Two gallons, one name
The UK gallon is about 20% bigger than the US gallon: 1 UK gallon is 1.2 US gallons, and 1 US gallon is 0.833 UK gallons. Both countries split the gallon the same way, into 4 quarts or 8 pints, so every UK quart and pint is also about 20% bigger than its US namesake.
liters = US gallons x 3.785411784
liters = UK gallons x 4.54609
Both factors are exact definitions, not measurements.
- US gallon, 3.785411784 L. 4 US quarts, 8 US pints, 16 US cups or 128 US fluid ounces.
- UK gallon, 4.54609 L. 4 UK quarts, 8 UK pints or 160 UK fluid ounces.
- US quart, 0.946 L, and UK quart, 1.14 L. A quarter of each gallon.
- US pint, 0.473 L, and UK pint, 0.568 L. An eighth of each gallon.
Which gallon does my recipe use?
- A US recipe, product or label means US gallons, quarts and pints.
- A British recipe from before metrication means imperial gallons, quarts and pints. Current UK recipes and packaging are in liters and milliliters.
Common conversions
| Gallons | US gallons in L | UK gallons in L |
|---|---|---|
| 0.25 | 0.946 | 1.14 |
| 0.5 | 1.89 | 2.27 |
| 1 | 3.79 | 4.55 |
| 2 | 7.57 | 9.09 |
| 3 | 11.4 | 13.6 |
| 5 | 18.9 | 22.7 |
| 10 | 37.9 | 45.5 |
| Liters | US gallons | UK gallons |
|---|---|---|
| 1 L | 0.264 | 0.22 |
| 2 L | 0.528 | 0.44 |
| 4 L | 1.06 | 0.88 |
| 5 L | 1.32 | 1.1 |
| 10 L | 2.64 | 2.2 |
| 20 L | 5.28 | 4.4 |
| 25 L | 6.6 | 5.5 |
Smaller amounts
For cups and spoons, use the cups to ml converter. For fluid ounces, which also come in US and UK sizes, use the ml to fluid ounces converter.
| Unit | Exact size | Definition | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Litres | 1000 mL | 1 litre = 1 cubic decimetre | NIST Handbook 44 (2019) |
| US gallons | 3785.411784 mL | 1 US gallon = 231 cubic inches = 3.785411784 L | NIST Handbook 44 (2019) |
| UK gallons | 4546.09 mL | 1 gallon = 4.54609 cubic decimetres | Weights and Measures Act 1985 |
| US quarts | 946.352946 mL | 1 liquid quart = 32 US fluid ounces | NIST Handbook 44 (2019) |
| UK quarts | 1136.5225 mL | 1 quart = 1/4 gallon | Weights and Measures Act 1985 |
| US pints | 473.176473 mL | 1 liquid pint = 16 US fluid ounces | NIST Handbook 44 (2019) |
| UK | 568.26125 mL | 1 pint = 0.56826125 cubic decimetre | Weights and Measures Act 1985 |