UTM and WGS84 coordinate converter
Convert between GPS latitude/longitude and UTM coordinates in metres, anywhere between 80°S and 84°N. Paste a whole column at once; names are kept, and the results paste straight back into Excel.
Input coordinates
Results
Conversion runs entirely in your browser. Confidential locations, such as sites of protected species, are never sent to any server.
How the conversion works
UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) divides the world into 60 zones, each 6° of longitude wide, numbered eastwards from 180°W. Each zone has its own transverse Mercator projection on the WGS84 ellipsoid, with a scale factor of 0.9996 and the central meridian set to 500,000 m east. In the southern hemisphere, 10,000,000 m is added to the northing so it stays positive.
The zone comes from the longitude, with the two standard exceptions: zone 32 is widened over south-western Norway, and Svalbard uses zones 31, 33, 35 and 37 only. UTM covers latitudes from 80°S to 84°N; the polar regions use UPS instead, which this tool does not convert.
How accurate is it?
The projection maths is the open-source proj4js library. We check it against the independent PROJ library at cities on every continent and at the zone edges; the two agree to within a millimetre.
Common mistakes
- Latitude and longitude swapped: if a line looks reversed, the tool swaps it back and says so in the note column.
- A forced zone that does not fit: converting a point far outside its natural zone distorts distances, and the tool warns you.
- MGRS band letters: in "33T", T is a latitude band, not a hemisphere. Write 33N instead.
Frequently asked questions
How is the UTM zone chosen?
From the longitude: zones are 6° wide, numbered 1 to 60 eastwards from 180°W. The tool also applies the two standard exceptions, the wider zone 32 over south-western Norway and the zones 31, 33, 35 and 37 over Svalbard. You can force a zone, and the tool warns when a point lies far outside it.
Why is a zone like "33T" rejected?
In UTM the letter after the zone number means the hemisphere, N or S. In MGRS a letter such as T is a latitude band, and "33S" means band S in the north in MGRS but the southern hemisphere in UTM. To avoid placing a point in the wrong hemisphere, the tool accepts only N or S.
Are WGS84 and my GPS the same?
Yes for survey work: GPS receivers report WGS84, and the tool uses the WGS84 datum for both latitude/longitude and UTM. Converting from a national datum such as NAD83 or ETRS89 can shift points by a metre or so; check with a surveying tool where that matters.