WKT vs GeoJSON: What's the Difference?

WKT and GeoJSON describe the same shapes (points, lines and polygons). GeoJSON always uses longitude and latitude; WKT uses whatever coordinate system was agreed, which for web maps is usually the same. WKT writes a shape as one line of text that fits in a spreadsheet cell or a database column; GeoJSON wraps it in JSON with room for properties, which is what web maps, APIs and most GIS tools read.

To turn one into the other, paste it into our free WKT to GeoJSON Converter. It runs in your browser and draws the result on a map, so you can see it lands where it should.

What does the same plot look like in each format?

Here is a 1 hectare planting plot near Tarapoto, in the Peruvian Amazon. In WKT:

POLYGON ((-76.3658 -6.4830, -76.3649 -6.4830, -76.3649 -6.4821, -76.3658 -6.4821, -76.3658 -6.4830))

The same plot in GeoJSON, with two properties a field team would record:

{
  "type": "Feature",
  "properties": { "plot": "P-014", "planted_on": "2025-11-20" },
  "geometry": {
    "type": "Polygon",
    "coordinates": [[
      [-76.3658, -6.4830], [-76.3649, -6.4830], [-76.3649, -6.4821],
      [-76.3658, -6.4821], [-76.3658, -6.4830]
    ]]
  }
}

The coordinates are identical. In both, longitude comes first, and the polygon's last point repeats the first to close the ring. WKT separates the two numbers of a point with a space and the points with commas; GeoJSON puts each point in its own brackets.

What is the difference between WKT and GeoJSON?

The practical difference is properties. A WKT string knows the boundary of a site and nothing else. A GeoJSON feature can carry the site's name, species and planting date with it, so it can travel as one file.

When should you use WKT?

Use WKT when shapes live next to other data in rows:

• A spreadsheet of sites. One row per site, one cell with its boundary. Restoration projects often start this way, in Google Sheets, Excel or Airtable. When we import a project's spreadsheet into Restoration Scope, a WKT column can become each site's boundary on the map.
• A database. PostGIS reads it with ST_GeomFromText and writes it with ST_AsText.
• Copying from QGIS. Copying features gives you their WKT, ready to paste into a cell or a message.

Watch the size of the cell. Excel holds 32,767 characters per cell and Google Sheets 50,000. A boundary walked with a phone can have 1,000 points; at six decimals that is about 22,000 characters, close to Excel's limit.

When should you use GeoJSON?

Use GeoJSON when a shape has to travel with what it describes:

• Web maps and apps. MapLibre, Leaflet, Mapbox and most mapping libraries take it directly.
• Sharing with partners. One file holds every site with its properties. Anyone can open it in QGIS, ArcGIS or geojson.io.
• EU Deforestation Regulation statements. The EU's information system takes plot geolocation as GeoJSON in WGS84, longitude first, and keeps six decimal places (EUDR GeoJSON file description).

What format do carbon registries want for project boundaries?

Neither WKT nor GeoJSON, usually. Verra asks every VCS project for a geolocation file in KML or KMZ, in WGS84 decimal degrees, at registration and again at verification whenever boundaries change (Geolocation File Requirements v5.0, June 2026). The file has a fixed folder structure, attributes for each instance, such as implementation date and area in hectares, and polygons that do not cross or overlap. Gold Standard asks smallholder forestry projects for digital polygons of each plot.

WKT and GeoJSON are still where most boundaries live before that: in the project's spreadsheet, database or web map. Check them there, then export to KML. In QGIS, use Export, then Save Features As, and pick KML. With GDAL: ogr2ogr -f KML project_area.kml sites.geojson.

Why does my shape land in the wrong place?

Almost always for one of three reasons:

• Latitude and longitude are swapped. Both formats expect longitude first. Swap the plot above and it lands at latitude -76, in Antarctica. If your shape appears in the ocean or at the poles, the source wrote latitude first.
• The numbers are not degrees. Values like 349027 9283255 are UTM metres, not longitude and latitude. Convert them first with the UTM to Lat/Long Converter, or read what UTM coordinates are.
• The ring is not closed. A polygon's last point must repeat its first. Some tools close it for you; others reject the shape.

How do you convert WKT to GeoJSON?

For one shape or a few:

1. Open the WKT to GeoJSON Converter.
2. Paste a WKT string. A bare list of coordinates works too: choose whether it is a polygon, a line or a point.
3. Copy the GeoJSON, and check the shape on the map.

It works the other way too: paste GeoJSON and copy the WKT. Nothing is uploaded; the conversion happens in your browser.

For a whole spreadsheet, use a GIS tool. In QGIS, add the CSV as a delimited text layer with the WKT column as its geometry, then export it as GeoJSON. From the command line, GDAL does the same: ogr2ogr -f GeoJSON sites.geojson sites.csv -oo GEOM_POSSIBLE_NAMES=wkt.