Calculate Distance Between Addresses

You need to know how far apart two locations are -- the distance between a warehouse and each customer, the nearest store to a given address, or a full distance matrix for route planning. In a regular spreadsheet, this requires an external API or manual lookup.

In GeoSheet, distance is a formula. Type =DISTANCE(A1, B1) and get the answer in kilometers, miles, or meters.

Worked Example: Warehouse to Customer Distances

You have a warehouse address in A1 and customer addresses in column B:

	A	B
1	123 Warehouse Rd, Dallas, TX	456 Oak St, Houston, TX
2		789 Pine Ave, Austin, TX
3		321 Elm Blvd, San Antonio, TX
4		654 Maple Dr, Fort Worth, TX

Straight-line distance

In C1, enter:

=DISTANCE($A$1, B1)

This returns the straight-line (great-circle) distance in kilometers between the warehouse and the first customer. Copy C1 down to C4.

The $A$1 absolute reference keeps the warehouse fixed while each row compares against a different customer.

Change the unit:

=DISTANCE($A$1, B1, "mi")    # Miles
=DISTANCE($A$1, B1, "m")     # Meters
=DISTANCE($A$1, B1, "km")    # Kilometers (default)

Driving distance

For road distance (which accounts for actual roads, not a straight line):

=DRIVE_DISTANCE($A$1, B1)

This returns the driving distance in kilometers via Mapbox routing. The result is typically longer than straight-line distance because roads are not straight.

Building a Distance Matrix

For multiple origins and destinations, you can build a full matrix. Suppose column A has warehouse locations and row 1 has store locations:

	A	B	C	D
1		Store 1 (NYC)	Store 2 (Chicago)	Store 3 (LA)
2	Warehouse 1 (Dallas)	`=DISTANCE($A2, B$1)`	`=DISTANCE($A2, C$1)`	`=DISTANCE($A2, D$1)`
3	Warehouse 2 (Atlanta)	`=DISTANCE($A3, B$1)`	`=DISTANCE($A3, C$1)`	`=DISTANCE($A3, D$1)`

The mixed references ($A2 locks the column, B$1 locks the row) let you fill the entire matrix from one formula.

Tip: Ask Geovani: "Build a distance matrix between all warehouses in column A and all stores in row 1." Geovani handles the formula placement and reference locking.

Finding the Nearest Location

Use NEAREST() to find the closest points:

=NEAREST(A1, B:B, 3)

This returns the 3 nearest points in column B to the point in A1. Useful for "nearest store" or "closest facility" analysis.

How It Works

DISTANCE() computes the Haversine (great-circle) distance between two points on the Earth's surface. It works with POINT values, cell references containing points, or address strings (which are automatically geocoded).

DRIVE_DISTANCE() queries Mapbox Directions to get the actual road distance. This accounts for highways, one-way streets, and road networks. Results are asynchronous -- the cell shows #PENDING briefly while the routing request completes.

NEAREST() computes straight-line distances from a reference point to every point in a range and returns the closest matches.

Both DISTANCE() and DRIVE_DISTANCE() accept addresses directly:

=DISTANCE("New York", "Los Angeles")       # ~3,944 km
=DRIVE_DISTANCE("New York", "Los Angeles") # ~4,489 km

Practical Applications

Delivery radius: Use =DISTANCE(warehouse, customer) < 50 to flag customers within 50 km
Service area analysis: Combine with ISOCHRONE to see which customers fall within a drive-time polygon
Site selection: Compare average distances from candidate sites to all customers
Logistics optimization: Build distance matrices to identify the most efficient warehouse-to-customer assignments

Next Steps

Calculate Drive Time Between Locations -- driving duration, routes, and isochrones
Map Data in a Spreadsheet -- visualize distances and locations on a map
Geocode Addresses -- convert addresses to coordinates for distance calculations
Formulas -- complete formula reference including DISTANCE, DRIVE_DISTANCE, and NEAREST