Volume
Litres, gallons, cups…
The Volume Converter handles both general volume units (litres, cubic metres, gallons) and cooking measures (cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, fluid ounces). It also distinguishes US fluid ounces from UK (imperial) fluid ounces — they are not the same.
This is the converter most often reached for when following a recipe from another country or estimating fuel quantities while travelling.
Supported units
- Metric: millilitre (ml), litre (l), cubic centimetre (cc), cubic metre (m³).
- US customary: fluid ounce (US fl oz), cup (US, 240 ml), pint, quart, gallon (US, 3.7854 l).
- Imperial (UK): fluid ounce (UK fl oz), pint (UK), gallon (UK, 4.5461 l).
- Cooking: teaspoon, tablespoon, cup.
Key conversion factors
- 1 US gallon = 3.78541 litres = 128 US fl oz
- 1 UK gallon = 4.54609 litres = 160 UK fl oz
- 1 US fl oz ≈ 29.5735 ml
- 1 UK fl oz ≈ 28.4131 ml
- 1 US cup = 240 ml (cooking convention) or 236.59 ml (US legal)
- 1 tablespoon (US) = 14.7868 ml ≈ 15 ml
Worked example
A US recipe calls for 2 cups of milk and you only have a metric measuring jug:
2 × 240 ml = 480 ml
Or you fill 12 US gallons of fuel and want litres: 12 × 3.78541 ≈ 45.4 litres.
When to use this
Cooking from international recipes, comparing fuel prices across countries, brewing and home distilling, science and pharmacy contexts, and any cross-system volume question.
US vs UK gallons are different
A UK gallon is about 20% larger than a US gallon. This catches travellers out: fuel listed at "£1.50 per litre" in the UK is not directly comparable to "$4 per gallon" in the US without first converting both to the same volume unit.
Frequently asked questions
How many ml in a cup?
In US cooking, a cup is conventionally 240 ml. The legal US cup is 236.588 ml. The metric cup (used in Australia, NZ, Canada) is 250 ml.
Why are US and UK fluid ounces different?
Historical accident — the imperial system was reformed in the UK in 1824, while the US kept the older definition. The two diverged and never reconciled.
Are dry and liquid measurements different?
In the US, dry pints and liquid pints are slightly different. For cooking, recipes usually mean the liquid measure. Weight is more accurate than volume for flour and similar dry ingredients.