Convert liters to US gallons, UK gallons, quarts, pints, cups, and fluid ounces. Includes price calculator and volume reference table.
Liters and gallons are the two most common volume units worldwide, yet they measure quite different amounts—a US gallon is about 3.785 liters while a UK (imperial) gallon is about 4.546 liters. This mismatch causes confusion whether you're comparing fuel economy, following recipes, or pricing beverages across borders.
This Liters to Gallons Converter handles both directions and all three gallon types: US liquid, UK imperial, and US dry. In addition to the primary conversion, it shows equivalent volumes in quarts, pints, cups, fluid ounces, and milliliters—all in one calculation.
An optional price field lets you compute the total cost for a given volume, useful for comparing fuel prices, bulk liquid purchases, or beverage pricing between metric and imperial markets. The built-in reference table provides quick lookups for common container sizes from small bottles to standard barrels. It also supports faster decision making when suppliers quote different unit systems and when teams reconcile invoices and inventory sheets.
Anyone working across metric and imperial systems needs reliable liter-to-gallon conversions. Fuel pricing, cooking at scale, international shipping, and beer brewing all involve frequent volume unit conversions. Getting the gallon type wrong—US vs UK—can cause a 20% error.
This tool handles all gallon variants in one place, with additional unit outputs and a price calculator that eliminates the need for separate tools.
US Gallons = Liters ÷ 3.78541 UK Gallons = Liters ÷ 4.54609 US Dry Gallons = Liters ÷ 4.40488 Quarts = Liters ÷ 0.946353 Pints = Liters ÷ 0.473176
Result: 5.2834 US gallons
20 liters ÷ 3.78541 = 5.2834 US gallons. This is a standard jerry can volume, equivalent to about 21.13 US quarts or 676.28 fluid ounces.
The gallon has a surprisingly complex history. Multiple gallon definitions existed in medieval England, including the wine gallon, ale gallon, and corn gallon—each a different size. When the US became independent, it adopted the wine gallon (231 cubic inches). Britain later standardized on the imperial gallon (277.42 cubic inches) in 1824, creating the transatlantic split that persists today.
Nearly every country has officially adopted the metric system, making the liter the global standard for liquid volume. The United States remains the most prominent holdout, using gallons for fuel, milk, and beverages. Canada uses liters officially but still encounters gallons in cross-border trade. Understanding both systems is essential for international commerce, travel, and recipe sharing.
For quick mental math: 1 US gallon ≈ 3.8 liters, so multiply gallons by 4 and subtract 5% for a close estimate. For UK gallons, multiply by 4.5. When converting fuel prices, remember that fuel priced per gallon will always look cheaper per unit than per liter—divide the gallon price by 3.785 to get the per-liter equivalent.
1 US gallon = 3.78541 liters. 1 UK (imperial) gallon = 4.54609 liters. The imperial gallon is about 20% larger than the US gallon.
The US gallon is based on the English wine gallon (231 cubic inches), while the UK gallon is based on the volume of 10 pounds of water (277.42 cubic inches). They diverged historically.
The US uses US gallons for fuel and liquids. The UK officially uses liters but informally still references imperial gallons. A few Caribbean and Central American countries also use US gallons.
MPG (US) = 235.215 ÷ L/100km. For example, 8 L/100km = 235.215 ÷ 8 = 29.4 MPG (US).
The US dry gallon (4.40488 L) is used for dry goods like grain. It equals ⅛ of a US bushel and is rarely used in everyday liquid measurements.
There are 16 US cups in a US gallon, or 18.18 UK cups in an imperial gallon.