Map zoom level converter
Convert a web map’s zoom level to ground resolution in meters per pixel and to a map scale, or find the zoom for a resolution.
That's 2× as detailed as zoom 16 (streets), while zoom 12 (a city) is 8× coarser. At latitude 45° that is about 3.378 m per pixel.
What it means
How much ground per pixel?
At the equator, for 256-pixel Web Mercator tiles; multiply by the cosine of the latitude elsewhere. Map scale assumes a 96 dpi screen.
Every unit
That zoom in every unit
Learn
Three things worth knowing
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Halve per level
Each zoom level halves meters per pixel: 10 → 153 m, 15 → 4.8 m, 20 → 15 cm.
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Google’s tiles
Google Maps launched the 256-pixel tile scheme in 2005; OpenStreetMap and most web maps adopted the same grid, EPSG:3857.
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Not the same everywhere
In London (51°N) zoom 15 is about 3 m per pixel, not 4.8.
Shortcuts
Popular map resolution conversions
Background
About map zoom levels
Web maps cut the world into 256-pixel tiles. At zoom 0 the whole world fits in one tile, 156,543 m per pixel at the equator; each zoom level halves that. Zoom 15 is about 4.8 m per pixel, enough to see houses; zoom 19 is 30 cm.
Web Mercator stretches the map away from the equator, so the real resolution is that figure times the cosine of the latitude.