How to Plot Coordinates from Excel on a Map

Updated 3 October 2026

You can turn a spreadsheet of latitudes and longitudes into a clean map in about five minutes. Save your list as an Excel or CSV file, import it into PinCountryMap, check the preview and download the image. No account and no software needed.

Before you start: what your spreadsheet needs

Every place gets its own row, and every row needs at least a latitude and a longitude. A name makes the map readable, and a category lets you colour groups differently. A tidy sheet has these columns:

• Name: Faisal Mosque
• Latitude: 33.7295
• Longitude: 73.0372
• Category: Landmark (optional)

Put the headers in the first row. PinCountryMap looks for column names that start with name, lat, lon (or lng, long) and category. If yours are called something else, you can match them by hand in the preview.

Step 1: Get the coordinates into the right shape

Latitude measures north and south and runs from -90 to 90. Longitude measures east and west and runs from -180 to 180. Latitude always comes first, and this is where most mistakes start.

Decimal degrees or degrees-minutes-seconds

Both work. 33.7295 and 33°43'46"N describe the same latitude. Decimal numbers are easier to keep in a spreadsheet, so use them if you can, but you do not have to convert anything. PinCountryMap reads degrees-minutes-seconds and N, S, E, W letters directly.

Mistakes that break an import

• Swapped columns. If your latitude column shows 73 and your longitude column shows 33, they are probably the wrong way round. Latitude can never go past 90.
• Missing minus signs. A point in the western or southern hemisphere needs a negative number or an S or W letter. Without it, the point lands on the wrong side of the world.
• Text in number cells. A unit, a stray symbol or a note like "approx" can stop a value from being read.
• Two values in one cell. A comma used as a decimal point (33,7295) is understood, but a latitude and longitude squeezed into a single cell will be rejected.
• Blank rows and merged cells. Delete them first so every row is one place.

Step 2: Import the file

Open PinCountryMap and find Import from Excel or CSV in the side panel. Drop your file onto the box, or click it to browse. Excel files (.xlsx and .xls) and CSV files both work. If your workbook has several sheets, choose the right one from the Sheet menu in the preview. If you would rather start from a ready-made layout, there is a link to download a CSV template.

Step 3: Read the preview before you commit

A preview window lists your rows, each with a tick or the reason it failed. Problem rows are highlighted, with plain messages such as "Latitude must be between -90 and 90". The preview shows the first 300 rows, but every row is checked.

Look at the column menus at the top. If PinCountryMap guessed wrong, choose the correct column for name, latitude, longitude and category, and the table updates at once.

Rows that pass can be imported while the bad ones are skipped. You can also download an error report as a CSV file, fix those rows in your spreadsheet and import again. For a long list this is much quicker than hunting through the sheet by eye.

A quick way to catch typos: choose a country first

If all your places are in one country, select that country in the Country box before importing. Any row that falls outside its borders is flagged. This is the fastest way to find a swapped latitude and longitude or a missing minus sign, because those errors land a long way from home.

Step 4: Style the map so it reads well

• Choose a map view. Light is clean for slides and reports, Satellite helps when the surroundings matter, and Terrain shows hills and rivers.
• Pick a marker shape and size. Smaller markers work better when you have hundreds of points.
• Colour by category. If you have a Category column, tick Colour by category and choose a colour for each group.
• Be careful with names. Turn on Show names on map when the list is short. On a long list, names pile up. If you do use them, press Auto-arrange names and then drag any stragglers into place.
• Add extras. A legend, north arrow or scale bar helps if your readers need them.

Step 5: Download your map

Pan and zoom until the frame shows what you want, then choose a quality. Standard matches the screen, High quality doubles the resolution and Print quality triples it. Use High quality for slides and Print quality for posters or documents. Map credits are added to the image automatically.

It is worth saving the project file as well. It remembers your marker positions, styles and settings, so you can reopen it later instead of starting from scratch.

Common questions

Can I plot addresses instead of coordinates?

Not directly. PinCountryMap plots latitude and longitude. If you only have addresses, convert them to coordinates with a geocoding tool first, then import the result.

Is my spreadsheet uploaded anywhere?

No. The file is read in your browser, and your data does not go to our servers. The privacy policy explains the details.

How many rows can I plot?

Lists of a few hundred places are fine. Beyond that a map gets crowded anyway, so consider splitting a very long list by region or category and making one map for each.

Ready to try it? Open the map tool and drop in your file. If you are planning a trip rather than mapping data, read the guide to creating a shareable itinerary map. To focus on one country and shade its cities, see how to highlight a country and its cities.