Frequently Asked Questions

We use the Haversine formula, a proven mathematical method that calculates the great-circle distance between two points on a sphere. This gives you the shortest possible distance over Earth's curved surface — commonly known as "as the crow flies."

Try it yourself on the distance calculator, or explore distances from one location to multiple destinations.

Great-circle distance is the shortest path between two points on the surface of a sphere. If you stretched a string between two locations on a globe, that's the great-circle route. On a flat map, this path often appears curved due to map projection distortions.

See it visualized on our interactive map — the curved line shows the actual great-circle path.

The Haversine formula is mathematically accurate to within a few meters for great-circle distance. However, this represents straight-line distance, not actual travel distance. Real driving routes are typically 20-40% longer due to road networks.

Learn more about our methodology on the About page.

SnapDistance shows straight-line (air) distance, while Google Maps typically shows driving or walking distance via roads. Driving distance is almost always longer because roads don't go in straight lines.

For example, Oslo to Bergen is about 305 km straight-line but 460+ km by road. Compare routes to see the difference.

We display distances in three units: Kilometers (km) — the metric standard used globally; Miles (mi) — used primarily in the US and UK; and Nautical miles (nm) — used in aviation and maritime navigation. All three are shown simultaneously for convenience.

Driving time is estimated at 80 km/h average speed, with the straight-line distance multiplied by 1.3 to account for roads being longer than direct routes. This is a rough estimate — actual driving time varies significantly based on road type, traffic, and speed limits.

Flight time assumes 800 km/h cruise speed (typical for commercial jets) plus 30 minutes for takeoff, climbing, descending, and landing. Real flight times vary based on aircraft type, winds, and flight path.

Compare flight times between different routes.

These estimates are useful for rough comparisons and understanding scale, but should not be used for precise planning. For actual trip planning, use dedicated services like Google Maps (driving) or flight booking sites (flying) that account for real-world conditions.

We estimate timezone offset from longitude — every 15 degrees of longitude roughly equals 1 hour of time difference. This is an approximation since real timezone boundaries follow political borders, not longitude lines exactly.

It's approximate. Real timezones have irregular borders based on countries and regions. For example, China uses a single timezone despite spanning 60+ degrees of longitude. Always verify timezone information with official sources for time-sensitive activities.

Read more about our calculation methodology on the About page.

Yes! Every calculation generates a unique URL with your locations encoded. You can copy the URL from your browser, use the Share button to share via your device's share menu, or use the Copy button to copy a text summary to your clipboard.

Yes. Click the Print button to open your browser's print dialog. The print version includes a static map image showing both locations and the route, optimized for paper.

Partially. The distance calculation itself works offline once the page is loaded. However, location search requires an internet connection since it queries the Photon geocoding service, and the interactive map needs to load tile images from external servers.

Start typing in the From or To field. After 2+ characters, suggestions will appear from our global database of millions of places. You can search for cities, towns, villages, landmarks, and addresses.

Try it on the main calculator or explore distances from one location.

Distance Calculator — Calculate distance between two specific locations.

From One Location — See distances from one starting point to multiple major cities worldwide.

Compare Routes — Compare two different routes side by side to find which is shorter.

Interactive Map — Click anywhere on a fullscreen map to measure distances visually.

No. All distance calculations happen in your browser. We don't log, store, or track your searches. Your location data never touches our servers.

Read our full Privacy Policy for details.

We use essential storage for functionality such as your theme preference. With your consent where required, we use Google Analytics to understand how the site is used and how it performs. You can change your choice at any time; see our Cookie Policy for details.

See our Cookie Policy for more information.

No. We don't request access to your device's GPS or location services. The only location data used is what you explicitly type into the search fields. Learn more about our privacy-first approach.

The Haversine formula calculates the central angle between two points on a sphere using their latitude and longitude coordinates. Named after the haversine trigonometric function (half of a versed sine), it accounts for Earth's curvature to give accurate distances.

The formula: a = sin²(Δlat/2) + cos(lat1)·cos(lat2)·sin²(Δlon/2), then distance = 2R·arctan2(√a, √(1-a)), where R is Earth's radius.

Location search is powered by Photon, a geocoding API built on OpenStreetMap data. OSM is a collaborative, open-source mapping project with data contributed by millions of volunteers worldwide.

Learn more on the About page.

SnapDistance is built with React, TypeScript, and Vite for fast performance. The map uses Leaflet with Protomaps tiles. Styling uses Tailwind CSS. All code runs client-side — there's no backend server processing your requests.