GPX Elevation Profile & Stats

Field guide: GPX Elevation Profile & Stats

Every GPX hides the answers people actually want — how far, how much climbing, how long — behind XML nobody reads. This analyzer parses your file and reports distance (haversine point-to-point), elevation gain and loss, minimum and maximum altitude, recorded duration and moving average speed, plus an elevation profile drawn distance-true (x-axis is cumulative kilometres, not point index — a subtle thing many profile tools get wrong, which distorts where the climbs appear).

Elevation gain is the number everyone argues about, and the reason is GPS noise: barometric watches drift, phone GPS elevation jitters by metres point-to-point, and naively summing every positive wiggle inflates a flat century ride into '900 m of climbing'. This tool smooths elevation with a moving average before summing — the same principle Strava and ridewithgps apply — so the figure lands close to what mapping sites report. Expect honest disagreement of a few percent between any two platforms; if your number differs wildly from a friend's, you now know why. Analysis is fully in-browser; the file never uploads.

Field tips

• Comparing gain across platforms is comparing smoothing algorithms — differences of 5–10% between Strava, Garmin and this tool are normal and don't mean anyone is 'wrong'.
• No elevation in the chart? Your GPX has no <ele> tags — common for files exported from route planners as 'track without elevation'. Distance and duration still compute.
• Duration uses first-to-last timestamp (elapsed, not moving time) — a lunch stop counts. Moving-time analysis needs speed thresholds that are app-territory.

Conversions run locally in your browser and follow the cited specifications. Always verify critical output in the target application; for survey-grade or legal data, confirm coordinate systems and datums with your GIS team.