Map Grid Generator — Create an Equal-Size Grid Over Any Area Online

Type four coordinates or click two corners on the map to set a bounding box, then choose a cell size in meters or an exact number of rows and columns. The tool builds an equal-size grid over your box and lets you download it as polygons or as grid lines, fast, in your browser, with no extra program needed. Open in full screen ↗

What Is a Map Grid Generator?

A map grid, also called a fishnet or a reference grid, is a set of equal-size rectangular cells laid over an area, each one a separate shape with its own row and column position. Surveyors, urban planners, and field researchers use grids like this to break a large area into smaller, equally sized units for sampling, numbering, or dividing up fieldwork. This tool builds that grid for you: set a bounding box, choose how big each cell should be, or how many rows and columns you want, and it draws the finished grid directly on the map.

Common Questions

How is cell size in meters converted to a box drawn in latitude and longitude?

The tool converts your meters value to degrees using your box's center latitude, since a degree of longitude covers a different real-world distance depending on how far from the equator you are. This is a standard approximation used by most simple grid tools, accurate enough for sampling, planning and reference grids.

What is the difference between the Polygons and Lines downloads?

Polygons gives you one closed shape per cell, useful when you want to treat each cell as its own zone or sampling unit. Lines gives you the row and column boundaries as a compact set of straight lines, useful as a reference overlay rather than separate areas.

Why is the last row or column sometimes a different size?

This only happens in Cell Size mode, when your box's width or height doesn't divide evenly by the cell size you chose. The last row and column are clipped to the box edge so the grid always covers your exact box, rather than spilling past it.

Can I change the grid's color after generating it?

Yes. Use the color picker, Line Thickness slider and Fill Opacity slider in the sidebar at any time. Changes apply instantly to the grid already on the map, and are included the next time you download it.

What is a "fishnet" grid?

It's another common name for exactly this kind of layer: a set of equal-size rectangular cells covering an area, arranged in rows and columns like a net. GIS software and this tool use "grid" and "fishnet" to mean the same thing.

What is the difference between the Cell Size and Rows & Columns modes?

Cell Size lets you fix how big each cell is in real-world meters or kilometers, and the tool works out how many rows and columns fit. Rows & Columns lets you fix the grid count instead, and the tool works out the cell size needed to divide your box evenly.

Does the grid follow the curve of the Earth?

The grid is built directly in latitude and longitude, so very large boxes (continental scale or larger) will show some distortion, the same way any flat map does. For local, regional and most country-scale areas, this has no meaningful effect on cell size or shape.

Is my data uploaded to a server?

No. Setting the box, building the grid, and generating the export files all happen locally in your browser. Nothing is sent to or stored on a server.

How many grid cells can I generate?

Up to 10,000 cells in one grid. If your settings would create more than that, the tool tells you so and suggests using a larger cell size or fewer rows and columns.

Can I set the bounding box by clicking instead of typing coordinates?

Yes. Click "Pick Corners on Map", then click one corner of your area and click the opposite corner. The box appears immediately and the coordinate fields update to match it.

See Cell Details by Clicking

Click any cell on the map and a popup opens showing its row and column position, its width and height in meters, and its area in hectares. The clicked cell also gets a bright highlight outline, so you always know exactly which one the popup belongs to.

Two Ways to Set Your Bounding Box

Get a box on the map with whichever method suits you:

Type coordinates: Enter North, South, East and West values in the sidebar and click "Set Box From Coordinates". This is the fastest way to recreate a box you already have written down.
Click two corners on the map: Click "Pick Corners on Map", then click one corner of your area and click the opposite corner. The box appears instantly, and the coordinate fields fill in below.

Two Ways to Download Your Grid

The Export section offers two different GeoJSON shapes for the same grid, since different tools and workflows expect different formats:

Polygons (GeoJSON): every cell as its own closed polygon feature, tagged with a row, column, ID, width, height and area. This is the format most GIS software expects for a grid you plan to use as separate zones or sampling units.
Lines (GeoJSON): the grid as a set of straight line features, one for every row boundary and one for every column boundary, spanning the full width or height of the grid. This compact "fishnet lines" format is the standard shape used when a grid is meant as a reference overlay rather than a set of separate areas.

Both files open without problems in QGIS, ArcGIS, Leaflet, Mapbox GL JS, and practically every modern mapping tool.

