Bearing Calculator
Calculate the compass bearing (heading) between two latitude/longitude points — both the initial bearing to set off on and the final bearing on arrival, since a great-circle path curves. Coordinates accept decimal degrees or DMS.
Input
Decimal degrees or DMS/DDM (e.g. 40 42 46 N) — auto-detected.
Decimal degrees or DMS/DDM — auto-detected.
Decimal degrees or DMS/DDM — auto-detected.
Decimal degrees or DMS/DDM — auto-detected.
Output
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| No data yet | |
Guides
The Bearing Calculator finds the compass heading between two geographic points. Enter the latitude and longitude of a start and an end point and get both the initial bearing — the heading to set off on — and the final bearing — the heading you'll be facing on arrival — each in degrees from true north plus a 16-point compass label (N, NE, ESE, and so on).
How to use it
- Enter the latitude and longitude of your start point.
- Enter the latitude and longitude of your end point.
- Read the initial and final bearing. Results update as you type; copy or download them as CSV.
Each coordinate box accepts either decimal degrees (40.7128, -74.0060) or degrees-minutes-seconds (40°42'46"N, 74 0 21.6 W). The format is detected automatically, and a N/S/E/W hemisphere letter or a leading minus sign sets the direction, so you can paste coordinates straight from Google Maps, a GPS device or a survey record.
Why does the bearing change along the route?
A straight compass heading followed forever traces a spiral, not the shortest path — the shortest path between two points on a sphere is a great circle, and following one means continuously adjusting your heading. The initial bearing is the heading at the start point; the final bearing is the heading you'd be on if you kept following that same great circle all the way to the end point. The two match only when travelling due along the equator or a meridian; everywhere else they diverge, more so the longer the route.
Initial vs. final bearing, in practice
For short trips the difference is negligible. For long-haul flights and shipping routes it's significant — a flight from New York to London starts on a heading of about 51° (northeast) but arrives on a heading of about 108° (east-southeast), because the great-circle path curves poleward before curving back down toward Europe.
Is my data private?
Yes. The entire calculation runs locally in your browser — coordinates are never uploaded to a server, so you can use it with sensitive location data with confidence.
Common uses
Plotting a great-circle flight or sailing heading, orienting a directional antenna or solar panel toward a fixed point, surveying and land navigation, or checking the heading between two GPS waypoints.
Use it from code
From 3 credits per callREST API
curl -X POST https://api.iotools.cloud/v1/tool/bearing-calculator \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"latA": "40.7128",
"lonA": "-74.0060",
"latB": "51.5074",
"lonB": "-0.1278"
}'Swap in your own key from your account. The tool's fields are the body — no wrapper.
Ask an AI agent
Use the IOTools `bearing-calculator` tool (Bearing Calculator) on this input:
YOUR_INPUT_HEREPaste this at any agent connected to the IOTools MCP server, then add your input.