Gallons to Litres Converter
MeasurementConvert US and Imperial gallons to litres and back. Covers gallons, litres, quarts, pints, and fluid ounces — ideal for fuel, recipes, and pool volumes.
From
To
All conversionsfor 1 US Gallon (gal)
| US Gallon (gal) | 1 |
| Imperial Gallon (gal) | 0.83267418 |
| Litre (L) | 3.7854118 |
| Millilitre (mL) | 3785.4118 |
| US Quart (qt) | 4 |
| US Pint (pt) | 8 |
| US Fluid Ounce (fl oz) | 128 |
What is a Gallons / L?
The Gallons to Litres Converter converts liquid volumes between US gallons, Imperial gallons, litres, millilitres, US quarts, US pints, and US fluid ounces. Gallons and litres are the two dominant liquid volume units worldwide, but they originate from different measurement traditions — and the word "gallon" itself refers to two different quantities depending on whether you are in the United States (3.785 L) or the United Kingdom (4.546 L).
India uses litres for all liquid measurements: petrol at the pump, milk at the market, cooking oil on the shelf, and water in the tank. Gallons appear in Indian life primarily through imported content — US car reviews quoting fuel tank sizes in gallons, American recipes listing volumes in cups and quarts, and online product listings for pool equipment or aquariums.
The most important thing to know before converting: always confirm whether the source is using US or Imperial gallons. A US gallon is approximately 3.785 litres, while an Imperial gallon is approximately 4.546 litres — a difference of about 20%. Mixing them up leads to significant errors, particularly in fuel economy comparisons and large-volume liquid estimates.
For cooking volumes including Indian-specific measures such as the glass, katori, and tola, use the Cooking Measurement Converter. For the full range of volume units including cubic metres, cubic feet, and cubic inches, use the Volume Converter.
How to use this Gallons / L calculator
- Select the FROM unit in the left panel dropdown — for example, "US Gallon (gal)" for an American fuel or recipe context, or "Imperial Gallon (gal)" for a UK source.
- Select the TO unit in the right panel dropdown — for example, "Litre (L)" to convert to the Indian/metric standard.
- Enter your volume in the input field on the left — the converted result updates instantly in the right panel.
- Use the ⇅ swap button to reverse the conversion — useful for converting litres back to gallons without reselecting units.
- Check the reference table below the panels to see your volume in all units simultaneously — US gallons, Imperial gallons, litres, millilitres, US quarts, US pints, and US fluid ounces.
- Note which gallon type applies to your source — US recipes, car specs, and pool products use the US gallon (3.785 L); UK sources use the Imperial gallon (4.546 L). When in doubt, US sources default to the US gallon.
Formula & Methodology
Base unit: Litre (L) All conversions route through litres. The formula is: > Result = Input × (F_from ÷ F_to) WhereF_fromandF_toare the litre-equivalent factors for the source and target units. Conversion factors (exact per international definitions): | Unit | Factor (litres) | Derivation | |---|---|---| | Litre (L) | 1 | SI volume unit | | Millilitre (mL) | 0.001 | = 1/1,000 L | | US Gallon (gal) | 3.785411784 | Exact — 231 cubic inches per NIST | | Imperial Gallon (gal) | 4.54609 | Exact — Weights & Measures Act 1985 (UK) | | US Quart (qt) | 0.946352946 | = 1 US gal ÷ 4 | | US Pint (pt) | 0.473176473 | = 1 US gal ÷ 8 | | US Fluid Ounce (fl oz) | 0.0295735296 | = 1 US gal ÷ 128 | Worked example — Indian fuel context: An Indian driver in the United States fills up 11.5 US gallons. What is the equivalent in litres? - 11.5 gal (US) × 3.785411784 = 43.532 litres Comparing to an Indian car tank: most hatchbacks (Swift, i20, Altroz) have a 37–42 L tank — so 11.5 US gallons is a full tank for a typical Indian car. Common reference values: | US Gallons | Litres | US Quarts | US Pints | |---|---|---|---| | 0.25 gal | 0.946 L | 1 qt | 2 pt | | 0.5 gal | 1.893 L | 2 qt | 4 pt | | 1 gal | 3.785 L | 4 qt | 8 pt | | 5 gal | 18.927 L | 20 qt | 40 pt | | 10 gal | 37.854 L | 40 qt | 80 pt | | 1 L | 0.264 gal | 1.057 qt | 2.113 pt |
Frequently Asked Questions
A Gallons to Litres Converter is a tool that converts liquid volumes between US gallons, Imperial gallons, litres, millilitres, quarts, pints, and fluid ounces. Gallons are used for fuel in the United States and for some liquid measures in the United Kingdom, while litres are the standard in India and most of the world. This converter handles both the US gallon (3.785 L) and the Imperial gallon (4.546 L), which are different units despite sharing the same name.
