Map radius tool

Draw a radius around an address

Choose the distance unit before adding your first circle. Search for an address, town, landmark, or airport and select the matching result. Enter a radius, then choose Add circle. You can also click directly on the map to place a circle with the current radius. Each circle stays on the map until you remove it, making it easy to compare two hotel locations, meeting points, or possible stops. The numbered list identifies the center and radius of every circle. Change the radius before adding another circle when you want to compare a smaller local area with a wider region.

What the circle and area mean

The radius is the distance from the center to the edge, measured across the surface of a spherical Earth. The displayed area is the spherical cap enclosed by that radius; for a small circle it is very close to pi times the radius squared. Switching between miles and kilometers changes how the list displays distances and areas, without changing circles already added. Each area is reported separately. If two circles overlap, the shared portion is not subtracted or merged into a combined coverage area. Large circles near the poles or the date line can look distorted on a flat map because the map projection stretches the Earth's surface.

Use a radius for planning, then check the route

A ten-mile radius gives you a quick geographic boundary, but it is not a ten-mile drive. Rivers, mountain roads, border crossings, and limited access highways can make a nearby place take much longer to reach. Use a radius to narrow your search for places, then check the actual route and opening hours before setting out. The distance-between-addresses tool below can compare the direct distance with an available driving route. Mapbox supplies the map and address search; if those services are unavailable, you can enter longitude,latitude coordinates to keep using the area calculation. Circles are temporary in this page and are not automatically saved to an account.

Frequently asked questions