Plus Code Converter
A plus code names a rectangle, not a point. Ten characters describe a patch about fourteen metres across, which is enough to find a doorway; eleven narrows it to roughly three. That matters where there are no street addresses, and it is why the code is a statement rather than an estimate: the place you asked about is inside the box, exactly, and the box's size is fixed by the code's length.
What this generator does
Encodes coordinates into an Open Location Code of the length you choose, decodes that code back into the rectangle it names, and reports the corners and the size of that rectangle.
How to use this tool
- Enter a latitude and longitude.
- Choose a code length — ten is the everyday one.
- Read the code, and the corners of the area it names.
- Shorten the code to see the area grow.
Understanding the controls
- Latitude and longitude
- In decimal degrees, with south and west written as negative numbers.
- Code length
- Four characters name a region roughly a degree across; ten name about fourteen metres; eleven narrows that to about three.
Common use cases
- Giving a location where there is no street address
- Recording a spot in a field, a car park or on a trail
- Comparing how precise a code needs to be for a given purpose
- Understanding what a plus code seen on a map actually means
- Checking a code against the coordinates it should describe
How this generator works
Two things are checked before anything is shown. The code is decoded back into its rectangle, and the coordinates you gave must lie inside it — which is the whole promise a plus code makes. Then the rectangle's own centre is encoded again, and must give exactly the same code back, which catches an error in either direction of the conversion.
Randomness and fairness
Nothing is random. The same coordinates and length always give the same code.
For how randomness is produced across the whole site, see how Generate Random works.
Limitations and good to know
- Coordinates in, code out. Reading a code back into coordinates in the other direction is not offered here.
- Short codes relative to a nearby town, the form seen on signs, are not handled — only full codes.
- The metres shown are approximate, since a degree of longitude shrinks towards the poles.
- No map is drawn: the answer is the corners and the size, not a picture.
Privacy and your data
Coordinates are converted in your browser. No location is transmitted or stored.
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