Why Convert FIT to GPX?
GPX (GPS Exchange Format) is the universal open standard for GPS data, supported by virtually every mapping and outdoor application: Komoot, AllTrails, Google Earth, OpenStreetMap editors, Caltopo, and hundreds more. If you record with a Garmin, Suunto, or Wahoo device that saves in FIT format, you'll need to convert to GPX to share routes on these platforms. FIT is Garmin's proprietary binary format — compact and rich, but not universally readable. This converter bridges that gap by extracting GPS coordinates, elevation, timestamps, and optional heart rate and cadence data into the standardized GPX XML structure. The conversion happens entirely in your browser, so your activity data stays on your device.
What Data Is Lost in FIT to GPX Conversion?
FIT files contain significantly more data than GPX can represent. Training-specific fields like lap markers, session totals, device settings, training effect scores, and recovery metrics have no GPX equivalent and are dropped during conversion. Advanced running dynamics (vertical oscillation, ground contact time, left-right balance) stored in FIT developer fields cannot be carried over. This converter preserves heart rate and cadence in standard GPX extensions (Garmin TrackPointExtension), which most applications support. Power data is included where available. GPS coordinates, elevation, and timestamps are always preserved with full precision. If you need to keep all FIT data fields, consider converting to TCX instead, which preserves more training metadata.
How to Convert FIT to GPX
Drop your .fit file above and click download. The converter reads GPS coordinates, elevation, timestamps, heart rate, and cadence from the FIT binary and writes them to a standard GPX 1.1 file with TrackPointExtension data.
What data is preserved?
- GPS coordinates (latitude, longitude)
- Elevation (altitude)
- Timestamps
- Heart rate (via GPX TrackPointExtension)
- Cadence (via GPX TrackPointExtension)
Power, temperature, and other FIT-specific fields are not part of the GPX standard and will be omitted. Use FIT to CSV to preserve all fields.
Which devices and apps produce FIT files?
Garmin Edge, Garmin Forerunner, Garmin Fenix, Wahoo ELEMNT, Suunto watches, and Zwift all produce .fit files. You can export them from Garmin Connect by opening an activity and choosing "Export Original".
How to Export a FIT File from Your Device
Before you can convert, you need the raw .fit file from your device or training platform. The steps differ slightly depending on where your activity lives.
Garmin Connect (web)
- Open Garmin Connect in a browser and navigate to Activities.
- Click the activity you want to export.
- Click the gear icon (⚙) in the top-right corner of the activity detail page.
- Select "Export Original" — this downloads the unmodified .fit file recorded by your device.
Wahoo ELEMNT
Wahoo ELEMNT bike computers and TICKR heart-rate monitors save activities as FIT files on the device's internal storage. Connect your ELEMNT to a computer via USB and browse to the ELEMNT drive under the Activities folder. You can also sync to the Wahoo Fitness app and download from your activity history on wahoosfitness.com — look for "Export Workout" and choose the FIT option.
Zwift
Zwift automatically saves a FIT file to your local Documents\Zwift\Activities folder (Windows) or ~/Documents/Zwift/Activities (macOS) after every ride or run. You can also connect Zwift to Garmin Connect or Strava and re-export from there. Note that Zwift FIT files contain power and cadence data alongside GPS coordinates — useful metrics that will be lost when converting to plain GPX.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Expecting power data in the output — Power has no standard field in the GPX 1.1 schema. If you need power traces for analysis in tools like GoldenCheetah or intervals.icu, use FIT to CSV instead.
- Assuming all apps read GPX extensions — Heart rate and cadence survive the conversion inside the Garmin TrackPointExtension namespace, but many lightweight mapping apps (Caltopo, Google Earth, OpenStreetMap iD) ignore those extension elements entirely. Only open the GPX in an app that advertises TrackPointExtension support if you need that data.
- Converting a multi-sport FIT file — A triathlon or brick session is stored as a single FIT file with multiple sport segments separated by lap markers. GPX has no concept of sport changes, so the output will appear as one continuous track. Split the activities first in Garmin Connect if you need separate sport files.
- Uploading a corrupted or truncated FIT file — FIT files written by a device that lost power mid-activity may be missing the end-of-file marker. The parser will attempt to recover as many records as possible, but the resulting GPX may be shorter than the original activity.
Alternatives: When GPX Is Not the Right Target
GPX is the best choice when you need to share a route or track with a mapping platform. If your goal is data analysis rather than mapping, consider other formats. FIT to CSV preserves every field — power, cadence, temperature, lap markers, training effect scores — as a flat spreadsheet that opens in Excel, Google Sheets, or R. FIT to TCX is an XML format that retains heart rate, cadence, and lap data and is accepted by older sports platforms that predate native FIT support. Use GPX when the destination is a mapping or navigation app; use TCX or CSV when you need to keep training metrics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the converted GPX work on Komoot and AllTrails?
Yes. Both Komoot and AllTrails accept GPX 1.1 files and read the core track fields (latitude, longitude, elevation, timestamp). They do not display heart rate or cadence from TrackPointExtension, but the route and elevation profile will import correctly.
Is my activity data sent to a server during conversion?
No. The entire conversion runs inside your browser using JavaScript. Your FIT file is read from local storage into memory, parsed, and written back to your downloads folder. Nothing is uploaded to any server, so your health and location data never leaves your device.
Can I convert a FIT file that contains only a planned route (no recorded data)?
It depends on how the route was stored. Garmin devices can save planned courses as FIT files with a course_point record type. This converter focuses on activity records (recorded GPS tracks). If your FIT file is a planned course rather than a recorded activity, the output GPX may be empty or incomplete. For course files, export directly to GPX from Garmin Connect's Courses section instead.
What is the maximum file size supported?
The converter accepts FIT files up to 50 MB. A typical one-hour cycling activity with GPS, heart rate, power, and cadence at 1-second recording intervals produces a FIT file of roughly 1–3 MB, so the 50 MB limit comfortably covers even ultra-endurance events recorded at high density. Very large files (full-day hikes or multi-day tracks merged into one file) may take a few seconds longer to parse.