Convert L to gal litres ↔ US gallons Free Online Secure
Type a value in litres and read it in US gallons at once. The factor is exact by definition, the arithmetic happens in your browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.
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Common values — Convert L to gal (litres ↔ US gallons)
| L | gal |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.264172052358 |
| 2 | 0.528344104716 |
| 3 | 0.792516157074 |
| 5 | 1.32086026179 |
| 10 | 2.64172052358 |
| 20 | 5.28344104716 |
| 50 | 13.2086026179 |
| 100 | 26.4172052358 |
Where these units come from
The litre has an awkward history. From 1901 it was defined as the volume of one kilogram of pure water at its densest, which sounds elegant but came out at 1.000028 cubic decimetres — close enough to be confusing and far enough to spoil careful work. In 1964 the definition was abandoned and the litre became exactly one cubic decimetre, which it has been ever since. The gallon has a messier story still: the US gallon descends from the English wine gallon of 231 cubic inches, while Britain redefined its own in 1824 as the volume of ten pounds of water. Nobody reconciled the two, so a US gallon is 3.785411784 litres and an imperial gallon 4.54609 — about a fifth larger. The gallon, pint, cup, fluid ounce and spoons on this page are the US ones.
Where you meet them
Millilitres and litres run through daily life almost invisibly: bottles, fuel, paint, dosage, the capacity of a kettle. Cubic metres belong to water bills, concrete, shipping and the air a ventilation system has to move. Cubic centimetres name engine displacement, cubic feet appear in freight and in appliance capacities, and cups and spoons live almost entirely in recipes — which is exactly where the difference between a US cup and a metric one quietly ruins a cake.
Questions people ask
Is a litre of water really a kilogram?
Very nearly. The kilogram was first defined as the mass of one litre of water, and the two are still close: water at about 4 °C is 0.99997 kilograms per litre. It is not exact today because the kilogram is now defined from a physical constant. Warm water is slightly lighter, so the rule is a good approximation and not a law.
Why is a US gallon smaller than a British one?
Because they were defined from different things and never reconciled. The US kept the old English wine gallon of 231 cubic inches, which gives 3.785411784 litres exactly. Britain started over in 1824 and defined the imperial gallon from the volume of ten pounds of water, now fixed at 4.54609 litres. The imperial gallon is therefore about 20% larger, and the same difference runs through the pint and the quart.
Is the answer exact?
Where both units are defined in terms of one another by whole numbers, yes — the page says so above the figure, and the only rounding is in how many digits are shown. Where the ratio has no finite decimal, the page shows twelve significant digits and says the relation is approximate rather than pretending otherwise.
Does anything I type leave my device?
No. The arithmetic runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded and there is no server to upload it to. Load the page once and it keeps working with the network switched off.
Tanks, pumps and fuel economy: from litres to US gallons
A European car handbook gives the fuel tank in litres and the consumption in litres per 100 km, while an American one gives gallons and miles per gallon. Both describe the same car, and every comparison starts with the volume. To convert L to gal you multiply by 0.264172. A tank of 50 litres is 13.2 gallons, a consumption of 7 litres per 100 km works out at 33.6 miles per gallon, and a 10 litre can holds 2.64 gallons. This page multiplies as you type, and the text below shows how the factor links tanks, ranges and efficiency ratings.
The page covers the rule with examples, a note on each unit, a comparison, a tour of tanks and fuel economy and the slips to avoid. All arithmetic happens in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
How to convert L to gal: multiply by 0.264172
The rule
One litre is 0.2641720524 US gallons, since a gallon is 3.785411784 litres. To convert L to gal, multiply the litres by 0.264172, or divide by 3.785 for the same result. So 10 L is 2.64 gal, 50 L is 13.2 gal and 100 L is 26.4 gal. In the other direction, multiply gallons by 3.785.
Worked examples
A motorcycle tank of 14 litres is 3.7 gallons. A car tank of 45 litres is 11.9 gallons. A pickup tank of 98 litres is 25.9 gallons. A boat tank of 200 litres is 52.8 gallons. For a rough figure, divide by 4 and add 5 percent.
