Download Satellite Imagery — Sentinel-2 GeoTIFF by Area
Quick answer: draw an area on the map, search free Sentinel-2 imagery by date and cloud cover, preview the scene as a map layer, then download the Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF.
1. Select an area
Pan and zoom freely to find your area, then start drawing.
No area selected yet.
2. Narrow the search
What this tool does
It searches the Sentinel-2 archive for your area and time window, shows you what each candidate scene actually looks like, and gives you a working download link. No registration, no API key, and no queue.
How to use it
Drag a rectangle on the map, pick a date range and a cloud-cover ceiling, then search. Scenes come back least cloudy first and are outlined on the map — click one to render its imagery over the basemap.
Preview before you download
The map overlay is tiled server-side, so checking a scene is fast and costs you nothing. Switch between true colour, natural colour, colour infrared, agriculture, near infrared, short-wave infrared, and the scene classification layer to judge cloud and detail.
What you download
A Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF for the band you chose, in the scene's native projection with full georeferencing intact — ready for QGIS, ArcGIS, or a raster library. The file size is shown before you start.
Expect large files
A scene spans about 110 × 110 km, so the 10 m true-colour GeoTIFF is typically 300–400 MB and single bands around 280 MB. That is normal for full-resolution satellite data, and it is why previewing on the map first is worth the few seconds it takes.
Data source and licence
Sentinel-2 Level-2A imagery from the EU Copernicus programme, distributed through the Microsoft Planetary Computer. It is free and open, including for commercial use, with attribution to the European Union.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I download satellite imagery for a specific area?
- Drag a rectangle over your area of interest, set a date range and a cloud-cover limit, then press Search scenes. Pick a scene to see it rendered on the map, and download the Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF when you are happy with it. Everything runs in your browser.
- Is the imagery free, and do I need an account?
- It is free and needs no account or API key. The imagery is Sentinel-2 Level-2A from the European Union's Copernicus programme, hosted by the Microsoft Planetary Computer, and the search and download links are generated in your browser.
- Why is the download file so large?
- A Sentinel-2 scene covers roughly 110 by 110 kilometres. The 10 m true-colour GeoTIFF is typically 300-400 MB because it stores the full-resolution pixels for that whole area. The map preview costs nothing by comparison, so use it to confirm you have the right scene before downloading.
- What is a Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF?
- It is a regular GeoTIFF arranged so that a client can read just the part it needs over HTTP. That means GIS software can window into a 400 MB scene without downloading all of it first, which is why the format is used for large satellite rasters.
- How recent is the imagery?
- Sentinel-2 revisits the same place roughly every five days, and new scenes appear in the catalogue within hours to a couple of days. Set the date range to the last month or two for the freshest cloud-free options.
- What does the cloud cover percentage mean?
- It is the share of the scene covered by cloud, as reported in the scene metadata. Lower is better for seeing the ground. Filtering to under 10% is a good starting point, though in persistently cloudy regions you may need to raise it or widen the date range.
- Can I get colour infrared or agriculture composites here?
- Yes. The map preview offers true colour, a natural-colour red-green-blue composite, colour infrared for vegetation, and an agriculture composite that emphasises moisture and crop vigour. Each is rendered server-side with a contrast stretch, so it looks correct without manual tuning.
- Do you calculate NDVI?
- No. NDVI is a per-pixel calculation rather than a rendered image, so this tool shows the input bands — near infrared and red — which you can combine in QGIS or a notebook. Downloading both bands gives you everything needed; the map preview is for choosing the scene.
- Which bands can I preview?
- True colour, natural colour (RGB), colour infrared, agriculture, near infrared, short-wave infrared, and the scene classification layer that marks cloud, water, and land cover.
Where to go next
- Studio viewer — open a downloaded GeoTIFF or vector layer to inspect it.
- Imagery data directory — compare Sentinel, Landsat, and other free sources.
- Landsat 8/9 download — 30 m imagery with an archive back to 1972.
- OSM layer download — grab roads and buildings for the same area as vector data.
- Country boundaries — administrative polygons to clip imagery against.
- Elevation finder — terrain context for the area you are imaging.
- Bounding box tool — get exact coordinates for an area in several formats.