Online Tool Store
Route Elevation Profile
Enter a series of distance/elevation waypoints along a route to plot an elevation profile chart with total ascent and descent.
🔒 This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your files are never uploaded to a server.
Distance in kilometres, elevation in metres. Waypoints are read in the order you list them.
Total ascent
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Total descent
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Max elevation
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Steepest grade
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How Route Elevation Profile works
- List your route's waypoints as
distance,elevationpairs, one per line — a sample seven-kilometre route is pre-filled. - The tool sorts the points by distance and draws a filled line chart of elevation against distance as an inline SVG.
- Total ascent and descent are summed segment by segment: every uphill step between two waypoints adds to ascent, every downhill step adds to descent.
- The steepest grade is the largest rise-over-run percentage found across all segments, so you can spot the hardest climb or descent on the route.
Grade for a segment is (elevation change in metres ÷ distance in metres) × 100. A 50m climb over 1km of horizontal distance is a 5% grade — the same math road cyclists and hikers use to judge how hard a section will be.
FAQ
What format do the waypoints need to be in?
One "distance,elevation" pair per line — distance in kilometres from the start of the route, elevation in metres. The tool sorts them by distance automatically, so you can paste them in any order.
How is "steepest grade" calculated?
For each segment between two consecutive waypoints, grade is rise over run: the elevation change divided by the horizontal distance (converted to metres), expressed as a percentage. The tool reports whichever segment has the largest magnitude, positive or negative.
Can I use GPS track data instead of a few waypoints?
Yes — paste as many distance/elevation rows as you have. More points produce a smoother-looking profile; the ascent and descent totals get more accurate the more closely your waypoints follow the actual terrain.
How we compare
| Feature | Online Tool Store | Doing it manually | A generic online tool |
|---|---|---|---|
| No file upload — runs in your browser | ✓ | N/A | ✗ |
| No sign-up required | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Free, no watermark | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
Most elevation-profile tools want a GPX file upload and a mapping account before they'll draw anything. Route Elevation Profile skips both — paste distance/elevation pairs and the chart, ascent, descent, and steepest grade render instantly, in your browser.