🔄 Converters
🧪 🧪 Volume Converter: Liters, Gallons, Cups, ml and More
Learn how to convert between volume units: liters, gallons, cups, ml, fluid ounces, pints, and quarts. Covers US vs imperial measures, cooking conversions, and key reference volumes.
⏱️ 7 min read🦉 365tool.net🌍 For everyone worldwide
Volume conversion is one of the most practical everyday calculations — needed for cooking recipes from different countries, fuel quantities, medical dosages, and chemistry. The US customary and Imperial (UK) systems share the same unit names but differ in size, making international recipe conversions especially tricky.
Core Conversion: 1 Liter = 1,000 ml
The metric system is straightforward: milliliters, centiliters, deciliters, and liters are all powers of 10. The anchors for converting to US customary:
- 1 US gallon = 3.78541 liters
- 1 US fluid ounce (fl oz) = 29.5735 ml
- 1 liter = 33.814 US fl oz = 4.2268 US cups
US Customary Volume Units
| Unit |
ml |
fl oz |
Liters |
| 1 teaspoon (tsp) | 4.929 | 1/6 | 0.00493 |
| 1 tablespoon (tbsp) | 14.787 | 1/2 | 0.01479 |
| 1 fluid ounce (fl oz) | 29.574 | 1 | 0.02957 |
| 1 cup | 236.588 | 8 | 0.23659 |
| 1 pint (pt) | 473.176 | 16 | 0.47318 |
| 1 quart (qt) | 946.353 | 32 | 0.94635 |
| 1 gallon (gal) | 3,785.41 | 128 | 3.78541 |
US vs UK (Imperial) Volumes: Critical Differences
The US and UK use the same unit names but with different sizes — a common source of recipe errors:
| Unit |
US (ml) |
UK Imperial (ml) |
Difference |
| 1 fluid ounce | 29.57 | 28.41 | +4% |
| 1 pint | 473 | 568 | +20% |
| 1 gallon | 3,785 | 4,546 | +20% |
A UK pint is 20% larger than a US pint. This is why a UK "pint of beer" (568 ml) is noticeably more than a US pint (473 ml).
Cooking Conversions
- 1 cup = 240 ml (US standard in recipes)
- 1 tbsp = 15 ml | 1 tsp = 5 ml (metric standard)
- 250 ml ≈ 1 cup (Australian and Canadian recipes use 250 ml)
- 1 liter ≈ 4 cups (US) or 4 cups (250 ml each, metric)
Note: Australian tablespoons = 20 ml (not 15 ml). Australian recipes with "4 tablespoons" mean 80 ml, not 60 ml. Always check which tablespoon a recipe uses.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How many ml in a cup?▼
1 US cup = 236.6 ml. For cooking purposes, most recipes treat 1 cup = 240 ml. Australian and Canadian recipes define 1 cup = 250 ml. Always check which cup definition applies — the 10–14 ml difference can matter in precision baking.
What is the difference between a US pint and a UK pint?▼
A US pint = 473 ml (16 fl oz). A UK imperial pint = 568 ml (20 imperial fl oz). The UK pint is 20% larger. This difference applies to gallons too: US gallon = 3.785 L, UK gallon = 4.546 L. When following international recipes or comparing fuel prices, always check which gallon/pint is intended.
How many cups in a liter?▼
1 liter = 4.227 US cups (approximately 4¼ cups). If using 250 ml metric cups: 1 liter = 4 cups exactly. For cooking, 1 liter ≈ 4 cups is a workable approximation; for precision, use ml measurements.
How do I convert fluid ounces to ml?▼
1 US fluid ounce = 29.574 ml. Multiply fl oz by 29.574 for ml (or use the approximation ×30 for quick mental math). Examples: 8 fl oz (1 cup) = 236.6 ml; 16 fl oz (1 pint) = 473.2 ml. Note: US fl oz (29.57 ml) ≠ UK fl oz (28.41 ml).
How many tablespoons in a cup?▼
1 US cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons. 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons = 15 ml. 1 teaspoon = 5 ml. Australian tablespoons are 20 ml (not 15 ml), so Australian recipes with tablespoons produce more volume than US/UK equivalents.