A radius map answers a simple question: what falls within a given distance of this spot? The radius tool draws that circle for you. Click a centre — a shop, a depot, a house, a transmitter — move outward until the circle is the size you want, and click again to lock it in.
Once the circle is locked you can type an exact figure in metres instead of eyeballing it, so "a 5 km catchment" really is 5,000 metres rather than roughly that. Drawing circles is free and needs no account.
How it works
The circle is built on the surface of the Earth around the centre you picked, not as a flat shape drawn on the screen, so its edge stays a constant real-world distance from the centre in every direction. The reading you see is the radius, measured from the centre outwards.
Units follow the metric/imperial toggle: kilometres in metric, and miles — or yards for a short radius — in imperial, with nautical miles listed alongside. The exact-radius box is always in metres, regardless of which toggle is selected, and rebuilds the circle around the same centre when you apply it.
How to use the Radius Measurement Tool
- 1
Open the radius tool
Open the MapGO workspace and choose Radius from the Measure tools, then move the map to the place you want at the centre.
- 2
Set the centre
Click once to drop the centre point. A dashed circle then follows your cursor, growing and shrinking as you move away from the centre.
- 3
Lock the circle
Click a second time to fix the radius. The circle stays on the map with its radius labelled. Press Esc before the second click to start over.
- 4
Set an exact radius
Type the radius you actually want into the exact-radius box in metres and apply it. The circle is rebuilt around the same centre at that precise distance.
- 5
Add more circles
Start a new measurement to drop another circle. Each one is its own layer, so you can rename it, give it a different colour, zoom to it or delete it.
What people use it for
Catchment and coverage
Show the area a shop, clinic, depot or transmitter serves within a set distance, and compare two candidate locations side by side.
Delivery and service radius
Draw the distance you are willing to travel for a job or a delivery, then export the circle for a website map or a quote.
Property search
Mark how far from a school, station or office you are prepared to live, and check which neighbourhoods fall inside the ring.
Planning and safety zones
Sketch an exclusion or notification radius around a site at a precise distance in metres for a plan or an application.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I draw an exact radius, like 5 km?
- Lock a rough circle with two clicks first, then type the exact figure into the radius box in metres — 5000 for 5 km — and apply it. The circle is redrawn at that precise distance around the same centre.
- What units is the radius shown in?
- The metric/imperial toggle switches the reading between kilometres and miles, with imperial dropping to yards for a short radius, and nautical miles are shown alongside. The exact-radius input is always in metres.
- Does the tool list the places inside the circle?
- Not this one — it draws and measures the circle. MapGO's Places in a Radius tool is the one that returns every city, town and village inside a radius, and it is linked below.
- Can I have several circles on one map?
- Yes. Each locked circle is kept as its own layer with its own colour and name, so you can compare catchments or show several sites at once.
- Is a radius circle the same as a buffer?
- For a single point, effectively yes. The buffer tool is the more general version: it wraps a zone of a chosen distance around a line or an existing shape as well as around a point.