Point your phone.
Find your way.
A free, live online compass for your phone. Find true and magnetic north and which way you’re facing, right in your browser.
- Nothing uploaded
- No app to install
- Works offline
- Free forever
How it works
A real compass, powered by your device
Online Compass turns the magnetic sensor already inside your phone into a precise, easy-to-read compass, no hardware, no downloads.
Your device does the sensing
Phones and tablets contain a magnetometer, a tiny electronic compass. Online Compass reads it through your browser’s motion & orientation sensors, no app required.
You grant one-tap access
On iPhone and iPad, tap “Start compass” and allow motion access. On Android it works right away over a secure (https) connection. Permission is per-visit and revocable.
You read your heading
Point the top of your device where you’re facing. The dial rotates so north stays north, and the readout shows your exact heading in degrees and its cardinal direction.
Accuracy & calibration
True north, magnetic north, and getting a sharp reading
A magnetic compass points to magnetic north, which drifts over time and sits a few degrees off from the geographic North Pole. That offset, magnetic declination, depends on where you are.
Tap True north and Online Compass calculates your local declination with the current World Magnetic Model, giving a geographically accurate heading.
Calibrate with a figure-8
Wave your device in a figure-8 a few times to reset the magnetometer if readings drift.
Avoid interference
Keep clear of magnets, speakers, laptops, cars and steel, they bend the magnetic field.
True vs magnetic
Switch references any time. iOS reports true north natively; elsewhere we correct with declination.
Your coordinates
Optionally read your latitude and longitude, computed locally and never sent anywhere.
What is an online compass?
An online compass is a compass you use directly in a web browser instead of carrying a separate physical instrument or installing an app. It works by reading the magnetometer, the small magnetic-field sensor built into virtually every modern smartphone and tablet, and translating that reading into a heading you can see on screen. Because the sensor is already in your pocket, an online compass gives you a genuine, working compass anywhere you have a browser.
How to use Online Compass
Open this page on your phone, tap Start compass, and allow access to motion and orientation when prompted. Hold your device flat, roughly parallel to the ground, and point the top edge in the direction you want to measure. The dial rotates so that north stays fixed to real-world north, and the number in the centre is your current heading in degrees: 0° is north, 90° is east, 180° is south and270° is west.
Which way is north?
North is 0° (and 360°) on the compass. When your heading reads close to zero, the top of your device is pointing north. The four cardinaldirections sit 90° apart, north, east, south and west, and the intercardinaldirections (northeast, southeast, southwest, northwest) fall halfway between them. Online Compass shows the nearest 16-point direction, such as NNW orESE, alongside the exact degrees.
Which direction am I facing?
To find out which direction you are facing, hold your phone flat and point its top edge the way you are looking. Online Compass gives you a livereading of your heading, so the instant you turn, the direction updates. Face a wall, a window or a street and read the label, north, south, east, west, or a 16-point direction such as NNE, to know exactly what way you are facing right now.
Do all phones have a compass?
Most modern smartphones include a magnetometer and can act as a compass, but not all do, some budget devices omit it. If your phone lacks the sensor, or you’re on a laptop or desktop without one, Online Compass detects this and switches to an interactive mode so you can still explore directions and read your coordinates. For a live magnetic reading you’ll need a device with a magnetometer.
How to find north without a compass
If your device can’t sense direction, you can still orient yourself using the sun. In the Northern Hemisphere the sun rises roughly in the east, sits due south around midday, and sets roughly in the west. Point the hour hand of an analog watch at the sun; halfway between the hour hand and 12 o’clock points south. At night, the North Star (Polaris) marks true north. These methods are approximate, but useful when no sensor is available.
Qibla, Vastu and other directions
Because Online Compass reads true and magnetic north, you can use it for any direction task. For prayer, switch to True north and face theQibla direction for your city. For arranging a home, the eight compass directions are the basis ofVastu Shastra, so a compass is the first step when you check a kitchen, entrance or sleeping direction. And if you just want to knowwhich direction you are facing, the live readout tells you instantly.
Questions
Frequently asked
Everything about using the compass, accuracy and privacy.
How does an online compass work?
It reads your device’s built-in magnetometer through the browser’s DeviceOrientation sensors and converts the magnetic field reading into a heading in degrees. The dial rotates so that north always points to real-world north, and a fixed marker at the top shows the direction you are currently facing.
Do I need to install an app?
No. Online Compass runs entirely in your web browser. There is nothing to download, no account to create, and no permissions beyond a one-tap request to read your device’s orientation sensor.
Does the compass work on a laptop or desktop?
It depends on the hardware. Many 2-in-1 and convertible laptops include a magnetometer and work automatically. Most regular laptops and desktops do not have one and cannot sense magnetic north, no website can change that. On those, Online Compass shows your coordinates and calculates exactly where the sun is right now, so you can orient the dial by the sun; for a live magnetic reading, open the site on a phone or tablet.
What is the difference between magnetic north and true north?
Magnetic north is where a compass needle points; true (geographic) north is the direction of the North Pole. The angle between them is called magnetic declination and it varies by location. Tap “True north” and Online Compass corrects for declination automatically using your location.
Is my location or heading data sent anywhere?
No. All sensor and location processing happens locally in your browser. Your heading and coordinates are never transmitted to a server, logged or stored, you can verify this in your browser’s network inspector.
The compass seems inaccurate. How do I calibrate it?
Wave your device in a figure-8 motion a few times to recalibrate the magnetometer. Keep away from magnets, speakers, laptops and large metal objects, which distort the magnetic field. Online Compass will prompt you to calibrate when it detects low accuracy.
How do I know which direction I am facing?
Open the compass on your phone and point the top edge the way you are looking. The big readout shows your heading in degrees and the direction you are facing, such as NE or SW. A heading near 0° means you face north, 90° east, 180° south and 270° west.
Can I use this as a Qibla compass?
Yes. Switch to True north and face the Qibla bearing for your location, the great-circle direction to the Kaaba in Mecca. See our guide on finding the Qibla direction for the exact bearing from your city.
Can I use the compass for Vastu directions?
Yes. Vastu Shastra is based on the eight compass directions, so a compass is the first tool you need. Hold your phone flat, read the heading, and match it to the Vastu direction you are checking. Our Vastu directions guide explains each one.
Is this a geometry (drawing) compass?
No. Online Compass is a directional navigation compass that shows which way is north. It is not the geometry drawing compass used to draw circles. If you were looking for a compass-and-straightedge tool, that is a different kind of compass.
Learn
Get your bearings
How to Find North (With or Without a Compass)
Your phone is the fastest way, but the sun, the stars and even an analog watch can all point you north when you have no compass.
Read guideWhich Direction Am I Facing? How to Find Out
Point your phone the way you are looking and the compass tells you instantly which direction you face, in degrees and as N, E, S or W.
Read guideMagnetic North vs True North (and Declination)
A compass points to magnetic north, but maps use true north. The angle between them is declination, here’s how to convert correctly.
Read guide