File Conversion
Convert FGB to SHP online
Convert FlatGeobuf — a fast, streamable binary format built for large datasets — into Esri Shapefile, which is the Esri format used by ArcGIS and QGIS — really a set of files (.shp, .dbf, .prj, …) bundled in a .zip. Drop your FGB file below, SHP is already selected as the output, and download the result. Everything runs in your browser and the cloud; you never install anything.
Upload your file
Drag and drop it into the converter below — no account needed to start.
Convert in the cloud
MapGO detects the format and produces your download in seconds.
Download & keep it
Files are deleted automatically after 48 hours.
Files are deleted automatically after 48 hours. Your files are never shared.
Why convert FGB to SHP with MapGO?
Most online converters take one file and hand back one file. MapGO is built on a real geospatial engine, so a single upload can do more:
- Several outputs in one upload — tick SHP and any other formats you need; every selected format is delivered from the same file.
- Files up to 5 GB — far beyond the browser-based converters that choke past a few hundred megabytes.
- Reproject while you convert — set a source and target EPSG code and the coordinate system is changed during the conversion, no second tool needed.
- Private by default — files are deleted automatically after 48 hours.
FGB vs SHP at a glance
| FGB | SHP | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical use | Large datasets streamed to web maps; cloud-native data pipelines | Desktop GIS in ArcGIS/QGIS; the long-time industry exchange format |
| Size on disk | Compact binary with a built-in spatial index | Large — several sidecar files, no compression, 2 GB per-file cap |
| Attribute support | Full attribute tables | Limited: column names max 10 characters, no lists or nesting |
| Software support | GDAL/QGIS, plus web libraries via the flatgeobuf JS package | Universal in GIS software; web libraries can’t read it directly |
| Web-friendliness | Excellent — streams over plain HTTP range requests | Poor — must be converted before use in a web map |
Other ways to convert FGB to SHP
You don't need an online tool for this. If you have GDAL installed, one command does it:
ogr2ogr -f "ESRI Shapefile" output.shp input.fgbIn QGIS (free): open your FGB via Layer → Add Layer, then right-click the layer → Export → Save Features As… and pick SHP as the format.
The MapGO converter above is for when you don't want to install anything, need to convert to several formats at once, or are handling files too large for a desktop machine — drop the file and download the result.
FGB to SHP: frequently asked questions
Is the FGB to SHP converter free?
Yes — new accounts get free conversion credits to start, and every paid plan converts unlimited files within its size limit. There is nothing to install; the whole FGB-to-SHP conversion runs in the cloud.
Is my data kept private?
Conversion is fully automated and your file is never shared. Files are deleted automatically after 48 hours. Download your SHP result and it's yours to keep.
What will the shapefile download look like?
Because a shapefile is made of several files, your result is delivered as a single .zip containing the .shp, .shx, .dbf and .prj — ready to open in ArcGIS or QGIS.
Why is the output so much bigger than my .fgb file?
FlatGeobuf is a compact binary format, while text formats like GeoJSON spell everything out — a size increase after conversion is normal and the data is identical. Gzip the text output when serving it and most of the difference disappears.
Why did my column names change in the shapefile output?
Shapefiles store attributes in a .dbf table that caps field names at 10 characters, so longer names are truncated during conversion — the same thing ArcGIS and QGIS do when saving a shapefile. If you need long field names, GeoPackage is the better target format.
Can I convert SHP back to FGB?
Yes — use our SHP to FGB converter for the reverse direction. MapGO supports conversions in both directions between these formats.