KML vs KMZ: Which Should You Send?
Last updated 26 September 2026
What the difference is between KML and KMZ, when each one is the right file to send, and why photos and custom markers need a KMZ.
The difference
A KML file is plain text that describes your points, lines, labels and balloons for Google Earth. A KMZ is the same KML zipped together with the files it uses — site photos, a logo or your own marker images — so everything travels in one file.
When to send a KML
- The job is points and lines only, with no photos or custom markers.
- Someone wants to open the file in another GIS program or a text editor to check it.
When to send a KMZ
- You attached site photos. They appear in the point balloons only when they're packed inside a KMZ; a KML would point to pictures on your own computer that the client doesn't have.
- You used your own marker images or a company logo.
- You're emailing the file: a KMZ is compressed and usually smaller.
How to save each one
In the web app and the Windows app, Save KML writes a KML, and Save KMZ writes a KMZ with any photos packed inside. Photos are shrunk as they're packed to keep the file small. See Total station CSV to KMZ with site photos for attaching them.
Opening them
Google Earth Pro, Google Earth on the web and Google Earth on phones open both. A KMZ can also be renamed to .zip to see the doc.kml and pictures inside it.
Try it with your own sheet
More guides
- Draw Boundaries and Calculate Land Area in Google Earth
- Export Survey Points to DXF for AutoCAD
- Survey Points to Shapefile and GeoJSON for QGIS and ArcGIS
- Survey Points to GPX for a Handheld GPS
- Send Points to a Total Station: Leica GSI and Trimble Files
- Colour-Coded Markers by Point Code in Google Earth