Distance Calculator

Distance between two coordinate points

This calculator measures the straight-line distance between A(x₁, y₁) and B(x₂, y₂) on a two-dimensional Cartesian plane. Enter all four coordinates; negative values and decimals are valid.

Distance formula

The calculation uses d = √((x₂ - x₁)² + (y₂ - y₁)²). The horizontal change is Δx = x₂ - x₁ and the vertical change is Δy = y₂ - y₁. Squaring these changes makes their direction irrelevant, so distance can never be negative.

Worked example

For A(1, 2) and B(4, 6), Δx is 3 and Δy is 4. The squared distance is 3² + 4² = 25, so the distance is √25 = 5 units. The result has the same unit as the coordinate axes.

What this result does not measure

This is Euclidean distance on a flat coordinate plane. It does not calculate driving distance, travel time, or distance over the curved surface of Earth. For maps, use a geographic distance method that works with latitude and longitude.