Guide
How to measure land area with your phone
A phone is enough to measure a field, a plot or a garden. Here are the three ways to do it, and when to use each.
Which way to choose
| Way | Best for | Precision |
|---|---|---|
| On the satellite map | A field you can see from above, from home | A few metres, depends on the image |
| Walking around it | Land under trees, or a boundary you must follow | Depends on the GPS signal; the ± tells you |
| Corner by corner | A plot with few corners, on site | The best on the ground |
1. On the satellite map, without moving
- Install Distance Measure Pro from Google Play and open it.
- In the search bar, type the village, the address or the coordinates of the land.
- In the panel at the bottom, tap Change and choose Drawn area. The drawing map opens on satellite view.
- Zoom in, put the crosshair on a corner and tap +; go round the plot. The area appears in the middle, each side shows its length.
- Tap Save: the result stays on screen, ready to share as a picture or a PDF.
2. Walking around it
- Choose Area on foot and press Start at a corner.
- Walk along the boundary at a steady pace, phone in hand or in a pocket.
- Back at the start, the loop closes; press Stop and save.
3. Corner by corner
Choose Corner by corner, walk to each corner, stand still a few seconds and tap Place corner 1, Place corner 2… The app averages your position at each corner; see Corner by corner.
Read the result in your unit
Tap the area to switch between acres, hectares, square feet or a local unit such as guntha or bigha — see converting land units.
How far to trust it
For a garden, a field or a plot to buy, the result is good enough to plan, quote or compare. For a legal boundary, only a licensed surveyor counts. More in How accurate is GPS area measurement.
