GPX Simplifier

About this tool

Large GPX tracks slow down map apps, syncing, and route sharing. This tool reduces the number of <trkpt> points with the Douglas-Peucker algorithm: endpoints are always kept, then the algorithm keeps only the intermediate points needed to stay within your chosen tolerance in meters.

The result is a clean GPX 1.1 document. Elevation and time values on kept points are preserved, and the summary output lets you preview how many points would be removed before exporting.

Worked example

Input:

<gpx><trk><trkseg>
<trkpt lat="0" lon="0"><ele>1</ele><time>2026-08-06T00:00:00Z</time></trkpt>
<trkpt lat="0" lon="0.0001"></trkpt>
<trkpt lat="0.001" lon="0.001"></trkpt>
<trkpt lat="0" lon="0.002"></trkpt>
</trkseg></trk></gpx>

With a 50 m tolerance the jitter point near the start is dropped while the bend and both endpoints remain:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<gpx version="1.1" creator="gpx-simplify" xmlns="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1">
  <trk>
    <trkseg>
      <trkpt lat="0" lon="0">
        <ele>1</ele>
        <time>2026-08-06T00:00:00Z</time>
      </trkpt>
      <trkpt lat="0.001" lon="0.001"></trkpt>
      <trkpt lat="0" lon="0.002"></trkpt>
    </trkseg>
  </trk>
</gpx>

Switching the output to Summary only previews the same run without exporting XML:

GPX simplify: 4 → 3 points (25.0% removed)
Tolerance: 50 m
Distance before: 318.0 m
Distance after: 314.5 m

Raising the tolerance to 200 m removes the bend as well (4 → 2 points), because the bend sits only about 111 m off the straight line between the endpoints.

Limits and edge cases

• The parser focuses on GPX track points (<trkpt lat="…" lon="…">). Routes (<rtept>) and waypoints (<wpt>) are not simplified.
• All <trkpt> points in the document are treated as one continuous path and written back as a single <trk>/<trkseg>. Multi-track or multi-segment files are flattened, so split them first if segment boundaries matter.
• The input must contain at least two track points; a file with one point (or none) returns an error instead of an empty track.
• Elevation (<ele>) and timestamp (<time>) are preserved for points that remain; other nested extension metadata is not copied.
• Distances use a local spherical/equirectangular approximation, which is appropriate for normal GPS tracks but not survey-grade geodesy.
• A tolerance of 0 keeps every bend; higher tolerances shrink the file more aggressively.