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Need to know exactly how many liters are in a gallon? Consider this your guide! I’ll break it down with quick conversions, tables, and a simple formula so you never have to guess!
Table of Contents
Nothing is a bigger pain than trying to figure out a conversion when you’re in the middle of something, whether it’s a recipe, a road trip, or a heated debate with friends.
So, to save yourself the frustration of breaking out a calculator (or scouring the internet!), I came up with cooking resources for every conversion factor I could think of. This time around, we’re figuring out liters to gallons and everything in between.
How many liters are in a gallon?
The short answer is that there are 3.785 liters in a gallon, and a liter is 0.264 of a gallon.
However, this can vary depending on the system of measurement you’re using, either the metric system or the imperial system. The imperial system can be further broken down into different types of gallons:
Imperial gallon: 4.54 liters
US liquid gallon: 3.7854 liters
US dry gallons: 4.405 liters
When accuracy is not critical, you can roughly estimate that there are about 4 liters in a gallon.
What is a gallon?
The term gallon most likely originates from the Old Northern French term ‘galon,’ which was developed as a system for measuring beer and wine. Today, it refers to a unit of volume measurement for any liquid ingredients.
Gallon is typically abbreviated as ‘gal’ and equals approximately 3.79 liters or 4 quarts.
What is a liter?
The term liter was first introduced in France in the late 1700s, following the development of the metric system. Typically abbreviated as ‘L,’ a liter is a unit of measurement used for fluids. One liter equals about 1.75 pints or 1,000 cubic centimeters.
Converting liters of gasoline
While conversions from liters to gallons aren’t very common when it comes to recipe building, it can be very handy to know when converting a gallon of gasoline since most parts of the world measure gas in liters.
The United States uses miles per gallon (mpg) to measure fuel economy, whereas Europe uses kilometers per liter (Km/l). To convert from mpg to Km/l, divide by 2.352.
Quick conversions
To convert gallons to liters, multiply the gallon value by 3.785.
However, you must also consider the type of gallon you’re using, as there are three different types (imperial gallon, dry, and liquid gallons). Once you determine which gallon measurement is required, use the following formula for conversion.
Volume given in Liters = (volume in gal) x (3.785 L/1 gal)
Here are some handy conversions worth memorizing:
- 1 cup = 0.236 liters
- 1 pint = 0.47 liters
- 1 quart = 1.06 liters
- 1 gallon = 3.78 liters
| Liters | Cups | Pints | Quarts | Gallons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 | 2.12 | 1.06 | 0.53 | 0.13 |
| 1 | 4.23 | 2.11 | 1.06 | 0.26 |
| 2 | 8.46 | 4.22 | 2.12 | 0.53 |
| 5 | 21.15 | 10.55 | 5.30 | 1.32 |
| 10 | 42.30 | 21.10 | 10.60 | 2.64 |
Frequently asked questions
Close, but not quite. One gallon equals 3.785 liters, which is just shy of 4 liters.
There are 3.785 liters in one gallon of milk.