Why not 0.22
The British imperial gallon is 4.546 litres, so one litre is 0.22 imperial gallons. The figure 0.264 belongs to the US gallon. Old British handbooks use the imperial one, so check which gallon is intended before comparing.
A quick sanity test
The gallon is the larger unit, so the number shrinks, to about a quarter. If your “convert L to gal” calculation result is half of the original or a tenth, a wrong factor crept in.
The litre
A cube of ten centimetres
The litre is the unit in which fuel is sold and tanks are described across Europe and most of the world, and the base of consumption figures in litres per 100 kilometres.
Where it appears
Fuel pumps, handbooks, tank markings and efficiency labels.
The US gallon
231 cubic inches
The US gallon is the unit of fuel in the United States, together with miles for distance. Consumption is quoted as miles per gallon, the inverse of the European litres per 100 kilometres.
Where it appears
American fuel pumps, EPA labels, owner manuals and dealer sheets.
Litre and gallon compared
A gallon is nearly four litres. A larger number of litres therefore corresponds to a smaller number of gallons, but for consumption the two scales run opposite ways: more litres per 100 km is worse, more miles per gallon is better, which confuses almost everybody the first time.
The factor is not round, so mental conversions are approximate: divide by 4 and add 5 percent. For exact work, use 0.2641720524.
Where the conversion appears
Fuel tanks
A small car holds 35 to 45 litres, 9.2 to 11.9 gallons. A family car 50 to 60 litres, 13.2 to 15.9 gallons. A large SUV 80 to 95 litres, 21 to 25 gallons. A heavy truck can carry 380 litres, 100 gallons. When you convert L to gal, tank sizes can be compared directly with American data sheets.
Fuel economy
The formulas are miles per gallon equals 235.2 divided by litres per 100 km for the US gallon, and 282.5 divided for the imperial one. So 5 L/100 km is 47 US mpg, 6 L/100 km 39.2, 8 L/100 km 29.4 and 10 L/100 km 23.5. Consumption of 12 L/100 km is 19.6 mpg.
Range
A tank of 50 litres at 7 litres per 100 km gives 714 km, 444 miles. The same range in an American car with 13.2 gallons at 33.6 mpg is also 444 miles. The conversion lets you check that the figures in two handbooks describe one and the same car.
Why mpg and L/100 km move in opposite directions
Miles per gallon is distance per unit of fuel, litres per 100 km is fuel per unit of distance. One is the reciprocal of the other, so a higher mpg means a lower consumption. Going from 20 to 30 mpg cuts consumption from 11.8 to 7.8 L/100 km, a saving of 4 L/100 km, whereas going from 40 to 50 mpg cuts it from 5.9 to 4.7, a saving of only 1.2. The reciprocal scale explains why small gains matter more on thirsty cars.
Price per litre and per gallon
A fuel price of 1.60 per litre is 6.06 per gallon, and a price of 3.50 per gallon is 0.92 per litre. Prices in the two systems look very different because the unit differs by a factor of 3.785. Comparing prices across countries therefore starts with the same unit, and then with the same currency.
Fuel tax by volume
Fuel taxes are usually quoted per litre or per gallon. A tax of 0.50 per litre is 1.89 per gallon, and a tax of 0.184 per gallon, the US federal rate on petrol, is 4.9 cents per litre. Comparisons between countries use the tax per litre, since most of the world works in litres, and the factor 3.785 is the link.
In a spreadsheet
Put litres in column A and use =A2*0.2641720524 in column B. For the reverse, =B2/0.2641720524. For fuel economy use =235.215/A2 to get US mpg from L/100 km, and =282.481/A2 for imperial mpg. Format mpg with one decimal and keep the source column so that each number can be traced.
Rounding
The factor is exact, so rounding is your choice. Tank sizes are given to the litre or to the tenth of a gallon, so 50 litres is 13.2 gallons, not 13.2086. Consumption figures are accurate to about one decimal, so quoting 47.04 mpg is false precision. Round at the end of the calculation.
