How to Draw a Radius on Google Maps

The simplest way to get a radius on a map is to skip Google Maps entirely and use a tool built specifically for this purpose.

How to do it:

1. Open Map With Radius (or any radius tool — we explain why we built ours below).
2. Type your address, city, or zip code in the search bar.
3. Enter your desired radius distance (e.g., 10 miles, 5 km).
4. The circle appears instantly on the map.

Why this works best: The tool is purpose-built for radius drawing. You get address search, adjustable circles, multiple radii, and shareable links — all the features Google Maps doesn't offer. The map uses OpenStreetMap tiles, which show the same streets, landmarks, and geographic detail you'd see on Google Maps.

Limitation: The map tiles look different from Google Maps. If you specifically need the Google Maps visual style or satellite imagery, see Methods 2 and 3 below.

This method creates a circle in a KML file and imports it into Google My Maps. It's the only way to display a radius directly on a Google Map.

How to do it:

1. Generate a KML circle. You need a KML file containing a circle polygon. You can create one using our tool (draw your radius → click Export KML) or use a KML circle generator.
2. Open Google My Maps. Go to mymaps.google.com and sign in with your Google account. Click “Create a new map.”
3. Import the KML file. Click “Import” in the left panel, then upload your KML file. The circle will appear on the Google Map.
4. Adjust styling. Click the circle to change its fill color, border color, and opacity.

Limitations:

• Requires a Google account.
• You must generate the KML file externally first — Google My Maps cannot create circles from scratch.
• The circle is a polygon approximation (typically 360 points), not a true geometric circle. At small scales this is indistinguishable, but at very small radii the edges may appear slightly angular.
• You cannot easily resize the circle after import. To change the radius, you need to generate a new KML file and re-import it.
• Google My Maps has a limit of 10 layers and 2,000 features per layer.

If you're a developer building a web application, the Google Maps JavaScript API has a google.maps.Circle class that renders a radius circle programmatically.

Example code:

const map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById("map"), {
  center: { lat: 40.7128, lng: -74.0060 },
  zoom: 11,
});

new google.maps.Circle({
  map: map,
  center: { lat: 40.7128, lng: -74.0060 },
  radius: 16093, // radius in meters (10 miles ≈ 16,093 m)
  fillColor: "#4285F4",
  fillOpacity: 0.2,
  strokeColor: "#4285F4",
  strokeWeight: 2,
});

Limitations:

• Requires a Google Cloud account and API key.
• Requires JavaScript coding knowledge.
• Google Maps Platform charges $7 per 1,000 map loads after a $200 monthly free credit. For a personal project this may be free, but for a public website it adds up quickly.
• This is a development tool, not an end-user solution. Regular users searching “how to draw a radius on Google Maps” are looking for a ready-made tool, not a code snippet.

For reference, Google's official documentation on the Circle class: Google Maps JavaScript API — Circles

Google Maps is designed primarily for navigation — getting directions from A to B. Features like radius drawing, area measurement, and zone visualization fall outside its core use case.

Google My Maps (the customization layer) supports markers, lines, and polygons, but not circles. The Google Maps mobile app has a basic distance measurement tool (tap and hold to drop a pin, then select “Measure distance”), but this only measures point-to-point distance, not a radius in all directions.

Google has not publicly commented on why a radius feature has not been added. Third-party tools have filled this gap for over a decade — FreeMapTools has offered radius drawing since 2011, and MapDevelopers has been another popular option. Our tool, Map With Radius, is a more modern alternative built on open-source mapping technology.

A 10-mile radius draws a perfect circle, but you can't actually reach every point inside that circle by road. Mountains, rivers, highways, and one-way streets all affect real-world accessibility. If you need to know what you can realistically reach, use our drive time map instead.