Liters Converter
Convert Liters (L) to any other volume unit. The table below gives the exact figure for each unit, and every conversion is worked from the same engine as the converter.
What liters convert to
One L in every other volume unit.
| Unit | 1 L | Reverse |
|---|---|---|
| Milliliters | 1,000 mL | 0.001 L |
| Cubic meters | 0.001 m³ | 1,000 L |
| Cubic centimeters | 1,000 cm³ | 0.001 L |
| Cubic inches | 61.023744 in³ | 0.016387 L |
| Cubic feet | 0.035315 ft³ | 28.316847 L |
| US gallons | 0.264172 gal | 3.785412 L |
| US quarts | 1.056688 qt | 0.946353 L |
| US pints | 2.113376 pt | 0.473176 L |
| US fluid ounces | 33.814023 fl oz | 0.029574 L |
| Imperial gallons | 0.219969 imp gal | 4.54609 L |
| US cups | 4.226753 cup | 0.236588 L |
Multiply a liters figure by the figure in the second column to get the unit in the first, or multiply by the third column to go the other way.
Liters conversion reference
Liters to Milliliters
One liters is 1,000 milliliters, and one milliliters is 0.001 liters.
A milliliter is one thousandth of a liter, and exactly the same volume as one cubic centimeter. It is used for drinks, medicine doses and recipe quantities.
- 1 L= 1,000 mL
- 2 L= 2,000 mL
- 5 L= 5,000 mL
A milliliter is one thousandth of a liter, exactly one cubic centimeter, or 0.000001 cubic meters. It is the small metric unit for liquid and dose volumes.
Medicine doses, laboratory samples, cosmetics, flavorings and small bottles of liquid are measured in milliliters. Syringes, measuring spoons and dosing cups are graduated in milliliters. Beverage cans and bottles often carry the volume on the label.
Liters to Cubic meters
One liters is 0.001 cubic meters, and one cubic meters is 1,000 liters.
A cubic meter is 1,000 liters, and the volume of a cube one meter on each side. It is used for bulk water, concrete and sand, and for shipping volume.
- 1 L= 0.001 m³
- 2 L= 0.002 m³
- 5 L= 0.005 m³
The cubic meter is the International System unit of volume, the space in a cube with one-meter edges, exactly 1,000 liters or one kiloliter. It is the reference volume against which metric liquid and bulk measurements are defined.
Concrete, water consumption, natural gas, soil, shipping volumes and reservoir capacity are recorded in cubic meters. Utility bills in metric countries often express water and gas use this way.
Liters to Cubic centimeters
One liters is 1,000 cubic centimeters, and one cubic centimeters is 0.001 liters.
A cubic centimeter equals one milliliter exactly. It is used for engine displacement, medicine doses and small solid volumes — a 1,500 cc engine displaces 1,500 of them.
- 1 L= 1,000 cm³
- 2 L= 2,000 cm³
- 5 L= 5,000 cm³
Liters to Cubic inches
One liters is 61.023744 cubic inches, and one cubic inches is 0.016387 liters.
A cubic inch is 16.387064 milliliters. It is used for engine displacement in the United States and for small volumes in imperial engineering.
- 1 L= 61.023744 in³
- 2 L= 122.047488 in³
- 5 L= 305.11872 in³
Liters to Cubic feet
One liters is 0.035315 cubic feet, and one cubic feet is 28.316847 liters.
A cubic foot is 28.316846592 liters, and the volume of a cube one foot on each side. It is used for gas meters, freight and the capacity of appliances and containers.
- 1 L= 0.035315 ft³
- 2 L= 0.070629 ft³
- 5 L= 0.176573 ft³
A cubic foot is the volume of a cube with edges one foot long, exactly 28.316846592 liters or 0.028316846592 cubic meters. It is a unit of volume, not of area.
Shipping containers, natural gas, water supply, refrigeration and timber are measured in cubic feet in the United States and parts of the freight trade. Appliance capacities also use it.
Liters to US gallons
One liters is 0.264172 us gallons, and one us gallons is 3.785412 liters.
A US gallon is 3.785411784 liters, defined as 231 cubic inches. It is the standard liquid and fuel unit in the United States, and is about 20% smaller than an imperial gallon.
- 1 L= 0.264172 gal
- 2 L= 0.528344 gal
- 5 L= 1.32086 gal
A US gallon is exactly 3.785411784 liters, or 231 cubic inches, and it divides into four quarts, eight pints or 128 US fluid ounces. It is a defined liquid volume and not a unit of mass.
Fuel at filling stations, paint, milk, water and agricultural sprays are sold by the US gallon in the United States and in some export markets. Larger tanks and drums are also rated in gallons.
Liters to US quarts
One liters is 1.056688 us quarts, and one us quarts is 0.946353 liters.
A US quart is a quarter of a US gallon, or 0.946352946 liters. It is used for milk, oil and other liquids in the United States.
- 1 L= 1.056688 qt
- 2 L= 2.113376 qt
- 5 L= 5.283441 qt
Liters to US pints
One liters is 2.113376 us pints, and one us pints is 0.473176 liters.
A US pint is half a US quart, or 0.473176473 liters. A UK or imperial pint is larger, at 0.56826125 liters, which is why the same drink measures differently in each country.
