Gallons to Liters and Liters to Gallons
ConversionsPick the unit you start from: US gallons, imperial (UK) gallons, US dry gallons or liters. You get the volume in liters or US gallons and in the two other gallons. Two charts below list common amounts.
Step by step
1 × 3.785411784 = 3.78541 liters
- A US gallon is 3.785411784 L: 1 × 3.785411784 = 3.78541 liters.
- In imperial gallons, divide the liters by 4.54609: 0.83267.
- In US dry gallons, divide the liters by 4.40488377086: 0.85937.
Once every entry is valid, you’ll see each step of the calculation here.
Formula
- L
- volume in liters
- US gal
- US liquid gallon, 231 cubic inches
- imp gal
- imperial (UK) gallon, exactly 4.54609 liters
- US dry gal
- US dry gallon, 268.8025 cubic inches
How it works
The US gallon is defined as 231 cubic inches. Because an inch is exactly 2.54 cm, that is exactly 3.785411784 liters. To convert US gallons to liters, multiply by 3.785411784: 5 gallons are 18.927 liters. To convert liters to gallons, divide by the same number: 2 liters are 0.528 gallon, and 20 liters are 5.283 gallons.
Not every gallon is the same size. The imperial gallon of the UK, still found in British fuel economy figures, is 4.54609 liters, about 20% larger than the US gallon. The US dry gallon, an eighth of a bushel used for grain and produce, is 4.40488 liters. The converter shows all three, so a recipe, a car manual or a tank label from another country is easy to check.
A US gallon has 4 quarts, 8 pints, 16 cups or 128 US fluid ounces. Half a gallon is 1.893 liters and a quart is 0.946 liter, which is why a liter bottle holds a little more than a quart. For gas prices, a price of $3.50 a gallon is $0.92 a liter. For distances to go with fuel economy, see the km to miles converter.
The formula
All three factors are exact by definition; only the displayed result is rounded. 231 cubic inches × 16.387064 cm³ per cubic inch = 3,785.411784 cm³, and a liter is 1,000 cm³.
Between gallons, divide one factor by the other: an imperial gallon is 4.54609 / 3.785411784 = 1.20095 US gallons, and a US gallon is 0.832674 imperial gallon.
Example
How many liters are in a 5 gallon water jug?
- Multiply by 3.785411784: 5 × 3.785411784 = 18.92706 liters.
- In imperial gallons that is 4.16337, since the UK gallon is larger.
5 US gallons = 18.92706 liters, which is 4.16337 imperial gallons or 4.29684 US dry gallons.
Load this example into the calculatorFrequently asked questions
How many liters are in a gallon?
A US gallon is 3.785 liters (exactly 3.785411784). An imperial gallon, used in the UK, is 4.546 liters. So 2 US gallons are 7.57 liters and 10 US gallons are 37.85 liters.
How many gallons is 1 liter?
One liter is 0.264 US gallon, about a quarter gallon. 4 liters are 1.057 gallons, 10 liters 2.642 gallons and 50 liters 13.209 gallons.
Is a liter more than a quart?
Yes, slightly. A US quart is a quarter of a gallon, 0.946 liter, so a liter is 1.057 quarts. A 2 liter soda bottle holds a bit more than half a gallon (1.893 liters).
Why are UK gallons bigger than US gallons?
The two countries kept different historical gallons. The US adopted the 231 cubic inch wine gallon, while the UK defined the imperial gallon in 1824 from the volume of 10 pounds of water, today exactly 4.54609 liters. The imperial gallon is about 20% larger.
How do I convert a price per gallon to a price per liter?
Divide the price per gallon by 3.785411784. $3.50 a gallon is $0.92 a liter, and $4.00 a gallon is $1.06 a liter. The other way, a price of $1.50 per liter is $5.68 per gallon.
- NIST Guide to the SI, Appendix B: Conversion Factors (National Institute of Standards and Technology)
- Approximate Conversions from U.S. Customary Measures to Metric (National Institute of Standards and Technology)
- Weights and Measures Act 1985, Schedule 1 (imperial gallon) (legislation.gov.uk)
- Gallon (Wikipedia)