Volume and capacity converter
Convert litres, millilitres, US and imperial gallons, quarts, pints, cups and fluid ounces — with the US/UK difference handled properly.
- Runs in your browser
- Nothing you enter is sent
- Free, no account
1 L = 0.264172052358 gal (US)
Automatic formatting keeps up to 12 significant digits and switches to scientific notation only for numbers past 10¹⁸ or below 10⁻⁹. You can paste values with thousands separators, and fractions such as 3/4 or 1 1/2 are understood too.
gal (US) = L ÷ 3.785411784
Your value: 1 ÷ 3.785411784 = 0.264172052358 gal (US)
Litre: Exactly one cubic decimetre.
Gallon (US liquid): 231 cubic inches exactly.
- L → gal (US)1 = 0.264172052358
- gal (US) → L1 = 3.785411784
- mL → fl oz (US)1 = 0.0338140227018
- fl oz (US) → mL1 = 29.5735295625
- cup (US) → mL1 = 236.5882365
- L → mL1 = 1,000
- m³ → L1 = 1,000
- gal (UK) → L1 = 4.54609
- pt (UK) → mL1 = 568.26125
- tbsp → mL1 = 14.7867647812
- tsp → mL1 = 4.92892159375
- bbl → L1 = 158.987294928
| L | gal (US) |
|---|---|
| 0.5 | 0.132086026179 |
| 1 | 0.264172052358 |
| 2 | 0.528344104716 |
| 3 | 0.792516157074 |
| 5 | 1.32086026179 |
| 10 | 2.64172052358 |
| 20 | 5.28344104716 |
| 25 | 6.60430130895 |
| 50 | 13.2086026179 |
| 100 | 26.4172052358 |
| 250 | 66.0430130895 |
| 1,000 | 264.172052358 |
| gal (US) | L |
|---|---|
| 0.5 | 1.892705892 |
| 1 | 3.785411784 |
| 2 | 7.570823568 |
| 3 | 11.356235352 |
| 5 | 18.92705892 |
| 10 | 37.85411784 |
| 20 | 75.70823568 |
| 25 | 94.6352946 |
| 50 | 189.2705892 |
| 100 | 378.5411784 |
| 250 | 946.352946 |
| 1,000 | 3,785.411784 |
| Unit | Symbol | Value in L | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| LitreMetric | L | 1 L = 1 L | Exactly one cubic decimetre. |
| MillilitreMetric | mL | 1 mL = 0.001 L | Same volume as a cubic centimetre. |
| Cubic metreMetric | m³ | 1 m³ = 1,000 L | — |
| Cubic centimetreMetric | cm³ | 1 cm³ = 0.001 L | Also written cc. |
| Gallon (US liquid)US customary | gal (US) | 1 gal (US) = 3.785411784 L | 231 cubic inches exactly. |
| Quart (US)US customary | qt (US) | 1 qt (US) = 0.946352946 L | — |
| Pint (US)US customary | pt (US) | 1 pt (US) = 0.473176473 L | — |
| Cup (US customary)US customary | cup (US) | 1 cup (US) = 0.2365882365 L | 8 US fluid ounces. |
| Cup (US legal)US customary | cup (legal) | 1 cup (legal) = 0.24 L | 240 mL, used on US nutrition labels. |
| Fluid ounce (US)US customary | fl oz (US) | 1 fl oz (US) = 0.0295735295625 L | — |
| Tablespoon (US)US customary | tbsp | 1 tbsp = 0.0147867647812 L | ½ US fl oz. |
| Teaspoon (US)US customary | tsp | 1 tsp = 0.00492892159375 L | One third of a tablespoon. |
| Gallon (imperial)Imperial (UK) | gal (UK) | 1 gal (UK) = 4.54609 L | Exactly 4.54609 L. |
| Quart (imperial)Imperial (UK) | qt (UK) | 1 qt (UK) = 1.1365225 L | — |
| Pint (imperial)Imperial (UK) | pt (UK) | 1 pt (UK) = 0.56826125 L | The British pub pint. |
| Fluid ounce (imperial)Imperial (UK) | fl oz (UK) | 1 fl oz (UK) = 0.0284130625 L | — |
| Cup (metric)Metric kitchen | cup (metric) | 1 cup (metric) = 0.25 L | Exactly 250 mL — UK, Australia, NZ. |
| Barrel (oil)Bulk | bbl | 1 bbl = 158.987294928 L | 42 US gallons. |
How to convert a volume
- Type into either field — litres to gallons and gallons to litres are the same control used in either direction.