Watch: Map Grid Generator in Under a Minute

Prefer to watch instead of read? This short walkthrough covers drawing an area, setting a grid cell size, generating the grid, and exporting it.

Step by Step

Step 1

Open the tool

The map opens on a world view with no box yet. The toolbar at the top has Pick Corners on Map, Sample Box and a basemap switch. The sidebar holds the coordinate fields, grid size settings, style controls and export buttons.

Step 2

Set your bounding box

Click "Pick Corners on Map" and click two opposite corners, or type North, South, East and West values and click "Set Box From Coordinates".

Step 3

Choose a sizing mode

Click "Cell Size" to set an exact width and height in meters or kilometers, or click "Rows & Columns" to set an exact grid count instead.

Step 4

Enter your size values

Type the cell width and height, or the number of rows and columns, depending on which mode you picked.

Step 5

Click Generate Grid

The tool builds the grid and zooms the map to fit it. The sidebar's Grid Info panel shows the row and column count, total cells, and cell size.

Step 6

Click a cell for details

Click any cell on the map to open a popup with its row, column, size and area. The clicked cell gets a bright highlight outline.

Step 7

Adjust the style if you like

Pick a new color, and use the Line Thickness and Fill Opacity sliders to change how the grid looks.

Step 8

Change your mind? Regenerate

Edit the box or the size settings, and a notice reminds you to click Generate Grid again to refresh the result.

Step 9

Download your grid

Click "Download Polygons (GeoJSON)" for one shape per cell, or "Download Lines (GeoJSON)" for the grid as row and column boundary lines.

Two Ways to Size Your Grid

Switch between these two modes with the buttons above the size fields, depending on what you already know:

Cell Size: type a width and height in meters or kilometers. The tool works out how many rows and columns are needed to cover your box, and clips the last row and column to the box edge so the grid never spills past the area you set.
Rows & Columns: type an exact number of rows and columns. The tool divides your box evenly, so every cell comes out exactly the same size, sized to fit your box precisely.

Click "Generate Grid" after changing either mode. If you adjust the box or the size settings afterward, a small notice reminds you to click Generate Grid again to refresh the result.

Changing the Look of Your Grid

Three controls in the sidebar let you restyle the whole grid instantly:

Color: pick any color from the color picker. It applies to every cell's outline and fill at once.
Line Thickness: make the grid lines thinner or thicker, from a hairline to a bold outline.
Fill Opacity: control how solid or see-through the cells are, from fully transparent to a solid wash of color.

Real-World Use Cases

A map grid generator earns its place anywhere an area needs to be broken into equal, numbered units. Here is where it gets used most:

🛩️

Aerial and Drone Survey Planning

Drone operators break a large survey area into equal tiles matching a single flight's coverage, numbering each tile so flights and processed imagery stay organized.

📦

Retail and Delivery Zone Planning

Logistics teams divide a service area into equal cells to compare order density, plan delivery zones, or assign coverage areas to different depots.

🏙️

Urban Planning and Zoning Reference

City planners overlay a reference grid on a map to divide a district into equal blocks for numbering, reporting, or comparing development activity across cells.

🚨

Emergency Response Sector Mapping

Search-and-rescue and disaster response teams divide an area into numbered grid cells to assign search sectors and track which ones have been covered.

🧭

Field Survey Sampling

Ecologists and soil scientists divide a study area into equal cells and visit or sample a set number of them, using the grid to plan routes and keep sample locations evenly spread.

🎓

GIS Teaching and Spatial Analysis

Students and analysts generate a quick reference grid to learn how fishnet layers work, or as a base layer for a spatial join or density analysis exercise.

More Tools You Might Like

Bounding Box Tool

Draw a bounding box by clicking and dragging, or type exact coordinates, then rotate it and export as GeoJSON or a coordinate list.

Points in Polygon Tool

Draw or upload a boundary polygon and a set of points, then instantly split the points into inside and outside groups.

Buffer Zone Generator

Draw or upload points, lines and polygons, then generate buffer zones around them at any distance.

GeoJSON Viewer

Upload, drag & drop, or paste GeoJSON data, then view it on a map, click features for details, and change the color.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors and Protomaps (hosted by KONAKTIVE), CARTO, Esri (satellite). Map rendering by Leaflet. All grid generation is local, no data is uploaded to any server.