The exact conversion
Liters to US gallons is the conversion for a fuel tank, a water heater, or a bottle size that was measured in liters and needs to be compared with a US capacity. Divide by 3.785411784, the exact number of liters in a US liquid gallon. One liter is 0.264172 gallons. Fifty liters is 13.209 gallons. One hundred liters is 26.417 gallons. The result is in US liquid gallons, not imperial gallons.
The formula used above is gal = L ÷ 3.785412. Both boxes stay in step, so you can start from either unit. Results are rounded for display; the factor itself is the legal definition, not a rounded shortcut.
Worked examples
Each line is the same formula with a new starting number. You can match it against the converter by typing the value on the left.
- 1 liter: 1 ÷ 3.785412 = 0.2642 US gallons.
- 50 liters: 50 ÷ 3.785412 = 13.2086 US gallons.
- 100 liters: 100 ÷ 3.785412 = 26.4172 US gallons.
Where the rounding matters
A car with a 60-liter tank holds 15.850 US gallons. A 2-liter bottle is 0.528 gallons, a little over half a US gallon. An aquarium listed as 200 liters holds 52.835 US gallons. Dividing by 3.8 is a workable estimate: 50 ÷ 3.8 is 13.16, against the exact 13.209. The difference shows up when you are buying fuel for a long trip or comparing two tanks, so keep the exact factor for anything you will pay for.
An imperial gallon is larger, so the same liters would be fewer imperial gallons. Fifty liters is about 11.0 imperial gallons, not 13.2. If you are reading a UK fuel figure, this page will not match it on purpose. Going back through gallons to liters should return your starting number, aside from rounding to three decimals in the table.
Conversion table: liters to gallons
| L | gal |
|---|---|
| 1 L | 0.264 gal |
| 2 L | 0.528 gal |
| 5 L | 1.321 gal |
| 10 L | 2.642 gal |
| 20 L | 5.283 gal |
| 40 L | 10.567 gal |
| 50 L | 13.209 gal |
| 60 L | 15.85 gal |
| 100 L | 26.417 gal |