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Plus Codes, what3words, and GPS coordinates: which to use

· 5 min read

There is more than one way to name a place. Classic GPS coordinates, Google's Plus Codes, and what3words all point at the same spots on Earth — they just package the location differently. Here is how they compare.

GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude)

The universal standard: two numbers like 40.7128, -74.0060. Every map, GPS device, spreadsheet, and mapping API understands them, and they work entirely offline since they are pure maths, not a lookup. The trade-off is that they are hard to read aloud or remember.

  • Best for: anything technical, precise, or cross-platform.
  • Weakness: not friendly to speak or recall.

Plus Codes (Open Location Code)

Created by Google and free and open, a Plus Code compresses coordinates into a short code like 87G8Q2MJ+2V, optionally with a town name. Shorter codes cover a larger area and longer ones pin a few square metres. They are generated by an algorithm, so they work offline and need no account.

  • Best for: addressing places that have no street address.
  • Weakness: still a bit cryptic to read out.

what3words

what3words divides the world into 3-metre squares and gives each a unique trio of dictionary words, like filled.count.soap. It is genuinely easy to say over the phone — its big strength — but it is a proprietary system that depends on the company's lookup to translate words back to a location.

  • Best for: reading a precise spot aloud to another person.
  • Weakness: proprietary, needs a lookup, no offline maths.

Which should you use?

  • Feeding data into apps, devices, or code → GPS coordinates.
  • Naming an address-less place in an open, free format → Plus Codes.
  • Saying a precise point out loud → what3words.

The common denominator

Under the hood, all three resolve to the same latitude and longitude — coordinates are the lingua franca everything else is built on. That is why a tool that gives you clean coordinates travels everywhere. Find yours with My Location, copy them in decimal or DMS, and convert to any other system from there.