What is a compass rose?

A compass rose is the star shaped diagram on a map that shows the cardinal directions (north, east, south, west) and the directions between them. Old nautical charts used 32 points, which is why sailors still talk about "boxing the compass".

Tool description

This tool builds a compass image you can tweak and download. Pick a style, choose 4, 8, 16 or 32 points, and set the colors for the face, rose, accent, labels and needle. You can turn the needle, degree scale, diagonal labels (NE, SE, SW, NW) and the round face on or off, and point the needle at any heading from 0° to 359°.

The preview is a 512 by 512 image. Download it as an SVG for sharp scaling, or export it as a PNG or print it from the preview.

Features

  • Three styles (classic, modern, minimal) and 4, 8, 16 or 32 compass points
  • Optional needle with an adjustable heading, plus a degree scale and diagonal labels
  • Download as SVG, or export as PNG and print