DMS → Decimal Degrees

Paste coordinates in degrees-minutes-seconds — like 48°51'29.6"N 2°17'40.2"E — and get decimal degrees (48.858222, 2.294500) instantly, ready for Google Maps, GPS files, spreadsheets and code. One pair or a whole list, one per line; hemisphere letters and negative signs both understood. Everything converts on your device.

Reverse: Decimal Degrees → DMS

Paste DMS coordinates — one pair per line

Hemisphere letters (N/S/E/W) or signed values both work; symbols are tolerant — ° ' " or plain spaces.

The math (it's simpler than it looks)

Decimal degrees = degrees + minutes/60 + seconds/3600. The hemisphere letter sets the sign: South and West are negative. So 48°51'29.6"N becomes 48 + 51/60 + 29.6/3600 = 48.858222, and 2°17'40.2"E becomes 2.294500. Six decimal places pin a point to about 11 cm — more precision than any consumer GPS actually delivers.

Where decimal degrees are required

Nearly everything programmable: Google Maps URLs, GPX/KML files, GeoJSON, spreadsheets, every mapping API, and this site's own tools. DMS survives mostly on paper charts, property deeds, aviation documents and older GPS units — which is exactly why lists still arrive in DMS and need converting. Need other formats too (UTM, MGRS, plus codes, geohash)? Use the full coordinate converter.

Frequently asked questions

What formats does the input understand?

Standard DMS with ° ' " symbols and hemisphere letters (48°51'29.6"N 2°17'40.2"E), signed DMS without letters, and it tolerates spaces, commas, and curly quote characters. Paste several pairs one per line to convert a list.

How many decimal places do I actually need?

Six decimal places (~11 cm) is more than any consumer GPS delivers; five (~1.1 m) is enough for almost everything. The converter outputs six so nothing is lost in round-trips.

Why is my converted longitude negative?

West longitudes (and south latitudes) are negative in decimal degrees — that's how the sign replaces the W and S letters. 73°59'W becomes −73.983°. It's correct, not an error.