- 1 L= 2.113376 pt
- 2 L= 4.226753 pt
- 5 L= 10.566882 pt
Liters to US fluid ounces
One liters is 33.814023 us fluid ounces, and one us fluid ounces is 0.029574 liters.
A US fluid ounce is 29.5735295625 milliliters, one sixteenth of a US pint. It is used for drinks, spirits and recipe measures in the United States.
- 1 L= 33.814023 fl oz
- 2 L= 67.628045 fl oz
- 5 L= 169.070114 fl oz
A US fluid ounce is exactly 29.5735295625 milliliters, one 128th of a US gallon. It measures liquid volume and is not the same as the ounce of mass.
Beverage bottles, cocktail recipes, medicine cups, infant formula and cosmetic containers are labelled in US fluid ounces in the United States, and bar measures follow the same unit.
Liters to Imperial gallons
One liters is 0.219969 imperial gallons, and one imperial gallons is 4.54609 liters.
An imperial gallon is 4.54609 liters, about 20% more than a US gallon. It is the traditional UK and Commonwealth liquid unit, now largely replaced by liters.
- 1 L= 0.219969 imp gal
- 2 L= 0.439938 imp gal
- 5 L= 1.099846 imp gal
Liters to US cups
One liters is 4.226753 us cups, and one us cups is 0.236588 liters.
A US cup is 236.5882365 milliliters, or 8 US fluid ounces. It is the standard measure in American recipes; metric and Australian cups are 250 milliliters, so a recipe's cup depends on where it was written.
- 1 L= 4.226753 cup
- 2 L= 8.453506 cup
- 5 L= 21.133764 cup
A US cup is exactly 236.5882365 milliliters, one sixteenth of a US gallon and eight US fluid ounces. It is a recipe measure rather than a general liquid unit.
It appears in American and adapted recipe books, baking charts, measuring cup sets and some packaged food directions. Outside cooking it is rarely a legal or trade unit.
What liters are used for
A liter is one thousandth of a cubic meter. It is the everyday metric unit for liquids — bottled water, fuel, milk and cooking oil.
The liter is exactly one cubic decimeter, or 0.001 cubic meters, and it equals 1,000 milliliters. It is accepted for use with the International System as a named unit of volume.
Fuel, bottled water, cooking oil, paint, milk and engine coolant are sold in liters in most countries, and vehicles quote fuel use in liters per 100 kilometers. Recipes use the unit as well.
A liter is exactly 0.001 cubic meters by definition, so the liter to milliliter and liter to cubic meter conversions are exact. Rounded display means a liter value converted to gallons and back may not return identically.
The judgement call is which gallon: this site uses the US gallon of exactly 3.785411784 liters, not the imperial gallon of 4.54609 liters. Mixing the two understates or overstates a fuel or water volume by roughly twenty percent.
Liters and milliliters differ by a thousand and share the metric scale, while the US gallon is a separate unit near 3.79 liters. Fuel and drinks are sold in those measures, so a metric recipe written in US cups or fluid ounces needs converting first.
US and imperial units are kept separate because they are genuinely different sizes. Confirm which system a source means before trusting a converted figure.
The metric volume units are a clean decimal chain around the liter, so liters to milliliters is a shift of three places and cubic meters to liters is a shift of three the other way. Those pairs a reader can do without a converter.
Every pair that names a US or imperial liquid unit has to go through the definition first, because three of these units differ from a metric unit by amounts too large to round away: a liter is not a quart, a gallon is 3.785411784 liters in the US system and 4.54609 in the imperial one, and a US fluid ounce is not an imperial fluid ounce.
When checking a volume conversion, convert into liters and out again, or measure the container. The mistake that survives every other check is reading a US measure as the imperial unit of the same name, which changes a recipe, a fuel figure or a tank size by about a fifth.
Tanzania reference points
Real quantities, converted into liters.
The 20-litre bucket or canister used to carry water in Tanzania
20 L
WaterAid puts the minimum daily water need per person at 20 litres, so one container is roughly one person's daily requirement.
Source: IPS News — water access in Tanzania, citing WaterAid · verified 2026-09-14
Liters conversion tables
Liters to Milliliters
| Liters (L) | Milliliters (mL) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1,000 |
| 2 | 2,000 |
| 3 | 3,000 |
| 4 | 4,000 |
| 5 | 5,000 |
| 10 | 10,000 |
| 25 | 25,000 |
| 50 | 50,000 |
| 100 | 100,000 |
Liters to Cubic meters
| Liters (L) | Cubic meters (m³) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.001 |
| 2 | 0.002 |
| 3 | 0.003 |
| 4 | 0.004 |
| 5 | 0.005 |
| 10 | 0.01 |
| 25 | 0.025 |
| 50 | 0.05 |
| 100 | 0.1 |
Liters to Cubic centimeters
| Liters (L) | Cubic centimeters (cm³) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1,000 |
| 2 | 2,000 |
| 3 | 3,000 |
| 4 | 4,000 |
| 5 | 5,000 |
| 10 | 10,000 |
| 25 | 25,000 |
| 50 | 50,000 |
| 100 | 100,000 |