- Choose the units carefully where a US and an imperial version both exist. The list keeps them in separate groups and labels every symbol, so "gal (US)" and "gal (UK)" can never be confused for one another.
- Use the chart underneath when you need a range of values, for example when scaling a tank, a batch or a recipe.
US and imperial units are not the same
This is the single biggest source of wrong answers in volume conversion. The US and UK inherited the same names for different sizes:
| Unit | US | Imperial (UK) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallon | 3.785 L | 4.546 L | UK is 20 % larger |
| Quart | 0.946 L | 1.137 L | UK is 20 % larger |
| Pint | 473 mL | 568 mL | UK is 20 % larger |
| Fluid ounce | 29.57 mL | 28.41 mL | US is 4 % larger |
The fluid ounce reverses the pattern because a US pint is 16 fl oz while an imperial pint is 20. So a British pint of beer really is bigger than an American one, by about 95 mL, even though a British fluid ounce is the smaller unit.
Which factors are exact
The imperial gallon is defined as exactly 4.54609 litres. The US liquid gallon is defined as exactly 231 cubic inches, and since the inch is exactly 25.4 mm, that comes to exactly 3.785411784 litres. Everything else in each system divides down from its gallon without rounding: quarts are quarters, pints are eighths, and US fluid ounces are 128ths.
The litre itself is exactly one cubic decimetre, which is why 1 mL and 1 cm³ are the same volume and why engine displacement can be quoted in cc or litres interchangeably. The oil barrel is exactly 42 US gallons, a figure inherited from the 19th-century Pennsylvania oil trade and now fixed by convention rather than by any physical barrel.
Reference: everyday container sizes
| Container | Metric | US |
|---|---|---|
| Espresso shot | 30 mL | 1 fl oz |
| Soft drink can | 330 mL / 355 mL | 11.2 / 12 fl oz |
| Wine bottle | 750 mL | 25.4 fl oz |
| Milk carton | 1 L | 33.8 fl oz |
| US milk jug | 3.785 L | 1 gallon |
| Small car fuel tank | 45 L | 11.9 US gal |
| Bathtub | 150 L | 39.6 US gal |
When you need weight instead of volume
Volume and weight are only interchangeable for water, where one litre weighs one kilogram by design. For anything else the answer depends on density: a litre of vegetable oil is about 918 g, a litre of honey about 1.44 kg. If you are converting a recipe from cups to grams, use the cooking converter, which has a density table for the ingredients people actually bake with.
Questions
Is a US gallon the same as a UK gallon?
No. A US liquid gallon is 3.785 L; an imperial gallon is 4.546 L — about 20 % larger. Both are listed separately so you never mix them up by accident.
How many millilitres are in a fluid ounce?
29.5735 mL for a US fluid ounce and 28.4131 mL for an imperial one. The UK ounce is the smaller of the two, even though the UK pint is the bigger one.
Are litres and cubic decimetres the same?
Yes, exactly. One litre is one cubic decimetre, and one millilitre is one cubic centimetre, which is why cc and mL are interchangeable on syringes and engines.
Which cup should I use for recipes?
A US cup is 236.6 mL, the metric cup used in the UK, Australia and New Zealand is exactly 250 mL. For ingredient weights use the cooking converter instead.