Convert ml to cm³ millilitres ↔ cubic centimetres Free Online Secure
Type a value in millilitres and read it in cubic centimetres 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 ml to cm³ (millilitres ↔ cubic centimetres)
| ml | cm³ |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 2 |
| 3 | 3 |
| 5 | 5 |
| 10 | 10 |
| 20 | 20 |
| 50 | 50 |
| 100 | 100 |
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 millilitre the same as a cubic centimetre?
Yes, exactly. Since 1964 the litre has been defined as one cubic decimetre, so a millilitre is exactly one cubic centimetre. Before that the litre was very slightly larger, by about 28 parts in a million, which is why very old tables show a tiny difference. Today you can swap them freely.
What does cc mean on an engine?
It stands for cubic centimetres, the same as cm³, and it states the engine's displacement: the total volume swept by its pistons. A 1600 cc engine is a 1.6 litre engine. The figure is a measure of size and not of power, since two engines of the same displacement can differ greatly in output.
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.
Cans, bottles and labels: reading a millilitre as a cubic centimetre
The label on a drinks can says 330 ml, the box maker who designs its carton thinks in cubic centimetres, and both mean the same amount. To convert ml to cm³ you keep the number: a millilitre is exactly one cubic centimetre. So 330 mL is 330 cm³, 750 mL is 750 cm³, and 5 mL is 5 cm³. This page shows the answer as you type, and the text below looks at packaging, labelling and bottle sizes, where the two names often meet on the same shelf.
Ahead you will find the rule with examples, a short note on each unit, a comparison, a walk along the supermarket aisle and the slips to avoid. All arithmetic happens in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
How to convert ml to cm³: keep the number
The rule
A litre is exactly one cubic decimetre, 1,000 cm³, and a millilitre is a thousandth of a litre. So one millilitre is exactly one cubic centimetre. To convert ml to cm³, copy the number and change the unit: 20 mL is 20 cm³, 185 mL is 185 cm³ and 0.5 mL is 0.5 cm³. The same works in the other direction.
Worked examples
A 500 mL bottle of water holds 500 cm³. A 70 cL bottle of spirits is 700 mL, which is 700 cm³. A 125 mL yoghurt pot holds 125 cm³. A 10 mL bottle of eye drops holds 10 cm³. In every case the figure on the label is also the figure in cubic centimetres.
Why nothing is multiplied
Most volume conversions need a factor, such as 1,000 for litres or 0.061 for cubic inches. This one does not, because the two units are the same size. The difference is in use: designers of boxes think in cubic centimetres, makers of drinks in millilitres.
A quick check
After you convert ml to cm³, the number must match the one you started with. If it does not, a factor of 1,000 or 0.001 crept in and you have changed to litres or microlitres.
The millilitre
A thousandth of a litre
The millilitre, mL or ml, is the unit printed on almost every packaged liquid. It is the legal unit of net content for small packs in Europe and appears alongside fluid ounces in the United States.
Where it appears
Bottles, cans, tubes, cartons and measuring caps.
The cubic centimetre
A cube one centimetre on a side
The cubic centimetre, cm³ or cc, is the volume of a cube one centimetre across. It is what a designer gets by multiplying length, width and height of a container, and it is the unit in which capacity is calculated from drawings.
Where it appears
Packaging drawings, mould design, engine sizes and material data sheets.
Millilitre and cubic centimetre compared
The two units are the same volume. The label says mL because the contents are a liquid, the drawing says cm³ because the container is a shape. A bottle whose interior measures 6 by 6 by 14 cm holds 504 cm³, and that is 504 mL of liquid if you fill it to the brim.
Between 1901 and 1964 the litre was defined slightly differently, so old tables show a difference of 28 parts per million. Since 1964 the equality is exact.
Where the conversion appears
Drinks cans and bottles
A 330 mL can is filled with 330 cm³ of drink, but its internal volume is larger, since the can needs headspace for gas and for filling. A cylinder 66 mm across and 115 mm tall would hold about 393 cm³, though the real can is tapered. Bottles are the same: a 500 mL beer bottle has a brim capacity above 500 cm³.
Spirits and wine
A wine bottle holds 750 mL, 750 cm³. Spirits in Europe are usually 700 mL, in the United States 750 mL. A 700 mL bottle of 40 percent spirit contains 280 mL of pure alcohol, 280 cm³, which is 28 UK units, since one unit is 10 mL. When you convert ml to cm³ for a bottle, the number of units follows quickly.
Tubes, sprays and small bottles
Eye drops come in 5 to 15 mL bottles, nasal sprays in 10 to 20 mL, a toothpaste tube in 75 mL. In Europe, refill bottles for electronic cigarettes are limited to 10 mL, 10 cm³, and tanks to 2 mL. These limits are set in millilitres, though the packaging is drawn in cubic centimetres.
