About This Liters to Gallons Converter
The liter (L) is the standard metric unit of liquid volume, used in most countries for beverages, fuel, and cooking. The gallon comes in two versions: the US gallon (3.78541 L), used for fuel and drinks in the United States, and the UK imperial gallon (4.54609 L), still found in some British and Canadian contexts. The two gallons differ by about 20%, which is enough to cause real errors if you assume they are the same.
This converter handles all nine common liquid volume units — liters, US and UK gallons, milliliters, cubic meters, quarts, pints, cups, and fluid ounces. Home cooks scaling international recipes, brewers calculating batch sizes, automobile mechanics checking coolant capacity, and fuel technicians comparing prices across countries all use this converter regularly.
How to Use This Converter
- Enter your volume value in the Value field.
- Select the unit you are converting from (e.g., Liter) in the From selector.
- Select the unit you want in the To selector (e.g., US Gallon).
- The result and formula appear instantly below the inputs.
- Use Swap to reverse the conversion direction in one click.
Units Covered
| Unit | Symbol | Common Use |
|---|---|---|
| Liter | L | Beverages, fuel, cooking — worldwide metric standard |
| US Gallon | gal | Fuel and beverages in the United States |
| UK Gallon | imp gal | Imperial measure, some British and Canadian contexts |
| Milliliter | mL | Small liquid measures, medicine, lab work |
| Cubic Meter | m³ | Large industrial and civil engineering volumes |
| US Quart | qt | Cooking and automotive fluids in the US (1/4 gal) |
| US Pint | pt | Beverages and deli portions in the US (1/8 gal) |
| US Cup | cup | Baking and cooking recipes (240 mL) |
| US Fluid Ounce | fl oz | Small liquid measures in US recipes and cosmetics |
Liters to US Gallons Conversion Table
| Liters [L] | US Gallons [gal] |
|---|---|
| 0.5 L | 0.132086 gal |
| 1 L | 0.264172 gal |
| 2 L | 0.528344 gal |
| 5 L | 1.320860 gal |
| 10 L | 2.641721 gal |
| 20 L | 5.283441 gal |
| 50 L | 13.2086 gal |
| 100 L | 26.4172 gal |
| 200 L | 52.8344 gal |
| 500 L | 132.086 gal |
How to Convert Liters to Gallons
To convert liters to US gallons, multiply by 0.264172:
Example: Convert 20 L to US gallons:
To convert US gallons back to liters, multiply by 3.78541:
Example: Convert 5 gal to liters:
When You Need to Convert Liters to Gallons
Fuel is the most common context. A car fuel tank specified in liters on a European model sheet needs converting when the owner moves to the US and fills up at a pump that reads in gallons. A 60-liter tank holds 15.85 US gallons. Comparing fuel efficiency across countries (km/L vs. mpg) also requires this conversion as an intermediate step.
Home brewers working from American recipes encounter gallons constantly — a 5-gallon batch is 18.93 liters. Aquarium owners sizing tanks or dosing treatments often work in both liters (metric filter ratings) and gallons (US tank size labels). Both groups need accurate conversions to avoid under- or over-dosing.
Cooking and baking recipes from the US use cups, quarts, and gallons; European recipes use milliliters and liters. This converter handles the full range of liquid volume units so cooks can move between any two measures in a single tool without referencing multiple conversion charts.