A mountain-silhouette elevation chart for any route

Metre2 Elevation Profile Viewer

Trace a route on a real OpenStreetMap map - search or click to add points, drag them into order - and see its elevation as a shaded mountain-silhouette chart, with distance markers and gain/loss stats pulled live from the free Open-Elevation API.

Metre2 Elevation Profile Viewer's Viewer tab showing a route from Zermatt to the Gornergrat, with a numbered point list on the left, a map with a route line and numbered pins on the right, and a shaded mountain-silhouette elevation chart with distance and gain/loss stats below the map

Elevation Profile Viewer, in practice

A second Viewer route up Snowdon, the Routes tab's saved-route cards, and the Settings tab's units and data-source disclaimer.

Real map, real place search

Search any address or place name to drop a point with Nominatim geocoding, or click straight on the map (Leaflet with OpenStreetMap tiles) - no need to know coordinates.

Live elevation, not a flat guess

Every point along your route is queried against the free Open-Elevation public API. There's no offline fallback - if it can't be reached, the app shows a clear error rather than a made-up estimate.

Shaded mountain-silhouette chart

The elevation profile renders as a filled area chart with distance markers along the bottom, so you can see exactly where the climbs and descents fall along the route.

Distance, gain, loss and extremes at a glance

A stat strip shows total distance, total elevation gain, total elevation loss, and the route's highest and lowest points - no scrolling through raw numbers to work it out yourself.

Drag to reorder points

Drag any point up or down the list to change the route order - the map, chart and stats all recalculate immediately, including a fresh elevation fetch.

Save multiple routes

Keep more than one route and switch between them from a Routes tab, each shown as a card with its own mini elevation thumbnail - duplicate a route to try a variation without losing the original.

Metric/imperial units, light/dark theme

Choose kilometres and metres or miles and feet, and switch between a light or dark theme that remembers your choice.

Your routes stay on your device

Every route persists in local storage, not on a server. Only map tiles, place search and elevation lookups go out over the internet - your saved routes are never uploaded anywhere.

A reference tool, not a navigation app

No GPS tracking, offline maps or turn-by-turn guidance - this is for seeing what a route's climbs and descents look like, before you go or after you're back.

How it compares to a fitness app or a spreadsheet

Most people either dig through a fitness app's activity history for a past route's elevation, or draw one out by hand before a trip. Here's how a dedicated elevation profile viewer compares.

Feature Elevation Profile Viewer A fitness/GPS app Drawing it out by hand
Pricing model Free Free, often with paid tiers for extra data Free
Plan a route before you've walked it (usually built from a recorded activity) (roughly)
Real elevation data, not a guess (Open-Elevation)
Save and switch between multiple routes
No account, no GPS tracking required (usually needs an account and a recorded track)

General comparison as of August 2026. Not affiliated with Open-Elevation, OpenStreetMap or any fitness tracking service.

Frequently asked questions

Where does the elevation data come from?

The map is Leaflet with OpenStreetMap tiles, place search uses the free Nominatim geocoder, and elevation for every point along your route comes from the free Open-Elevation public API. Unlike the driving-distance fallback in some of our other apps, there's no sensible offline estimate for elevation - if Open-Elevation can't be reached, the app shows a clear error instead of guessing.

Is this a GPS tracking or navigation app?

No. There's no GPS tracking, no offline maps and no turn-by-turn guidance - it's a planning and reference tool for seeing what a route's climbs and descents look like before you go, or for reviewing one afterwards.

How do I build a route?

Search a place name or click on the map to add a point, then drag points up or down the list to reorder them. Add as many points as you like - the elevation profile and stats refresh whenever the route changes.

What stats does it show?

Total distance, total elevation gain, total elevation loss, and the highest and lowest points on the route, alongside a shaded mountain-silhouette chart with distance markers along the bottom.

Does it cost anything, and is there a usage cap?

The app is free, and it runs on OpenStreetMap tiles plus the free Open-Elevation and Nominatim public services, which have no per-user cost for reasonable personal use.

Where does my route data go?

Every route you save persists on your device via local storage. Only map tiles, place search and elevation lookups go out over the internet - your saved routes themselves are never uploaded anywhere.

Ready to try Elevation Profile Viewer?