Free Tool

How to Measure Property Online

Measure your property from your couch. See satellite imagery of any U.S. address and trace the visible boundaries — square footage is calculated as you go.

Free instant results · No signup required

The Short Answer

Can you measure property online?

Yes — with satellite imagery plus a tracing tool. Modern satellite views are sharp enough to distinguish a lawn from a driveway from a garden bed, so if you can identify your boundaries visually, you can measure them. Free options exist; LotSite is one — enter an address and trace on the imagery, no signup.

Set expectations honestly: online measurement is good for planning, not for legal disputes. A careful trace lands within a few percent of a physical measurement — exactly what you need for fertilizer, fencing quotes, and materials, and far better than guessing when you can't physically walk the property (a listing three states away, say). When the stakes are legal — boundary disputes, construction permits — a licensed survey is the only answer. For every offline method too, see how to measure your property.

Step by Step

Measuring property online, step by step

  1. 1Choose a tool. Any satellite tracing tool works; LotSite is free and built for exactly this, so the steps below use it.
  2. 2Enter your address. The map centers on your property with satellite imagery and a measuring grid.
  3. 3Zoom in until boundaries are clear. The closer you zoom, the finer the grid and the more precise your trace.
  4. 4Identify visible features. Fences, driveway edges, sidewalks, hedges, and tree lines are your reference points.
  5. 5Trace or paint the area. Pick a category and drag across the cells inside your boundary — erase and undo fix any slips.
  6. 6Read the calculated area. Square footage totals update in real time as you paint, per category and overall.

The whole thing takes a few minutes. Start above, open the measurement tool directly, or see the measure my lot walkthrough for the lot-specific version.

Accuracy

5 tips for accurate online measurement

1. Zoom in as far as you can. Precision comes from tracing at high zoom — measure one section at a time rather than the whole lot from far out. 2. Anchor on visible landmarks. Corners of the house, driveway seams, and fence posts give you fixed reference points to trace from.

3. Match multiple boundary features. If the fence, the mowing line, and the hedge all agree, you've probably found the boundary; if they disagree, be conservative. 4. Cross-check with assessor data. Your county's recorded lot size is a free sanity check — if your trace is way off from it, retrace.

5. Escalate when it matters. For fences on the line, additions, or anything a neighbor might contest, follow your online measurement with a professional survey — online numbers are for planning, surveys are for the law.

FAQ

Online Measurement Questions

Measure your property online now

Enter your address, trace what you see, and get square footage in minutes — free.

Free. No signup. Works nationwide. Or open the measurement tool directly.