A mental shortcut
Divide litres by 4 and add 5 percent. For 40 litres, 10 plus 0.5 gives 10.5 gallons, against 10.57. For 100 litres, 25 plus 1.25 gives 26.25, against 26.42. For mpg, divide 235 by L/100 km. For 8 L/100 km, 235 divided by 8 is about 29 mpg. These shortcuts work for tanks and consumption alike.
The error is under one percent.
Reference values
1 L is 0.264 gal, 10 L is 2.64 gal, 20 L is 5.28 gal, 40 L is 10.6 gal, 50 L is 13.2 gal, 60 L is 15.9 gal, 100 L is 26.4 gal and 1,000 L is 264 gal. If you convert L to gal and land far from this ladder, repeat the multiplication.
Checking by reversing
To make sure your “convert L to gal” calculation result is right, multiply it by 3.785. If 50 L gave 13.2 gal, then 13.2 times 3.785 returns 50. A second check is the size of the answer: it should be about a quarter of the number of litres. If it is half, or a tenth, a wrong factor was used.
Buying a car across the Atlantic
A buyer who imports a European diesel estate with a 60 litre tank, 15.9 gallons, and a combined consumption of 5.5 L/100 km, 42.8 mpg, finds the American dealer listing only gallons and miles. The conversion shows the car easily beats most US models in efficiency, and a 60 litre tank gives 1,090 km, 678 miles. Using convert L to gal, any figure in a European brochure can be matched to an American one.
Fuel cans and jerrycans
A jerrycan of 20 litres holds 5.28 gallons, and an American can of 5 gallons holds 18.9 litres. Carrying fuel is regulated: limits per container and per vehicle are given in litres in Europe and in gallons in the United States. A traveller crossing borders should know that a 5 gallon can is about 19 litres, within a typical 20 litre limit.
Lawn equipment and mowers
A walk-behind mower has a tank of 1 litre, 0.26 gallons, a ride-on mower 6 litres, 1.6 gallons. Mowing an acre with a ride-on uses about 1 gallon an hour, 3.8 litres, and takes an hour. Garden equipment in the United States is sold with tank sizes in ounces or gallons, and a European buyer uses the conversion to compare.
Annual fuel use
A driver covering 15,000 km a year at 7 L/100 km burns 1,050 litres, 277 gallons. An American driver covering 13,500 miles at 28 mpg burns 482 gallons, 1,825 litres. The difference is the vehicle mix and the distance, not the unit. To compare annual fuel costs you need litres or gallons on both sides, plus the price per unit.
Fuel for racing and track days
A race car may carry 100 litres, 26.4 gallons, and burn 60 litres per 100 km on a circuit, which is 3.9 mpg. Series rules often limit the tank in litres or gallons, and a driver racing in several countries must check both. A track day car with a 50 litre tank at 25 L/100 km does about 200 km, 124 miles, before it needs fuel.
Biofuels and blends
A blend of petrol and ethanol such as E85 contains 85 percent ethanol, which has about 70 percent of the energy of petrol per volume. A gallon of E85 therefore takes a car about 70 percent as far, and a litre likewise. Fuel economy for flex-fuel cars is reported for each fuel in mpg or litres per 100 km, so a conversion helps compare them.
Fleet and delivery vehicles
A delivery van with a 70 litre tank, 18.5 gallons, and a consumption of 9 L/100 km, 26 mpg, covers 780 km, 485 miles, per tank. A fleet of 50 such vans using 1.2 million litres a year, 317,000 gallons, would see a 5 percent saving as 60,000 litres, 15,900 gallons. Fleet managers compare vehicles using both unit systems when they operate in several countries.
Cooking oil and bulk liquids
Restaurant cooking oil is sold in 35 pound jugs or in 5 gallon pails, 18.9 litres. A fryer holds 15 litres, 4 gallons, of oil. Suppliers across the Atlantic list sizes in different units, and a kitchen manager who wants to compare price per litre starts by converting the pail size and then divides the price. The factor is the same one used for fuel.
Energy in a gallon
A US gallon of petrol contains about 33.7 kilowatt-hours of energy, according to the EPA, and a litre therefore about 8.9. Diesel has about 38 kWh a gallon, 10 per litre. These figures let you compare fuels and electric cars: 1 gallon of petrol is the energy equivalent of 33.7 kWh of electricity, which is the basis of the MPGe rating.
