LandMeasure How to measure fence line length on iPhone: on the map or by walking it
Tap Measure > Measure Distance, then tap the start, every turn and the end of the fence on the satellite map — or walk it with GPS. Distance sums the straight segments between your points: a run with one corner, sides of 282.4 ft and 255.4 ft, reads 537.8 ft (163.9 m). Measuring costs nothing; exporting the line needs Pro or a rewarded video.
What you get: a demo fence run, open and closed
Take a fence running along two sides of a lot: 3 points on the map, a start, one corner, an end. Here's exactly what the panel shows, computed with the app's own formula.
| Tool | What is added up | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Measure Distance (open line) | Side 1 282.4 ft (86.1 m) + side 2 255.4 ft (77.8 m) | Distance 537.8 ft (163.9 m), Points 3 |
| Measure Area (closed shape) | Both sides plus a closing side of 380.7 ft (116 m) from the end back to the start | Perimeter 918.5 ft (280 m) and Area 36,056.7 ft² (0.83 ac) |
The tool you pick decides the answer, not just a label. A fence stopping at the house or a hedge is open: Measure Distance, never closes. A fence running all the way around a paddock or yard is closed: Measure Area, read Perimeter. Mix them up once and you'll see the gap yourself. With the phone at ±4 m, the open run also carries a GPS margin of ± 18.6 ft (± 5.66 m).
Tap the green checkmark and the line saves as Path 1, counted straight into the project's Total Distance. Change Units in Settings to Feet (ft), Yards (yd) or Meters (m) any time — same run, 179.3 yd instead.
Limits: free vs Pro, and what the number is not
- Free: Measure Distance, Measure Area, Walk Mode, every unit and map style, saved in projects on the phone. The free version holds one measurement per project and shows ads, with no banner on the Map screen.
- Export: GPX, KML, GeoJSON and CSV of a project are Pro, or one file per rewarded video (Watch ad for 1 free export) from the share button on the Map tab. The PDF Report (totals and a table, lengths in meters) is Pro only.
- Not a survey: the app measures the line you draw or walk. It does not know where the legal boundary is, has no parcel data and cannot settle a dispute.
- Flat length, not slope length: the distance is measured as seen from above. On a slope that rises 15 m over 100 m of map length, the ground along the fence is 101.1 m. Add that yourself on hills.
- It does not count posts, panels, rails or wire, and it does not subtract gates.
Why bother over a tape or a web map? You get the length before you ever walk the site, you can double-check it on foot with GPS afterward, and the saved line hands straight to your fencer or into Google Earth as a KML file.
Draw on the map or walk with GPS: when each one drifts
| Tap on the satellite map | Walk it with GPS | |
|---|---|---|
| How | Tap the start, each turn and the end | Tap the walking-figure button, walk the line, tap stop |
| Needs | Internet for the imagery; location can be off | A GPS fix; works with no signal, but no imagery under the line |
| Drifts when | You tap zoomed out, trees hide the fence, or the imagery is offset from the ground | Trees, buildings or a steep bank spoil the fix (fixes worse than 10 m are ignored), or you zigzag around obstacles, which adds length |
| Use it for | Visible runs, planning before a site visit | Runs hidden under trees, or checking a mapped line on foot |
A walked line keeps a point every 2 m at least, so you end up with plenty of segments, and the margin grows with them: at ±4 m, 40 segments walked shows ± 25.3 m. Two or three well-placed taps on clear imagery almost always beat that.
Step by step in LandMeasure
- On the Map tab choose Satellite or Hybrid and zoom in on the fence.
- Tap Measure > Measure Distance. If no project is selected, the New Project sheet opens first.
- Tap the start of the run, every corner where it changes direction, and the end. Or tap the walking-figure button and walk it.
- Fine-tune: drag a white handle to move a point, long-press near a side to insert one, or use Undo.
- If you walked, tap the stop button first. Then tap the green checkmark to save the line.
- Read Distance, and later the project's Total Distance. To send it, open the project and use Export (Pro) or the share button on the Map tab.
Common mistakes
- Using Measure Area for an open run: the closing side is added to Perimeter.
- Tapping the green checkmark while Walk Mode is still recording: the walked points are discarded. Stop first.
- Expecting to edit the line tomorrow: a finished measurement cannot be reopened. Delete it and measure again.
- Reading the number as the length along a sloping ground or as a surveyed boundary.
Questions and answers
How do I calculate fence length for a whole paddock?
Can I measure a fence line without going there?
How accurate is a walked fence line?
Can I export the fence line as KML or GPX?
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