How the volume converter works
A volume converter changes a quantity of space or liquid from one unit to another, such as liters to gallons or cubic meters to cubic feet. Type a number, select both units, then press Convert. Every unit goes through the cubic meter, the SI unit of volume, and the answer is shown to up to 8 decimal places with trailing zeros dropped.
The units cover both liquid measures (liters and US gallons) and solid measures (cubic meters, centimeters, inches, feet and yards), which helps when a tank is sized in liters but a pit or slab is measured in feet.
Conversion factors
| Unit | Symbol | Factor (m³) |
|---|---|---|
| Cubic meter | m³ | 1 |
| Liter | L | 0.001 |
| Cubic centimeter | cm³ | 0.000001 |
| Cubic yard | yd³ | 0.764554857984 |
| Cubic foot | ft³ | 0.028316846592 |
| US gallon | gal | 0.003785411784 |
| Cubic inch | in³ | 0.000016387064 |
Every factor is an exact definition, not a rounded value. They follow from the 1959 definitions of the yard (0.9144 m) and inch (25.4 mm), cubed. The US gallon is defined as exactly 231 cubic inches, which gives 3.785411784 L. The liter has been exactly one cubic decimeter since 1964. NIST SP 811 lists all of these, and the BIPM SI Brochure covers the liter as a unit accepted for use with the SI.
Because the factors are exact, conversions that should be whole numbers come out whole: one US gallon converts to exactly 231 in³, and 1 yd³ to exactly 27 ft³. Results are shown to at most 8 decimal places, so a value like 1 ft³ = 28.316846592 L displays as 28.31684659 L.
Quick reference
| From | To | Multiply by |
|---|---|---|
| US gallons | liters | 3.78541 |
| liters | US gallons | 0.264172 |
| cubic meters | liters | 1,000 |
| cubic meters | cubic feet | 35.3147 |
| cubic feet | liters | 28.3168 |
| cubic yards | cubic meters | 0.764555 |
| cubic meters | cubic yards | 1.30795 |
| liters | cubic inches | 61.0237 |
US and imperial gallons
The gallon here is the US liquid gallon. The UK and some Commonwealth countries historically used the imperial gallon, which the UK's Weights and Measures Act 1985 fixes at 4.54609 liters, about 1.2 US gallons. Recipes, aquarium sizes and fuel-economy figures from the UK may use the imperial version. Convert imperial gallons to liters by multiplying by 4.54609, then use the converter from there.
Worked examples
- A 15-gallon fuel tank in liters: 15 × 3.78541 = 56.78 L.
- A 2-liter bottle in US gallons: 2 × 0.264172 = 0.528 gal.
- Ordering concrete: a slab that works out to 2.29 m³ is 2.29 × 1.30795 ≈ 3 yd³. The converter returns 3 yd³ = 2.29366457 m³.
- A 1 m³ water tank: 1,000 L or about 264.17 US gallons.
For concrete, earthworks and mulch, suppliers in the US usually sell by the cubic yard and almost everyone else by the cubic meter, so this conversion is worth getting right before an order goes in. The concrete calculator works out the volume of a slab or footing from its dimensions.
Capacity and dimensions
To get a volume from measurements, multiply length × width × depth in the same unit. A box 2 ft × 3 ft × 1.5 ft holds 9 ft³, which converts to about 254.85 L. If your measurements are in mixed units, convert them with the length converter first; a small rounding error in each length roughly triples once the three are multiplied together.
Related pages
- Construction materials converter: cement bags, sand and steel by weight and volume.
- Mileage calculator: fuel economy from distance and liters used.
- Weight converter: kilograms, pounds, ounces and tons.
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