The e mark on a label
A small letter e next to the content on a prepacked product means that the quantity is an average, checked by the packer under European rules. A bottle marked 500 mL may hold slightly more or less, within a permitted tolerance, but the batch average must not fall below the stated value. The tolerance is set in the regulations and depends on the size of the pack, so the number is a legal minimum on average, not a measured figure for each unit.
Inks, paints and craft supplies
A bottle of ink holds 30 or 50 mL, a pot of acrylic paint 75 or 120 mL and a tube of watercolour 10 mL. A craft shop lists them by millilitres, while a manufacturer designing a moulded cap may draw the cavity in cubic centimetres. If you convert ml to cm³, the numbers are the same, which saves any confusion between the shop and the workshop.
Measuring spoons and medicine cups
A teaspoon is 5 mL, 5 cm³. A tablespoon is 15 mL. A medicine cup commonly has marks at 5, 10, 15 and 30 mL. The dosing instructions in a leaflet are in millilitres, so use the measure supplied with the product. Kitchen spoons vary in size and are not a reliable substitute.
In a spreadsheet
If the length, width and height of a container are in centimetres in columns A, B and C, then =A2*B2*C2 gives the capacity in cm³, which is also the capacity in mL. Divide by 1,000 for litres. Add a column for the price and divide to get the cost per 100 mL. Format the result with one decimal place for small packs and no decimals for large ones.
Rounding
Match the precision of the source. A bottle marked 330 mL is known to three significant figures. The container drawing may say 331.2 cm³ from the calculation, which rounds to 331. A label may legally use a rounded figure so long as the average content is maintained. Round at the end of the calculation, not along the way.
Reference values
5 mL is 5 cm³, 15 mL is 15 cm³, 50 mL is 50 cm³, 125 mL is 125 cm³, 250 mL is 250 cm³, 330 mL is 330 cm³, 500 mL is 500 cm³, 750 mL is 750 cm³ and 1,000 mL is 1,000 cm³, one litre.
Checking by reversing
To make sure your “convert ml to cm³” calculation result is right, look at whether the number has stayed the same. If 750 mL became 750 cm³, you are done. If it became 0.75 or 750,000, you changed to litres or microlitres. A second check is the unit symbol: mL and cm³ may both be written, but not L or µL.
Miniatures and travel sizes
Airline miniatures of spirits hold 50 mL, 50 cm³, and hotel toiletries 30 mL. A set of ten miniatures contains 500 cm³, the same as one half-litre bottle. Collectors compare them by volume per price, and a shop that stocks both standard and travel sizes lists every figure in millilitres. If you convert ml to cm³ for a set, the total is the same number, only with a different name.
Wine glasses and servings
Pubs in the United Kingdom serve wine in measures of 125, 175 and 250 mL. A 750 mL bottle gives six small glasses, four large ones with a little left over, or three of the biggest size. In cubic centimetres the arithmetic is identical: 750 divided by 175 is 4.29. Licensing rules describe measures in millilitres, and glass makers etch fill lines in the same unit.
Cooking sprays and oils
A cooking oil spray of 200 mL contains 200 cm³ of liquid and delivers about 0.25 mL per second of spraying. A one-second spray covers a pan, so a can lasts about 800 seconds of spraying. A bottle of oil of 500 mL holds 500 cm³ and pours at about 15 mL for a tablespoon. Cooks compare the two by price per millilitre, and a conversion is not needed.
Cleaning products and refills
A trigger spray bottle of 750 mL has 750 cm³ and a refill pouch of 1,500 mL holds exactly twice that. A concentrate of 250 mL that makes 2.5 L when diluted, a ratio of 1 to 10, is worth ten times its volume. Brands sell refills to cut plastic, and the labels list millilitres, so a buyer who wants to check the saving can convert ml to cm³ and compare cost per unit of finished product.
Fluid ounces and millilitres
A US fluid ounce is 29.57 mL, so a 12 fl oz can is 355 mL, and a 16.9 fl oz bottle is 500 mL. Labels in the United States often print both, such as 12 FL OZ (355 mL). Because mL equals cm³, the can has a content of 355 cm³. A product sold in both markets must be filled to the larger of the two requirements, which is why a European and an American version of the same drink can differ by a few millilitres.
Syrups, sauces and condiments
A squeezy bottle of ketchup holds 500 mL, 500 cm³, and a jar of honey 340 g, which at 1.42 g/mL is 240 mL. A sauce sachet of 12 mL holds 12 cm³, so forty of them make a bottle. Sauce makers fill by weight on the line but print volume on the label, and a buyer comparing jars of different sizes uses the volume figure, since it is the same number in cubic centimetres.
