Convert SHP to KML and show a shapefile to anyone with Google Earth, no GIS install required. The five-part Esri format is stitched together and rewritten locally in your browser.
Drop a file here, or click to browse
KML, KMZ, SHP (.zip), GeoJSON, GPKG, GML, GPX, DXF, CSV, Excel, and more
No Shapefile file to hand? Download a sample Shapefile file (100 points) and drop it above to see the conversion.
Every format stores different things, so a conversion is never perfectly loss-free. Here is exactly what carries over when you convert Shapefile to KML, and what to watch for.
| What | Shapefile → KML | |
|---|---|---|
| Geometry | Kept | Points, lines and polygons are preserved exactly, including multi-part shapes. |
| Attributes | Kept | Every column and full field name moves from Shapefile into KML untouched. |
| Styling & labels | Changes | KML supports styling; features are written with clean default styling and a name label you can restyle in Google Earth. |
| Coordinate system | Changes | KML is defined in WGS84 (EPSG:4326), so data is reprojected to lon/lat on the way out. |
| Elevation (Z) | Kept | 3D Z values carry from Shapefile into KML wherever the source records them. |
| File structure | Kept | A single, self-contained .kml file you can move around on its own. |
A Shapefile is where GIS teams keep parcels, administrative boundaries and utility networks, edited in ArcGIS or QGIS. However, most colleagues do not run desktop GIS. KML solves that. It is the language of Google Earth, so anyone can open your layer and see it draped over satellite imagery. So people convert Shapefile to KML to share finished maps by email or link, to review boundaries against real terrain, and to hand field crews something they can open on a phone. The GIS geometry and labels become clickable placemarks, lines and polygons.
Shapefile records its own coordinate system (in a .prj sidecar or embedded metadata), and the converter reads it automatically, so it knows where your data belongs on the globe.
KML is defined in WGS84 (EPSG:4326), so the output is reprojected to longitude/latitude, exactly what Google Earth and web maps expect. A quick CRS check before you download saves the classic "my Shapefile data is in the wrong place" surprise; the guide on coordinate systems and EPSG codes goes deeper.
Check the .prj file. A Shapefile often sits in a projected national grid, but KML only uses WGS84 longitude and latitude. Without the .prj, coordinates cannot be reprojected and your features land in the wrong place or the ocean. Also keep every part of the Shapefile together, since the .shp, .dbf and .shx must travel as one set.
Shapefile files typically come out of ArcGIS, QGIS, GeoServer, MapInfo. Once you convert to KML, the file opens in Google Earth Pro on the desktop, Google Earth for web, and Google Maps (via My Maps), as well as QGIS and ArcGIS Pro. The KML output follows the standard specification exactly, so those programs read it without any special import settings.
A Shapefile is where analysts keep parcels, boundaries and survey layers inside desktop GIS like ArcGIS or QGIS. KML is what Google Earth reads. Converting one to the other takes a working GIS layer and turns it into something a colleague can open with a double click. The Shapefile carries the geometry plus its .dbf attributes, and KML preserves those as placemark labels and descriptions. In practice, this is how technical map data reaches a non-GIS audience.
Yes. The values from the .dbf table become placemark attributes, so clicking a feature in Google Earth shows the data. Remember Shapefile field names are capped at 10 characters, so any short or truncated names carry through unchanged.
Almost always a coordinate system issue. KML expects WGS84 lon/lat, so the Shapefile must include its .prj file to be reprojected correctly. Without it, the tool cannot know the original projection and placement drifts.
Yes, as long as the .prj file travels with the shapefile. The converter reads that projection and reprojects the coordinates to WGS84 longitude/latitude, which is what Google Earth expects. Without a .prj, the source system is unknown and placemarks can land in the wrong spot.
Each record's .dbf fields become the placemark description in the KML, so clicking a feature in Google Earth shows its values. The Shapefile's 10-character column names carry over as written, because KML places no length limit on field names.
A KML file opens in Google Earth (desktop and web), QGIS and ArcGIS. Because the output follows the standard specification, any tool that supports KML will read it without special settings.
No conversion is perfectly loss-free because each format stores different things, but geometry and attributes are preserved; only presentation-level styling (which KML does not store) is left behind.
