Find the straight-line distance between two points. Enter the coordinates.
Usage Tip
If the points share an x or y value, the distance is just the difference in the other coordinate — no square root needed.
The Pythagorean theorem on the coordinate plane
It gives the length of the straight segment joining them.
The run and rise are the legs of a right triangle; the distance is the hypotenuse.
Distance is always non-negative.
The distance between two points on a plane comes from the Pythagorean theorem. The horizontal difference and the vertical difference between the points form the two legs of a right triangle, and the straight line between the points is the hypotenuse, so the distance is the square root of the sum of the squared differences.
The order of the points does not matter, because squaring removes any negative sign. The formula extends to three dimensions by adding the squared difference in z. Use the same units for all coordinates, and remember that the distance is a straight line and not the length of a path. This formula is used in maps, layouts, and checking the distance between holes or features on a drawing.