How to use the Volume Converter
- Type a number in Value and pick a unit under From, for example 16 fluid ounces.
- Pick a unit under To. The result appears in large type, and the table below shows the value in every unit.
- Click Copy next to any row to copy that value.
- For recipes from another country, convert cups and spoons to mL so you can measure with a metric jug or a kitchen scale.
How many liters in a gallon? US vs. UK gallons
A gallon isn't the same size everywhere. The US gallon is 3.785411784 L, while the British imperial gallon is 4.54609 L, about 20% bigger. US product labels and US gas prices use US gallons. UK fuel-economy figures (miles per gallon) and older British, Canadian and Australian sources use imperial gallons.
- 1 US gallon ≈ 0.833 UK gallons
- 1 UK gallon ≈ 1.201 US gallons
| US unit | In mL | Relationship |
|---|---|---|
| 1 fl oz (fluid ounce) | about 29.57 mL | - |
| 1 cup | about 236.6 mL | 8 fl oz |
| 1 pint | about 473.2 mL | 2 cups |
| 1 quart | about 946.4 mL | 2 pints |
| 1 gallon | about 3,785 mL | 4 quarts |
The pint, quart and fluid ounce in this tool are US units. A UK (imperial) pint is about 568 mL, so a British pint of beer holds roughly 20% more than an American one.
How many mL in a cup? Tablespoons and teaspoons
US recipes use 1 cup ≈ 240 mL (236.6 mL exactly). Australia, New Zealand and Canada often use a metric cup of 250 mL, and Korean recipes and measuring cups use 1 cup = 200 mL. This tool includes the US cup and the Korean cup. For a 250 mL metric cup, convert from milliliters. In this tool a tablespoon (Tbsp) is 15 mL and a teaspoon (tsp) is 5 mL. Australian tablespoons are 20 mL, so watch for that in Australian recipes.
Cup sizes can differ by up to about 20%, so if you're following a recipe from another country, convert to mL before you measure.
- 1 Tbsp = 3 tsp = 15 mL
- 1 US cup = 16 Tbsp ≈ 236.6 mL
- 1 metric cup = 250 mL ≈ 1.06 US cups
- 1 Korean cup = 200 mL ≈ 13⅓ Tbsp
How mL, cc, liters and cubic meters relate
1 mL = 1 cc = 1 cm³, so all three are the same amount. A liter is 1,000 mL, and a cubic meter (a 1 m × 1 m × 1 m cube) is 1,000 L. UK water bills and many others outside the US measure usage in cubic meters, so 20 m³ means 20,000 L. US bills usually show gallons or CCF (hundreds of cubic feet), and 1 CCF is about 748 US gallons. An engine size of "2,000 cc" is 2.0 liters.
Drink sizes in ounces
- 12 oz coffee or soda can = 12 × 29.57 ≈ 355 mL
- 16 oz ≈ 473 mL, 20 oz ≈ 591 mL
- 1 barrel of oil = 42 US gallons ≈ 159 L
An ounce (oz) of weight and a fluid ounce (fl oz) of volume are different units. To convert weight ounces, use the weight converter.
How much does a liter of water weigh? Volume vs. weight
One mL of water weighs about 1 g, so 1 L of water ≈ 1 kg (about 2.2 lb). The exact figure shifts very slightly with temperature. Other liquids have different densities, so the same volume can weigh a different amount. Cooking oil, for example, is about 0.92 g per mL, so 1 L weighs about 920 g.
Dry ingredients vary even more, so a cup of flour and a cup of sugar don't weigh the same. For precise cooking like baking, if the recipe gives grams, a kitchen scale is the most accurate option.