Moulded caps and closures
A cap that holds a measuring dose of 15 mL needs an internal cavity of 15 cm³, slightly more to avoid overflow, say 17 cm³. The mould tool is drawn in millimetres, so the cavity is 17,000 mm³. A designer moving between the label and the drawing converts between the three: 15 mL, 15 cm³, 15,000 mm³. The relationship between mL and cm³ is the simple one, and the factor of 1,000 appears only when going down to cubic millimetres.
Designing a box for 500 millilitres
A cube of 8 cm has a volume of 512 cm³, close to half a litre. A cube of 10 cm holds exactly 1,000 cm³, one litre. Designers use these cubes as starting points: for 330 mL, the cube root gives a side of 6.9 cm, though bottles are taller than wide, so a pack of 6 by 6 by 9.2 cm gives 331 cm³. Whenever you convert ml to cm³ for a design brief, you can start from a simple shape.
Headspace and fill level
A container is never filled to the brim. A bottle for 500 mL may have a total capacity of 520 to 540 cm³, leaving 4 to 8 percent as headspace for expansion. Fizzy drinks need more air, still drinks less. Packaging engineers specify both the nominal volume and the brim-full volume, and the difference depends on the product and the filling line.
Milk, cream and yoghurt
A carton of milk holds 1,000 mL, a pot of cream 200 mL, a yoghurt 125 mL and a drinking yoghurt 330 mL. A multipack of four 125 mL pots has 500 cm³ of product in total. Dairies count in millilitres, while the tooling that forms the pots is specified in cubic centimetres, so engineers move between the two names without changing the number.
Shower gels, shampoos and creams
A shampoo bottle commonly holds 250 or 400 mL, a hand cream 75 mL and a sunscreen 200 mL. A gel that costs 3.50 for 250 mL is 1.4 per 100 mL, or 0.014 per cm³. Unit pricing laws require shelf tags to show the price per 100 mL or per litre, which makes comparison simple when you know that each millilitre is a cubic centimetre.
Juice boxes and single-serve drinks
A children's juice box holds 200 mL, 200 cm³, a small carton of orange juice 250 mL and a drinking yoghurt 330 mL. A school that buys 120 juice boxes a day orders 24,000 cm³, 24 litres, of drink. Because the straw hole, the folds and the headspace take up room, the pack itself is larger than its content. Packaging suppliers quote the pack volume in cubic centimetres, the dairy the content in millilitres.
Bar measures and shots
A measure of spirits is 25 or 35 mL in the United Kingdom, 40 mL in much of Europe and 44 mL in a US jigger. In cubic centimetres the same numbers. A 700 mL bottle at 25 mL a measure yields 28 servings; at 35 mL, 20. Bars that use a measuring cup marked in millilitres can swap to one marked in cubic centimetres with no change.
Baby bottles and feeding
Baby bottles are marked in millilitres, commonly 150, 260 or 330 mL, and in ounces as well. A bottle of 260 mL has 260 cm³ of capacity. Feeding guidance is given by health professionals according to the baby's age and weight, so the volume on the bottle is only a scale, not a prescription. Conversions are for reading labels, not for planning feeds.
More values for convert ml to cm³
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 ml = 0.1 cm³
- 0.5 ml = 0.5 cm³
- 3 ml = 3 cm³
- 4 ml = 4 cm³
- 7 ml = 7 cm³
- 15 ml = 15 cm³
- 20 ml = 20 cm³
- 75 ml = 75 cm³
- 200 ml = 200 cm³
- 500 ml = 500 cm³
- 2,000 ml = 2,000 cm³
- 10,000 ml = 10,000 cm³
Mistakes when you convert ml to cm³
Applying a factor
There is none between mL and cm³. If you multiplied or divided by 1,000, you changed to a different unit.
Confusing net content with capacity
A label states the content, not the volume of the container. The container is larger because of headspace.
Mixing mL with cL and dL
A centilitre is 10 mL and a decilitre is 100 mL. A bottle of 70 cL is 700 mL, 700 cm³.
Quick answers
How many cubic centimetres are in a millilitre?
Exactly one.
How do I convert ml to cm³?
Keep the number and change the unit.
How many millilitres are in a cubic centimetre?
Exactly one.
What is 500 mL in cubic centimetres?
500 cm³.
Is the number I type stored anywhere?
No, it stays in your browser.
More pages and a closing note
For other volume conversions, see Convert ml to tsp, Convert ml to tbsp, Convert m³ to cm³, Convert in³ to cm³, Convert cm³ to L, Convert km to mi, Convert mi to km, Convert °C to °F, Convert °F to °C. The opposite direction is Convert cm³ to ml.
In short, you convert ml to cm³ by keeping the number, because a millilitre is a cubic centimetre, and writing the unit beside the answer. Your figure is calculated on your own device, with no account and no upload.