Liters to US gallons
1 L = 0.264172 US gal, derived from exact unit definitions.
| L | US gal |
|---|---|
| 1 L | 0.264 US gal |
| 10 L | 2.642 US gal |
| 50 L | 13.209 US gal |
| 100 L | 26.417 US gal |
| 208 L | 54.948 US gal |
| 500 L | 132.086 US gal |
| 1,000 L | 264.172 US gal |
| 3,785 L | 999.891 US gal |
US gallons = liters ÷ 3.785411784
= liters × 0.264172052358… (non-terminating)Divide rather than multiply. The reciprocal 0.264172052358… never terminates, so any multiplier you write down is already rounded; dividing by the exact 3.785411784 keeps the error at zero until you choose to round.How to convert liters to US gallons
Divide by 3.785411784. Most tables hand you 0.264172 instead, which is a truncation of an infinite decimal — harmless at tote scale, visible on a tanker.
- Confirm the figure is litres and not millilitres; a factor-of-1000 slip is the most common error on this conversion.
- Divide by 3.785411784.
- Check the magnitude: gallons should be roughly a quarter of the litre figure.
- Round once, at the end.
A standard 1,000-litre IBC tote
- Nominal: 1000 L
- 1000 ÷ 3.785411784 = 264.1720523…
- Round to 264.17 US gal
1,000 L = 264.17 US gal
This is why IBC totes are sold in the US as “275 gallon” — the shell is sized a little over 1,000 L, at roughly 1,040 L, and 275 gal is the convenient round label.
A 20,000-litre underground water tank
- 20000 ÷ 3.785411784 = 5283.441047…
- Round to 5,283 US gal
20,000 L = 5,283 US gal
Using the shortcut 0.264 instead would give 5,280 gal — three gallons short, or 0.065 %. Small, but it compounds if you then convert back.
Reading a metric flow meter in gallons per minute
- Meter reads 480 L/min
- 480 ÷ 3.785411784 = 126.8025…
- Round to 126.8 gal/min
480 L/min = 126.8 US gpm
Where the factor comes from
It is the inverse of the gallon definition, and the reason it looks ugly is that the ugliness sits on this side of the ratio rather than the other.
1 US gal = 231 in³ × (2.54 cm/in)³ ÷ 1000
= 3.785411784 L exactly
1 L = 1 ÷ 3.785411784 US gal
= 0.264172052358148415… non-terminatingNIST SP 811 lists the forward factor as 3.785 412 E+00 and does not print it in boldface, because seven digits is a rounding of the exact value — not because the value is uncertain.Rounding: which shortcut is safe
| Multiplier used | Relative error | Error on 1,000 L | Error on 30,000 L |
|---|---|---|---|
| ÷ 3.785411784 (exact) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| × 0.2641720 | −0.00002 % | 0.00005 gal | 0.0016 gal |
| × 0.26417 | −0.0008 % | 0.002 gal | 0.06 gal |
| × 0.264 | −0.065 % | 0.17 gal | 5.2 gal |
| ÷ 4 (mental arithmetic) | −5.4 % | 14.2 gal | 426 gal |
The “divide by four” habit is a useful field estimate and a bad invoice. It is consistently 5.4 % low.
FAQ
How many US gallons are in a liter?
0.264172052358… US gallons, an infinite decimal. It is cleaner to divide by 3.785411784, which is exact, than to multiply by a truncated reciprocal.
How many gallons is a 1,000-litre IBC tote?
264.17 US gallons. US suppliers usually market the same tote as a 275-gallon unit, because the shell is built slightly oversize at about 1,040 L to allow headspace.
Is “divide by 4” close enough?
Only as a field estimate. It runs 5.4 % low — about 14 gallons on a 1,000-litre tote and over 400 gallons on a 30,000-litre tank.
Do litres convert differently for fuel than for water?
No. The unit conversion is geometric and identical for every liquid. What differs between fuels is density and thermal expansion, which affect weight and temperature-corrected quantity, not the litre-to-gallon ratio.
Sources and standards
Every factor on this page is traced to the document that defines it. Where a value is exact, it is exact because the cited standard makes it so — not because we rounded it well.
- Handbook 44, Appendix C — General Tables of Units of MeasurementNational Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commercehttps://www.nist.gov/document/2026-nist-handbook-44-appendix-cThe legal-metrology reference for U.S. customary units. Fixes the U.S. liquid gallon at exactly 231 cubic inches and tabulates the full liquid-volume chain (minim → fluid dram → fluid ounce → gill → pint → quart → gallon).
- Refinement of Values for the Yard and the Pound — Federal Register Doc. 59-5442 (24 FR 5348, 1 July 1959)National Bureau of Standards; scan hosted by NOAA's National Geodetic Surveyhttps://www.ngs.noaa.gov/PUBS_LIB/FedRegister/FRdoc59-5442.pdfThe International Yard and Pound Agreement, signed by the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Fixes the yard at exactly 0.9144 m, from which the inch follows as exactly 25.4 mm. Every inch-to-metric volume factor on this site descends from this one page.
- The International System of Units (SI), 9th edition (SI Brochure)Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM)https://www.bipm.org/en/si-brochure-9The defining document for the SI, maintained by the treaty organisation that owns the definitions. The litre is exactly one cubic decimetre — 10⁻³ m³ — and is a unit accepted for use with the SI rather than an SI unit itself.
- Special Publication 811, Appendix B.8 — Factors for Units Listed AlphabeticallyNational Institute of Standards and Technologyhttps://www.nist.gov/pml/special-publication-811/nist-guide-si-appendix-b-conversion-factors/nist-guide-si-appendix-b8NIST's master table of conversions into SI. Factors printed in boldface are exact by definition rather than measured or rounded — which is how you tell a defined unit from an approximated one.
- Unit Conversion — Office of Weights and MeasuresNational Institute of Standards and Technologyhttps://www.nist.gov/pml/owm/metric-si/unit-conversionNIST's index page explaining which of its publications governs which kind of conversion: SP 811 for exact factors, Handbook 44 Appendix C for trade and commerce, Handbook 133 Appendix E for packaged goods.
Every linked source above was retrieved and checked on 2026-09-02. Factors quoted as exact are exact by definition in the cited document, not rounded by us.