Location technology
Map Zoom Levels Explained for Web Maps
What zoom levels 0 to 20 mean on a web map, how each step halves the scale, and roughly how many metres one pixel covers at each level.
Updated 14 October 2026 · 3 min read
A zoom level is a whole number that tells a web map how close it is to the Earth. Zoom 0 shows the whole world in one tile, and each increase of one doubles the scale. The higher the number, the smaller the area on screen and the more detail you can see.
How the numbers work
On the standard web-map tile scheme, which uses Web Mercator:
- Zoom 0 has 1 tile covering the world.
- Zoom 1 has 2 by 2 tiles, zoom 2 has 4 by 4, and so on.
- Zoom z has 2 to the power of z tiles in each direction.
This is the same tile pyramid described in how map tiles work. Many apps allow fractional zoom values for smooth gestures, but data is still organised by whole levels.
Roughly how much ground a pixel covers
With 256-pixel tiles, one pixel at zoom 0 is about 156 km wide at the equator. Each zoom level halves that. These are approximate equatorial figures:
| Zoom | Approximate metres per pixel |
|---|---|
| 0 | 156,000 |
| 5 | 4,900 |
| 10 | 150 |
| 15 | 4.8 |
| 18 | 0.6 |
The values shrink by the cosine of the latitude as you move away from the equator, so at about 45 degrees north or south a pixel covers roughly 70 percent as much ground. The numbers are for screen pixels at the base tile size; on high-density screens the effective detail is finer.
Typical uses
- Zoom 0 to 4: world and continents.
- Zoom 5 to 9: countries and regions.
- Zoom 10 to 14: cities and districts.
- Zoom 15 to 17: streets and neighbourhoods.
- Zoom 18 and above: buildings and individual entrances.
These ranges are rules of thumb, not strict rules, since data detail differs between providers and areas.
Why zoom matters for picking a point
When you tap a map to choose a location, your finger or cursor covers several pixels. At zoom 10 a single pixel is over 100 m, so a tap could be far from the spot you intended. At zoom 18, a pixel is well under a metre, so you can choose a doorway accurately. This is why precision tools ask you to zoom in before placing a marker. See how to find the coordinates of a place.
Grids appear at high zoom
A cell of 3 m would be smaller than a pixel at low zoom levels and unreadable, so a grid layer is shown only when you are zoomed in close enough. On the UPCS embeddable map the grid appears from zoom 18, which is at a scale where cells are several pixels wide. Read more in why a 3 metre grid cell is practical.
Frequently asked questions
How much does one zoom level change the map?
Each step in zoom doubles the scale, so features become twice as wide and tall, and each tile splits into four.
What zoom level shows individual buildings?
Buildings usually become clear from around zoom 16 to 18 on common web maps, though it varies with provider and place.