Open a KML or KMZ file online

See the places, lines and areas of a Google Earth file (.kml or .kmz) on a map, with their folders and details, in your browser. The file is read on your device, and the map is drawn from the file alone unless you ask for a background map.

Drop your .kml or .kmz file here

Your file stays on this device: it is read here, in your browser, and never uploaded.

Google Earth files, also several at once. GPX, GeoJSON and shapefiles open here too.

How it works

Choose the file
Drop a .kml or .kmz file on the box above, or several at once. GPX, GeoJSON and shapefiles open here too. The files you drop are not sent anywhere.
Look at the map and the list
Every folder is a layer you can switch on and off. Click a place on the map or in the list to see its name, description and data. The table shows every attribute of a layer.
Convert it if you need to
Viewing is free. The conversions are paid: the options and their prices are shown next to the conversion button, before you pay anything.

KML and KMZ files, explained

What KML and KMZ files are

KML (Keyhole Markup Language) is the file format of Google Earth: places (placemarks), paths and areas, organized in folders, each with a name, a description and data fields. It is plain text in XML, and an open standard of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC).

A KMZ file is a KML file packed in a ZIP archive, often with the pictures and icons it uses. People send them for property boundaries, survey points, hiking and cycling routes, project sites, delivery areas and maps made in Google My Maps. GPS tracks often come as GPX files and GIS data as shapefiles; both open here too.

Why it won’t open

Computers have no program for KML or KMZ out of the box: Windows and macOS ask which app to use, and a text editor shows XML code for a KML and unreadable characters for a KMZ. Google Earth Pro shows the file but is a desktop download, Google Earth on the web imports it into a project in your Google account, and neither converts it to the formats other programs need.

What this viewer does

Reads KML and KMZ files, also very large ones, piece by piece.
Shows every place, line and area on a map. Every folder becomes a layer you can show or hide.
Shows each feature’s name, description (as text: links and scripts in it are never run), time and data fields (extended data and schema data).
Lists every feature, searches them by name and data, and shows each layer’s attributes as a table.
Shows the length of every line and, for tracks with times (gx:Track), their duration, climb and elevation profile.
Converts to GeoJSON, KML, GPX, CSV, Excel and shapefiles (paid).

Converting KML to Shapefile, GPX, CSV or GeoJSON

Every conversion runs in this page and keeps every feature:

GeoJSON: one feature collection with every attribute, the standard format of web maps and GIS tools.
KML for Google Earth: one folder per layer, the attributes as extended data.
GPX for GPS devices and sports apps: points become waypoints and lines become tracks, with their elevations and times. GPX keeps only names and descriptions, and has no areas: an area becomes a track along its edge.
CSV: one row per feature with latitude and longitude for points, the geometry of any feature as WKT and every attribute; or one row per point of every line, with elevation and time.
Excel: the attribute table, one sheet per layer.
Shapefile (ZIP) for GIS software: one set of .shp, .shx, .dbf, .prj and .cpg files per kind of geometry (points, lines, areas), in longitude/latitude (WGS 84), attributes in UTF-8. Field names are cut to the 10 characters the format allows, and text to 254 bytes. A shapefile written here is 2D: elevations and times are not kept.
All layers in one file, or one file per layer in a ZIP. Styles (colors, icons, line widths) are not converted.

What it does not do

It does not follow network links: a KML that loads other KML files from the internet shows only what it holds itself.
Image overlays, screen overlays and photo overlays are counted but not drawn; 3D models are shown as a point at their location.
Colors, icons and line styles are not shown or converted.
It does not edit the file.
It does not open files over 4 GB (.shp, .dbf), 2 GB (KMZ, ZIP), 1 GB (KML, GPX) or 160 MB (GeoJSON), or more than 1 million features and 12 million points in all.

The background map

The map is drawn from the file alone, on a plain background, without contacting anyone. If you press “Show background map”, your browser loads map images from an independent map tile service. That service then receives the usual connection data (your IP address and browser) and which map tiles are shown, so the area and the zoom level you look at; it never receives your file, its name or its contents. “Hide background map” goes back to the plain view; the choice is not kept when you leave or reload the page. The privacy policy says more.

Other ways to open a KML file

Google Earth Pro (free desktop program): File → Open. Google Earth on the web: New → Import file, which keeps the data in a project in your Google Drive.
Google My Maps: import the file into a new map.
QGIS, a free GIS program: drag the file onto the map, then Export → Save Features As for other formats.

Your files stay on your device

Map files often say where people live, work or travel. Here the files are read by code running in your browser; no code on the page sends them, their names or anything in them anywhere, not even to our own domain. The conversions are made in the page too.

Google Earth and Google My Maps are trademarks of Google LLC. KML is a standard of the Open Geospatial Consortium. Other names belong to their owners and are used only to describe file formats and programs. CantOpen is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.

Frequently asked questions

How do I open a KML file without Google Earth?

Drop it on this page: its places, lines and areas appear on a map with their folders and details, in your browser, with nothing to install and no account.

What is the difference between KML and KMZ?

A KMZ is a KML file packed in a ZIP archive, often with its icons and pictures. This page opens both and reads the KML inside a KMZ by itself.

How do I convert KMZ to KML?

Open the KMZ here and choose KML: the places, lines, areas and their data come out as a plain .kml file, with one folder per layer. Pictures, icons and styles (colors, line widths) are not carried over. The conversions are paid; viewing the KMZ is free.

Can I convert KML to Shapefile, GPX or CSV?

Yes: to a zipped shapefile, GPX, GeoJSON, CSV with latitude and longitude, or an Excel table, with every layer in one file or one file per layer. The conversions are paid; the options and their prices are shown next to the conversion button.

Is it free?

Viewing is free: the map, every layer and feature, their data and the attribute table. The conversions to other formats are paid.

Is my file uploaded?

No. It is read by code running in your browser and never leaves your device. The map is drawn from the file alone; only if you choose to show a background map are map images loaded from a map tile service, which learns the area you look at but never receives your file.

Why can’t I see roads or satellite images?

By default the map shows only your file, on a plain background, so that nothing is contacted. Press “Show background map” to load a street map behind it.

Can it open very large KML files?

Yes. The file is read in pieces and its coordinates are kept compactly: hundreds of thousands of placemarks open in a few seconds. Very large maps are drawn slightly simplified; the list, the table and the conversions keep every point.