MPGe and electric cars
An electric car rated at 100 MPGe uses 33.7 kWh to drive 100 miles, or 20.9 kWh per 100 km. A car rated at 130 MPGe uses 25.9 kWh per 100 miles, 16.1 kWh per 100 km. The rating treats a gallon of petrol as 33.7 kWh, so any comparison with a petrol car in litres per 100 km needs the conversion of gallons to litres. A “convert L to gal” calculation step is part of it.
Motorcycles and scooters
A scooter with a 5 litre tank, 1.3 gallons, achieves 3 L/100 km, 78 mpg, and a touring motorcycle with 22 litres, 5.8 gallons, 5.5 L/100 km, 43 mpg. Riders in the United States compare machines by mpg and tank range. A tank of 22 litres at 5.5 L/100 km gives 400 km, 249 miles. A conversion shows the range in either unit.
Boats and marine engines
Boat fuel use is quoted in gallons per hour in the United States and litres per hour elsewhere. An outboard burning 10 gallons an hour uses 37.9 litres, and a tank of 100 gallons, 379 litres, gives ten hours. Marine fuel tanks of 200 litres are 52.8 gallons. Because speed is in knots, range in nautical miles per gallon is the usual measure of efficiency.
Aircraft fuel
A light aircraft like the Cessna 172 burns about 8 to 10 gallons an hour, 30 to 38 litres, and carries 53 gallons, 200 litres, of usable fuel. Its range of 5 hours is about 500 nautical miles. Aviation fuel is sold by the gallon in the United States and by the litre elsewhere, and pilots flying abroad convert regularly.
Generators and tools
A portable generator uses about 0.5 gallons an hour at half load, 1.9 litres, and its 5 gallon tank, 18.9 litres, lasts ten hours. A chainsaw tank of 0.5 litre is 0.13 gallons. Small engines have a fuel capacity in litres on European units and in ounces or gallons on American ones. The conversion lets a buyer pick the right size.
Heating oil and tanks
A domestic oil tank of 1,000 litres is 264 gallons, and a refill of 500 litres is 132 gallons. American tanks come in 275 gallon sizes, 1,041 litres. At 2,000 litres a winter, a household burns 528 gallons. Heating oil is sold by the litre in Europe and by the gallon in the United States, and the “convert L to gal” calculation step ties the two together.
More values for convert L to gal
A longer list of conversions
If the value you need is not in the first list, these further conversions may be close enough to read off directly:
- 0.1 L = 0.0264172 gal
- 0.5 L = 0.132086 gal
- 3 L = 0.792516 gal
- 4 L = 1.05669 gal
- 7 L = 1.8492 gal
- 15 L = 3.96258 gal
- 20 L = 5.28344 gal
- 75 L = 19.8129 gal
- 200 L = 52.8344 gal
- 500 L = 132.086 gal
- 2,000 L = 528.344 gal
- 10,000 L = 2,641.72 gal
Mistakes when you convert L to gal
Mixing US and imperial gallons
The imperial gallon is 4.546 litres. Check which one your source uses.
Treating mpg like L/100 km
The two run in opposite directions. Use the reciprocal formula, not the volume factor, to convert consumption.
Multiplying by 3.785
That converts gallons to litres. To go from litres to gallons, multiply by 0.2642.
Short answers
What is 1 litre in US gallons?
0.2642 US gallons.
How do I convert L to gal?
Multiply by 0.2642.
What is 1 US gallon in litres?
3.785 litres.
What does 50 L come to in US gallons?
13.2 gallons.
Does the page send my figure anywhere?
No, everything happens in your browser.
Related tools and a final note
Other volume converters sit nearby: Convert L to m³, Convert L to ft³, Convert qt to gal, Convert gal to qt, Convert km to mi, Convert mi to km, Convert °C to °F, Convert °F to °C, Convert mph to Mach. To go the other way, use Convert gal to L.
To recap: you convert L to gal by multiplying by 0.2642 and you write the unit beside the result. Everything is computed locally, with no account and no upload.