gain or loss after a change of at least 3 m from the last reference height.
What is moving time versus duration?
Duration is the total time the tracker was recording, excluding pauses. Moving time only counts the stretches where you were moving faster than 0.5 m/s (1.8 km/h), so stops at traffic lights or for photos do not lower your average pace.
Is my location sent to a server?
No. Positions are processed in your browser and saved only in this browser's local storage. The map background is loaded from OpenStreetMap tile servers, which see which map area is displayed but not your recorded track.
Can I use it on a laptop?
You can view the sample route and saved routes on any device, but most laptops have no GPS chip and estimate location from Wi-Fi, which is too coarse for tracking a route. Record on a phone or tablet with GPS.
Are all the tools on FreeToolCabin tested for quality and accuracy?
Yes! Every tool on our site undergoes automated Q/A testing in real browser environments to ensure high precision, correct output, and zero errors. If you happen to spot a bug or have a suggestion, please contact us at [email protected] and our team will review it right away.