Convert between liters, gallons, cups, ml, pints, fluid ounces and more. Instant results.
This free volume converter converts between all major volume and capacity units instantly — metric (liters, milliliters, cubic meters) and imperial/US (gallons, quarts, pints, cups, fluid ounces, tablespoons, teaspoons). Enter any value, choose your source and target units, and the result updates immediately. A full breakdown of all conversions for the entered value appears below the main result, so you can see all equivalent volumes at once without repeating the conversion.
Volume conversion comes up constantly in practical life. Converting a US recipe to metric measurements. Checking whether a water tank is the right size. Comparing fuel tank capacities between cars sold in different countries. Working out how much of a cleaning concentrate to add to a spray bottle. All of these require accurate volume conversion, and the metric-to-imperial boundary is where errors most commonly occur — particularly around gallons, which differ between the US and UK systems.
Type any number — whole numbers, decimals, and very large or very small values are all supported. Results update live as you type, so you see the converted value immediately without pressing a button.
Choose the unit your original measurement is in. The dropdown covers all common metric and imperial volume units. Use the swap button (⇄) to quickly reverse the conversion direction without re-selecting.
Choose the unit you want to convert to. The converted value appears prominently in the result box. Below that, a full breakdown shows the same input value expressed in all other supported units simultaneously — useful when you need to know multiple equivalents at once.
All values are exact or rounded to 6 significant figures. US fluid measurements are used unless otherwise specified.
| Unit | Abbreviation | In Milliliters | In Liters | In US Gallons | In US Cups |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teaspoon (US) | tsp | 4.92892 | 0.00493 | 0.00130 | 0.02083 |
| Tablespoon (US) | tbsp | 14.7868 | 0.01479 | 0.00391 | 0.06250 |
| Fluid Ounce (US) | fl oz | 29.5735 | 0.02957 | 0.00781 | 0.12500 |
| Cup (US) | c | 236.588 | 0.23659 | 0.06250 | 1.00000 |
| Pint (US) | pt | 473.176 | 0.47318 | 0.12500 | 2.00000 |
| Quart (US) | qt | 946.353 | 0.94635 | 0.25000 | 4.00000 |
| Gallon (US) | gal | 3785.41 | 3.78541 | 1.00000 | 16.0000 |
| Milliliter | mL | 1.00000 | 0.00100 | 0.000264 | 0.00423 |
| Liter | L | 1000.00 | 1.00000 | 0.26417 | 4.22675 |
| Cubic Meter | m³ | 1,000,000 | 1000.00 | 264.172 | 4226.75 |
| Pint (UK imperial) | pt (UK) | 568.261 | 0.56826 | 0.15012 | 2.40190 |
| Gallon (UK imperial) | gal (UK) | 4546.09 | 4.54609 | 1.20095 | 19.2152 |
The metric system uses a decimal-based hierarchy for volume. The base unit is the liter (L), which was originally defined as the volume of 1 kilogram of water at 4°C. The milliliter (mL) is one-thousandth of a liter — a unit so convenient for small quantities that it dominates cooking and pharmaceutical measurement in metric countries. The cubic meter (m³) is the SI unit of volume and represents 1,000 liters — used for large-scale volumes in engineering, construction, and industrial contexts.
The elegance of metric volume is the relationship between units: 1 cubic centimeter (cc or cm³) = 1 milliliter. This means a 1cm × 1cm × 1cm cube holds exactly 1 mL of water. A 10cm × 10cm × 10cm cube (1 cubic decimeter) holds exactly 1 liter. A 1m × 1m × 1m cube holds exactly 1,000 liters. This geometric consistency makes metric volume intuitive for scientific and engineering work.
The US customary system divides volume using a doubling hierarchy: 2 cups = 1 pint, 2 pints = 1 quart, 4 quarts = 1 gallon. While not as mathematically elegant as metric, this system has clear internal consistency that makes kitchen scaling straightforward — doubling a recipe means doubling each measurement, and the cups/pints/quarts/gallons hierarchy supports this thinking naturally. 1 US gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints = 16 cups = 128 fluid ounces = 3.785 liters.
