DMS ↔ Decimal Degrees Converter

Decimal degrees express a coordinate as one signed number, like 40.6892 (positive north/east, negative south/west); DMS splits that same value into whole degrees, minutes (1/60th of a degree), and seconds (1/60th of a minute), paired with a compass letter (N/S/E/W) instead of a sign — both represent the exact same location, just formatted differently.

Decimal degrees are easier for computers and APIs to store and calculate with directly (no need to parse a compound string), while DMS is the traditional format used in navigation, surveying, and many printed maps — most modern consumer GPS apps let you switch between both.

The whole-number part becomes the degrees; the remaining fractional part is multiplied by 60 to get minutes (again split into whole minutes and a fractional remainder), and that remainder is multiplied by 60 again to get seconds.

Yes for this tool's convention — negative latitude values convert to "S" and negative longitude values convert to "W", matching the standard convention where positive values are North and East respectively.

Yes — the second panel accepts degrees, minutes, seconds, and a direction letter for both latitude and longitude, and converts them into the equivalent signed decimal degree values instantly as you type.