Convert liters to gallons instantly
1 liter = 0.264172 US gallons (or 0.219969 UK gallons). Type any number of liters into the calculator above and get the gallon equivalent right away — no sign-up, no waiting.
This converter is handy for fuel economy, cooking, buying drinks in bulk, or making sense of a foreign car spec sheet. Everything runs in your browser, so nothing you type is ever sent to a server.
How to use this liters-to-gallons calculator
- Make sure Liters is selected as the "From" unit and Gallons (US) — or Gallons (UK) if you need imperial — as the "To" unit.
- Type your liter value into the input box.
- The gallon result appears instantly below the input.
- Need the reverse? Swap the units to convert gallons back to liters in one click.
Worked example: 40 liters to gallons
Say you fill a car tank with 40 liters of fuel and want to know how many US gallons that is.
gallons = 40 × 0.264172
gallons = 10.567So 40 liters ≈ 10.57 US gallons. That is roughly the same as a small-to-mid-size car tank in American terms.
How the conversion is calculated
The formula is simple multiplication. The US gallon is defined as exactly 3.785411784 liters, so dividing by that number — or multiplying by its reciprocal — gives you the answer every time.
US gallons = liters ÷ 3.785411784
— or —
US gallons = liters × 0.264172For UK (imperial) gallons, the factor is different because one imperial gallon equals 4.54609 liters:
UK gallons = liters ÷ 4.54609
— or —
UK gallons = liters × 0.219969Quick-reference conversion table
| Liters (L) | US Gallons (gal) | UK Gallons (imp gal) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.264 | 0.220 |
| 2 | 0.528 | 0.440 |
| 5 | 1.321 | 1.100 |
| 10 | 2.642 | 2.200 |
| 25 | 6.604 | 5.499 |
| 50 | 13.209 | 10.998 |
| 100 | 26.417 | 21.997 |
The reverse conversion is just as easy: gallons to liters = gallons × 3.785411784 (US) or × 4.54609 (UK).
Other ways people ask the same question
People phrase this conversion differently depending on what they are doing. Here are the most common ones and when each applies:
- Liters to US gallons — what most people in the US mean. Use the ÷ 3.785 formula above.
- Liters to imperial gallons — used in the UK and some Commonwealth countries. Use the ÷ 4.546 formula instead.
- L to gal — the shorthand version of the same question. "L" is the SI symbol for liter; "gal" is the abbreviation for gallon.
- mL to gallons — for smaller volumes (like medicine or small containers). Convert milliliters to liters first (÷ 1000), then apply the gallon formula.
- Liters per 100 km to mpg — a related fuel-economy question that involves an extra calculation beyond a simple unit swap. That one needs its own converter.
Quick tips and common mistakes
- US gallon ≠ UK gallon. A US gallon is about 17% smaller than a UK imperial gallon. Always check which one you need before doing a calculation — mixing them up is the most common error here.
- Fuel prices abroad: European gas stations price fuel in liters. A price of €1.70 per liter works out to roughly €6.43 per US gallon. The converter above helps you do that mental translation fast.
- Cooking recipes: Most international recipes use milliliters or liters. If a US recipe asks for gallons, remember 1 US gallon = 3.785 liters (or 3785 mL) so you can scale without guessing.
- Rounding: For everyday use, rounding to three decimal places is fine. For engineering or scientific work, use the full conversion factor (3.785411784 L per US gallon).
Your numbers never leave your device — the calculator runs entirely in the browser, so it works offline too.
Takeaway: Divide liters by 3.785 for US gallons, or by 4.546 for UK gallons — and use the converter above whenever you want the answer in a second.