Convert Gallons to Liters (gal to L)

This direction is for when you already have a volume in US gallons — a US car's fuel tank size, a water jug, a home-brewing batch — and need it in liters for a metric context: filling up abroad, following a metric recipe, or comparing against a European product spec.

Renting a car abroad is the case that trips up the most travelers: someone used to thinking in US gallons from home needs to understand liters at a foreign pump. A 15-gallon US tank converts to about 56.8 L, so budgeting for a fill-up in Europe means estimating cost per liter rather than per gallon — multiplying the local price per liter by 56.8 gives a rough total.

Bulk water and beverage containers in the US are commonly sold in 1-gallon and 5-gallon sizes: a 5-gallon water cooler jug converts to about 18.93 L, useful when comparing against a European water delivery service that bills by the liter rather than the gallon.

US fuel economy is quoted in miles per US gallon, which is not the same figure as a UK car's miles per (imperial) gallon — a US-rated 30 mpg and a UK-rated 30 mpg differ by about 17% in actual fuel efficiency, since the imperial gallon (4.546 L) is larger than the US gallon (3.785 L) this calculator converts.

Paint is bought by the container, and the containers differ. A US gallon can holds 3.785 L, so it is about one and a half of the 2.5 L tins sold in metric markets, and a 5 gallon bucket is 18.93 L rather than the 20 L drum it resembles on the shelf. Coverage moves with it: a paint claiming roughly 350 square feet per gallon is claiming about 32.5 m² from 3.785 L, which is the figure to set against a tin labelled in square metres per litre.