GPX vs TCX: What's the Difference?

GPX and TCX both store a GPS track: a sequence of points with latitude, longitude, and often elevation and timestamps. The difference is in what they add around that track: TCX (Training Center XML), a format created by Garmin, organizes points into laps and can carry workout data (heart rate, cadence) that GPX has no native slot for.

When to use GPX

For a route you plan to follow (a hike, a road trip, a bike tour), GPX is the most universally accepted format across GPS devices and navigation apps.

When to use TCX

For a recorded workout (a run, a ride, a swim) where laps and physiological data matter, TCX keeps information a plain GPX would lose.

Converting between them

• TCX → GPX, to reuse a recorded activity as a route in another app.
• GPX → TCX, to import a route into training software that expects TCX.

Note: TCX has no concept of a waypoint or a planned route: only the track is converted, and a GPX → TCX → GPX round trip won't restore the original laps (they get flattened into one continuous track).