Volume Converter
Convert liters, gallons (US & Imperial), milliliters, cups, cubic meters, etc.
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*Diagram shows values relative to the selected base unit (Liter).
Unit Information
What are Liters (L)?
The liter (alternative spelling: litre; symbols L or l) is an SI accepted metric system unit of volume. One liter is equal to 1 cubic decimeter (dm³), 1,000 cubic centimeters (cm³), or 0.001 cubic meter (m³). It's commonly used for measuring liquids (like beverages, fuel) and sometimes granular solids.
What are Milliliters (mL)?
A milliliter is one-thousandth of a liter. It is equivalent to one cubic centimeter (cm³).
What are Cubic Centimeters (cm³)?
A cubic centimeter is the volume of a cube with 1cm sides. It is equivalent to one milliliter (mL) and is often used in medical and scientific contexts.
What are Cubic Meters (m³)?
The cubic meter (symbol: m³) is the SI derived unit of volume. It represents the volume of a cube with edges one meter in length. It is equal to 1,000 liters and is used for large-scale volume measurements, such as for reservoirs, shipping containers, and concrete.
What are Cubic Feet (ft³)?
The cubic foot (symbol: ft³) is an imperial and US customary unit of volume. It is the volume of a cube with one-foot sides. It's often used in construction, for measuring the capacity of appliances like refrigerators, and for flow rates (CFM).
What are Cubic Inches (in³)?
The cubic inch is an imperial unit of volume, representing the volume of a cube with one-inch sides. It's commonly used in the US for measuring engine displacement and some material volumes.
What are US Gallons (US gal)?
The US gallon is a unit of liquid volume in the United States customary system. One US liquid gallon is defined as 231 cubic inches, which is exactly 3.785411784 liters. It is divided into 4 quarts.
What are US Quarts (US qt)?
A US quart is a unit of liquid volume equal to a quarter of a US gallon, or two US pints.
What are US Pints (US pt)?
A US pint is a unit of liquid volume equal to half of a US quart, or two US cups.
What are US Cups (US cup)?
A US cup is a unit of volume primarily used for cooking in the US. It is equal to half of a US pint or 8 US fluid ounces.
What are US Fluid Ounces (US fl oz)?
A US fluid ounce is a unit of volume, not to be confused with the ounce as a unit of mass. It is equal to 1/128th of a US gallon (approx. 29.57 mL).
What are Imperial Gallons (Imp gal)?
The Imperial gallon is a unit of volume used in the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries. It is defined as exactly 4.54609 liters, making it about 20% larger than the US gallon.
What are Imperial Pints (Imp pt)?
The Imperial pint is a unit of volume in the British imperial system. It is equal to 1/8 of an Imperial gallon or about 568 mL. It is famously used for serving beer in the UK.
What are Imperial Fluid Ounces (Imp fl oz)?
The Imperial fluid ounce is a unit of volume equal to 1/160th of an Imperial gallon (approx. 28.41 mL). It is slightly smaller than its US counterpart.
Formulas
1 US gallon = 3.78541 liters
To convert US gallons to liters, multiply by 3.78541.
1 Imperial gallon = 4.54609 liters
The Imperial gallon is approximately 20% larger than the US gallon.
1 liter = 1000 mL = 1000 cm³
A milliliter is equivalent to a cubic centimeter.
1 cubic meter = 1000 liters
The cubic meter is the SI unit for large volumes.
1 US cup ≈ 236.6 mL
A US customary cup is about 236.6 milliliters.
1 US fl oz ≈ 29.57 mL
A US fluid ounce is approximately 29.57 milliliters.
Key Reference Points
- A standard large soda bottle is often 2 liters (approx. 0.53 US gallons).
- A typical car fuel tank might hold 50-70 liters (approx. 13-18 US gallons).
- A US standard measuring cup is 8 US fluid ounces, which is about 236.6 milliliters.
- A standard teaspoon holds about 5 mL.
- A standard tablespoon holds about 15 mL.
- A standard 20-foot shipping container has an internal volume of about 33 cubic meters.
- An Olympic-sized swimming pool holds 2,500,000 liters (2,500 m³).
- The total volume of Earth is approximately 1.083 trillion cubic kilometers.
- A standard bathtub holds about 150-200 liters (40-50 US gallons).
- The world's largest oil tanker can carry over 3 million barrels of oil, which is over 500 million liters.
Did You Know?
The Imperial gallon (used in the UK and some other countries) is larger than the US gallon. One Imperial gallon is approximately 4.546 liters, whereas one US gallon is about 3.785 liters. This difference originated from different historical definitions of the gallon before standardization.
Volume refers to the amount of space an object occupies, while capacity refers to how much a container can hold. Often, these terms are used interchangeably when measuring liquids.
While the liter is commonly used, the official SI derived unit for volume is the cubic meter (m³). One cubic meter is equal to 1000 liters. This unit is often used for large volumes like reservoirs or shipping containers.
Archimedes' principle states that the buoyant force on a submerged object is equal to the weight of the fluid that the object displaces. This is a fundamental concept in fluid mechanics and allows us to determine the volume of irregularly shaped objects.
A hogshead is a large cask and a historical unit of volume. Its exact volume varied, but in the British imperial system, it was standardized as 52.5 imperial gallons (about 238.7 liters). It was commonly used for wine and ale.
In hydrology and water management in the US, an 'acre-foot' is a unit of volume. It's the volume of water required to cover one acre of land to a depth of one foot, which is approximately 1,233 cubic meters or 325,851 US gallons.
The liter was originally defined as the volume of one kilogram of pure water at its maximum density (at 4°C). While the modern definition is simply 1 cubic decimeter, this relationship is still a very close approximation.
The Great Lakes in North America contain about 21% of the world's surface fresh water by volume, holding approximately 22,810 cubic kilometers (or 6 quadrillion US gallons) of water.
The stere is a unit of volume in the original metric system equal to one cubic meter. It is typically used for measuring large quantities of firewood. One stere of neatly stacked wood is less than one cubic meter because of the air gaps.
A ship's 'displacement' is the volume of water it displaces, which is equal to the total volume of the ship below the waterline. The weight of this displaced water is equal to the total weight of the ship.
A 'shot' is an informal unit of volume, but in the US it's generally considered to be 1.5 US fluid ounces (about 44 mL). However, the size can vary.
The size of a piston engine is measured by its displacement, which is the total volume swept by all the pistons inside the cylinders. It's usually measured in liters (L) or cubic centimeters (cc).
The minim is a unit of volume in the apothecaries' system, used by pharmacists. One minim is approximately 1 drop of water, or about 61.6 microliters.
In the lumber industry in North America, the 'board foot' is a unit of volume for wood. It is the volume of a one-foot length of a board one foot wide and one inch thick.
The volume of most substances changes with temperature. This thermal expansion is why bridges have expansion joints and why it's not a good idea to fill a car's gas tank to the very top on a hot day.
A firkin is an old English unit of volume, typically for beer or ale, equal to a quarter of a barrel. A standard beer firkin holds 9 imperial gallons.
Pneumatic tube systems transport objects in containers through a network of tubes using compressed air or a vacuum. The volume of the container and the pressure difference determine the speed and capacity of the system.
While often used in medicine and cooking, the volume of a 'drop' is not standardized. It depends on the liquid's viscosity, surface tension, and the dropper's shape. A medical dropper is typically calibrated to deliver a specific volume per drop.