OneTaskBy Tim King · Updated
GPX Viewer
Open a GPX File on a Map and See Distance, Elevation and Time
OneTask is free, with no sign-up, and built by one person.
If this tool saved you time, a coffee helps keep new ones coming.
How the GPX Viewer works
This GPX viewer draws tracks, routes and waypoints on a map. Choose a .gpx file and the map zooms to fit it. Tracks and routes are drawn in colour with a green start and a red end, waypoints get pins you can hover, and the panel shows total distance, elevation gain and loss, the start time, duration, average speed and pace. The file is parsed by the page and never leaves your computer; Download PNG saves the map view as a picture.
GPX viewer: tracks, routes and waypoints
GPX is the plain XML format almost every GPS device and fitness app can export: Garmin
Connect, Strava, Komoot, Wahoo, Suunto, Coros, OsmAnd, Gaia, AllTrails and the rest. A file
can hold three kinds of thing — tracks (<trk>, what a device actually recorded, one
point every second or so), routes (<rte>, a planned line with a point at each turn)
and waypoints (<wpt>, single named places). This viewer shows all three and lists
them under the map.
Distance is the sum of great-circle distances between consecutive points, which is what the devices themselves report; a track recorded at a low sampling rate reads slightly short on twisty paths.
Elevation gain is notoriously inconsistent between apps because raw GPS altitude
jitters by a few metres from point to point, and adding every wobble inflates the climb.
The figure here uses a 3 m threshold: a change only counts once the altitude has moved
at least 3 m from the last counted level. That is close to what Strava and Garmin do, so
the numbers should be in the same neighbourhood as theirs, though never identical. Files
without <ele> tags show no elevation at all, and the
elevation profile tool draws the climb as a graph.
Time, speed and pace come from the <time> stamps on track points and are elapsed
figures, from the first stamp to the last, including any stops. Planned routes have no
timestamps, so those rows are absent. For splits and a moving-time estimate use the
GPX pace analyser.
Converting. To turn the file into KML for Google Earth, GeoJSON for a GIS, or CSV for a spreadsheet, the GPX converter does that in the browser too.
FAQ
Why is the elevation gain lower than my watch says?
The watch adds up every small change in altitude; this viewer only counts a change once it exceeds 3 m, which filters out GPS jitter. Barometric watches are steadier and tend to give higher, truer figures. For control over the threshold use the elevation profile tool.
Why is there no time or speed row?
The file has no <time> stamps. Routes drawn in a planning app are just a line with no
timing, so those rows are hidden rather than showing zero.
Can I open a .fit or .tcx file?
No, only GPX. Garmin Connect, Strava and most apps export GPX directly; for a .fit file from the device, export it through the app first.
What does the PNG include?
The map as it appears on screen, with the track, waypoints and the OpenStreetMap credit. Zoom and pan to frame it before you download; the stats panel is not part of the picture.
See also: all Maps & GPS tools, Everyday Maths, Loans & Savings, Dates & Time, Health, Home & DIY, Unit Converters, Education, Science, Creative, Garden & Farm, Gaming & PC, Work & Business, Fun, DIY & Building, Cost Estimators, Sport & Clubs.
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