Units made clear

Litre vs US gallon

What are they, and what does the difference actually look like?

Two things. One honest scale.

Meet the pair

What these two things are

1 litre

The quantity is exact as entered.

1 LVolume

1 US gallon

The quantity is exact as entered.

3.785 LVolume

1 US gallon has about 3.79 times the volume of 1 litre.

True volume
01
1 litre1 LVolume
02
1 US gallon3.785 LVolume
These are equal-volume cubes. Edge lengths grow with the cube root of capacity; the cubes do not depict container exteriors.
Measurements, assumptions & sources +

1 litre

The quantity is exact as entered. Comparisons use the clearly stated specimen, model or nominal measurement.

NIST — SI conversion factors

1 US gallon

The quantity is exact as entered. Comparisons use the clearly stated specimen, model or nominal measurement.

NIST — SI conversion factors

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Measurement details

Why these numbers?

The visual compares volume with volume. The records below preserve each value’s basis and caveats.

1 litre

1 L

Volume · definition

The quantity is exact as entered. Comparisons use the clearly stated specimen, model or nominal measurement.

1 US gallon

3.785 L

Volume · definition

The quantity is exact as entered. Comparisons use the clearly stated specimen, model or nominal measurement.

Comparing
Volume ↔ Volume
Relative size
1 US gallon is larger on this measurement by a factor of about 3.79. 1 US gallon's selected measurement is approximately 279% greater than 1 litre's.

How to read the visual

The labelled spans and stored measurements determine the scale; unmeasured illustration details do not.

A US liquid gallon is exactly 3.785411784 litres. US dry gallons are a different measure and are not used here.

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