One of the most important things to know about volume conversion is that the US gallon and the UK (imperial) gallon are not the same. The US gallon is 3.785 liters; the UK gallon is 4.546 liters — about 20% larger. This difference has real consequences when comparing fuel economy figures: a car rated at 40 MPG in the US achieves approximately 48 MPG in UK figures for identical real-world performance. When reading fuel efficiency comparisons that mix US and UK sources, this discrepancy can create very misleading impressions.
Similarly, a US pint is 473 mL while a UK pint is 568 mL — which is why a pint of beer in a British pub is genuinely larger (about 20% more) than a US pint. When a British recipe calls for a pint of milk, that's 568 mL, not the 473 mL of a US pint. This matters more than most people realise when cooking from international recipes.
Volume conversion in cooking is the most common everyday use of this tool. Here are the most-used kitchen conversions with practical context.
| US Measurement | Milliliters | Tablespoons | Teaspoons | Practical Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 teaspoon | 4.93 mL | ⅓ tbsp | 1 tsp | Salt, baking powder, vanilla extract |
| 1 tablespoon | 14.79 mL | 1 tbsp | 3 tsp | Butter, olive oil, soy sauce |
| ¼ cup | 59.15 mL | 4 tbsp | 12 tsp | Honey, small amounts of liquid |
| ⅓ cup | 78.86 mL | 5 tbsp + 1 tsp | 16 tsp | Nuts, seeds, small dry ingredients |
| ½ cup | 118.29 mL | 8 tbsp | 24 tsp | Milk, cream, sauces |
| ¾ cup | 177.44 mL | 12 tbsp | 36 tsp | Common recipe measurement |
| 1 cup | 236.59 mL | 16 tbsp | 48 tsp | Flour, sugar, most liquids |
| 2 cups (1 pint) | 473.18 mL | 32 tbsp | 96 tsp | Stock, cream for sauces |
| 4 cups (1 quart) | 946.35 mL | 64 tbsp | 192 tsp | Large soup batches |
The internet has made recipes from every country immediately accessible, but it hasn't standardised the measurement systems. An American cook following a British recipe encounters UK pints and milliliters. A Pakistani cook following an American recipe encounters cups and fluid ounces. A European following an American baking recipe needs to convert cups to grams via the intermediate step of ml. This tool handles the volume conversion step instantly, though bakers should always note that weight measurements in grams are more precise than volume conversions because different ingredients have different densities — a cup of all-purpose flour weighs about 120g, while a cup of sugar weighs about 200g.
Cocktail recipes mix measurement systems freely — a recipe might call for 2 oz of bourbon, 30 mL of simple syrup, and a splash of bitters. Professional bartending uses jiggers measured in mL; American home bartenders use fluid ounces; British recipes use centiliters. Converting between these quickly and accurately is essential for consistent cocktail making. A US fluid ounce is 29.57 mL; a UK fluid ounce is 28.41 mL — close but not identical for precision work.
Laboratory work requires precise volume measurement, typically in milliliters and microliters for small quantities, liters for medium quantities, and cubic meters for large-scale processes. Converting between these and the occasional non-SI units that appear in older literature or non-metric equipment specifications is a routine task. The equivalence of mL and cm³ (cubic centimeter) is particularly important in lab contexts where volumetric glassware and density calculations intersect.
Car owners encounter volume conversions in several practical contexts: fuel tank capacity (liters vs gallons for fuel cost calculations), engine displacement (cubic centimeters/cc vs liters), coolant and oil quantities (liters vs quarts), and wiper fluid capacity. Understanding that a 2.0L engine displaces 2,000 cc, or that a 15-gallon fuel tank holds about 56.8 liters, helps with international car comparisons and trip fuel planning.
