Liters to US Gallons Converter
Convert a fuel, water-tank or paint volume written in litres into US liquid gallons — the gallon on US pumps, not the larger Imperial gallon.
Updated
How to use
- Enter litres from a jerrycan, aquarium or European fuel receipt.
- Read US liquid gallons. 10 L is 2.6417 US gal; 40 L is 10.5669 US gal.
- If the figure is an Imperial gallon country still using UK gallons, do not use this page.
- Fuel economy (L/100 km vs MPG) belongs on the dedicated MPG tools.
How it works
A US liquid gallon is 231 cubic inches, which is exactly 3.785411784 litres with the international inch. This page divides litres by that constant. 5 L of paint is 1.3209 US gal. 20 L of fuel is 5.2834 US gal. A 50 L water heater is 13.2086 US gal.
The Imperial gallon is 4.54609 L — about 20% larger. Mixing the two is the usual error on older UK car manuals and some Canadian notes. If a text says “gallon” without “US”, check the country. This converter will overstate US gallons if you feed it a volume that was already measured as Imperial gallons.
Aquariums sold in litres (60 L, 120 L) become 15.8503 and 31.7006 US gal. US fish-keeping advice is often written per gallon of water for heater and filter size. Convert the tank’s litre rating first, then apply those rules of thumb.
Milk and juice in metric cartons (1 L, 2 L) are 0.2642 and 0.5283 US gal. A US half-gallon jug is 1.8927 L, which is why a “2 litre” bottle is not a half gallon.
This is volume, not mass. A litre of diesel does not weigh the same as a litre of water. For fuel cost per kilometre, use the automotive calculators so US vs Imperial gallons stay labelled.
Formula
US gallons = litres ÷ 3.785411784
Worked examples
A 10 litre jerrycan
10 L → 2.6417 US gal
One US gallon expressed in litres
3.785411784 L → 1 US gal
A 40 litre fuel fill
40 L → 10.5669 US gal
Litres in US liquid gallons
| L | US gal |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.2642 |
| 5 | 1.3209 |
| 10 | 2.6417 |
| 40 | 10.5669 |
| 50 | 13.2086 |
Useful notes
- US liquid gallon only — not Imperial and not the US dry gallon.
- 1 L ≈ 0.2642 US gal.
- Fuel-economy conversions have their own pages.
FAQ
- How many US gallons are in a litre?
About 0.2642 US liquid gallons (1 ÷ 3.785411784).
- Is this the UK gallon?
No. The Imperial gallon is 4.54609 litres. This page is the US liquid gallon only.
- Can I use this for fuel economy?
For L/100 km versus MPG, use the dedicated fuel-economy converters so US and Imperial gallons stay labelled.
- How many US gallons is a 60 litre aquarium?
60 ÷ 3.785411784 ≈ 15.8503 US gal.
- How many litres is a US 15 gallon tank?
Use the reverse page: 15 × 3.785411784 ≈ 56.7812 L. This page starts from litres.
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