A US gallon is defined as exactly 231 cubic inches or 3.785411784 litres. An Imperial (UK) gallon is defined as exactly 4.54609 litres — about 20% larger than a US gallon. This distinction matters for fuel economy comparisons: a car rated at 30 mpg in the United States (US mpg) gets about 36 Imperial mpg when measured against UK gallons. Always check which gallon is being used when reading fuel consumption figures from different countries.
To convert US gallons to litres, multiply by 3.785411784: L = gal (US) × 3.785411784. To convert Imperial gallons to litres, multiply by 4.54609: L = gal (UK) × 4.54609. For the reverse — litres to US gallons — divide by 3.785411784, or multiply by 0.264172. For litres to Imperial gallons, divide by 4.54609, or multiply by 0.219969.
One US gallon equals exactly 3.785411784 litres. At a US petrol station, a fill-up of 10 gallons is 37.85 litres. In India, petrol is sold by the litre — a 45-litre tank fill corresponds to about 11.89 US gallons. When Indian motorists travel to the United States, knowing that one US gallon ≈ 3.785 L helps them estimate cost per litre from the US price per gallon.
5 US gallons equals exactly 18.927 litres (5 × 3.785411784 = 18.927). A common 5-gallon water cooler bottle, widely used in Indian offices, holds 18.93 litres. 5 Imperial gallons equals 22.730 litres (5 × 4.54609 = 22.730). The 5-gallon size is also a standard for paint buckets in the US home improvement market, where Indian buyers of US paints may encounter it.
1 litre equals approximately 0.264172 US gallons (1 ÷ 3.785411784 = 0.26417). A quick mental approximation: 1 litre ≈ 0.26 gallons, or about one-quarter of a gallon. Conversely, 4 litres ≈ 1.057 US gallons — slightly more than a US gallon. A 1-litre water bottle holds about 33.8 US fluid ounces.
Select 'US Gallon (gal)' in the FROM field and 'Litre (L)' in the TO field, enter the recipe quantity, and read the converted value. For smaller US recipe quantities, switch the FROM unit to 'US Quart (qt)', 'US Pint (pt)', or 'US Fluid Ounce (fl oz)' as appropriate. A US recipe calling for 1 quart of stock uses 0.946 L; 1 pint of cream is 0.473 L; 8 fluid ounces of milk is 0.237 L (approximately 237 mL).
Select the unit you are converting from in the FROM dropdown — for example, 'US Gallon (gal)'. Select the target unit in the TO dropdown — for example, 'Litre (L)'. Enter your volume in the input field and the converted result appears instantly. Use the ⇅ swap button to reverse the conversion direction. The reference table below the panels displays your volume simultaneously in all seven units — US gallons, Imperial gallons, litres, millilitres, US quarts, US pints, and US fluid ounces.
India uses litres (L) as the standard unit for all liquid volumes — petrol, diesel, cooking oil, milk, bottled water, and beverages are all sold and measured in litres and millilitres. Fuel prices in India are quoted per litre at petrol stations. The gallon is not used in India for any official commercial purpose. Indian users encounter gallons primarily in US content: car reviews, recipes, pool specifications, and travel.
Residential swimming pools in the US are typically described in gallons: a small above-ground pool holds 10,000–15,000 US gallons; a standard 25-metre lap pool holds around 250,000–325,000 US gallons. To convert, multiply the gallon figure by 3.785: 15,000 gal × 3.785 = 56,775 litres. In India, pools are specified in litres or kilolitres (1 kL = 1,000 L). Use the [Volume Converter](/volume-converter/) for cubic metre and kilolitre conversions.
A US quart is one-quarter of a US gallon, equal to 0.946352946 litres or 946 millilitres. A US gallon contains 4 quarts, 8 pints, 16 cups, or 128 fluid ounces. The quart appears in US recipes and paint can sizes — a quart of paint is about 946 mL, while a gallon can is 3.785 L. Indian hardware stores typically stock paints in 100 mL, 500 mL, 1 L, and 4 L cans, so the quart-to-litre conversion is useful when sourcing from US brands.
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