Medical dosing in liquid medications uses milliliters exclusively in modern pharmacy, but patients and caregivers sometimes convert to teaspoons for measurement at home (1 teaspoon = 5 mL is the standard pharmaceutical convention, though technically 4.93 mL). IV fluid administration uses milliliters and liters. Blood draw volumes are measured in milliliters. Accurate volume conversion prevents dangerous dosing errors, particularly important when switching between milliliter-labelled syringes and teaspoon-labelled dosing cups.
Calculating chemical dosage for pools and aquariums requires knowing the exact volume of water in the system. Pool volumes are often calculated in gallons in the US and liters elsewhere. Converting pool size (length × width × depth in feet or meters) to gallons or liters, then applying chemical dosage rates (which may be specified in different units), requires confident volume conversion at multiple steps.
The UK gallon is 4.546 liters; the US gallon is 3.785 liters — about 20% different. Using the wrong gallon when comparing international fuel economy figures, cooking, or calculating tank volumes produces significant errors. Always verify which gallon standard applies to the source measurement before converting.
Volume measures a physical space; weight measures mass. For dry baking ingredients, weight (grams) is far more accurate than volume (cups/ml) because density varies — a cup of sifted flour weighs much less than a cup of packed flour. Professional bakers always use weight. When converting an international recipe, convert to grams rather than ml for dry ingredients.
1 cubic centimeter (cc or cm³) is exactly equal to 1 milliliter. They are the same unit expressed differently. This equivalence is exact by definition of the liter. In medical and automotive contexts, cc and mL are completely interchangeable.
The standard US cup used in American recipes is 236.588 mL. The metric cup used in Australia and Canada is 250 mL. The UK imperial cup is 284 mL. A recipe using 2 metric cups (500 mL) and a recipe using 2 US cups (473 mL) differ by about 27 mL — noticeable in precise baking even if imperceptible in casual cooking. Always check the recipe's country of origin when converting cups.
1 US cup = 236.588 mL. The Australian metric cup = 250 mL. The UK imperial cup = 284.131 mL. Most online recipes use US cups (236.6 mL). Use this converter for precise values and check the recipe's origin when converting international recipes.
1 US gallon = 3.78541 liters. 1 UK (imperial) gallon = 4.54609 liters. The US and UK gallons are different — the UK gallon is about 20% larger. Always check which gallon is referenced in your source measurement, especially for fuel economy and tank capacity calculations.
1 liter = 4.22675 US cups. For practical cooking, 4 cups is a reasonable approximation for 1 liter. More precisely, 1 liter = 4 cups + approximately 3.5 tablespoons. For precise baking, measure in milliliters directly rather than converting through cups.
1 liter = 33.8140 US fluid ounces. A standard 1-liter water bottle holds about 33.8 fl oz. This is why large US water bottles are commonly sold as 32 fl oz (about 946 mL or close to 1 quart) rather than a full liter.
1 US cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons = 236.588 mL. This relationship is fundamental for kitchen recipe scaling — halving a recipe means 8 tablespoons instead of 1 cup; quartering means 4 tablespoons (¼ cup).
1 US fluid ounce = 29.5735 mL. 1 UK fluid ounce = 28.4131 mL. For everyday cooking purposes the difference is negligible, but for precision formulation (cocktails, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics) always specify which standard applies.
The US gallon (3.785 L) is smaller than the UK imperial gallon (4.546 L) by about 20%. This matters significantly when comparing international fuel economy: a car achieving 40 US MPG achieves approximately 48 UK MPG on the same road. Always check whether MPG figures are US or UK when comparing international automotive data.
US: 1 gallon = 8 pints = 4 quarts = 16 cups = 128 fl oz. UK: 1 gallon = 8 pints = 4 quarts = 160 fl oz. A US pint is 473 mL; a UK pint is 568 mL — which is why a UK pub pint of beer is about 20% larger than a US pint.
1 cubic meter (m³) = exactly 1,000 liters = 1,000,000 milliliters. A cubic meter is the SI volume unit — the volume of a cube with 1-meter sides. 1 cm³ = 1 mL. 1 dm³ = 1 liter. These relationships make metric volume mathematically elegant and convenient for scientific calculations.