Cubic Inches ↔ Liters Converter
Convert between cubic inches (in³) and liters (L) instantly — both ways. Type in either box and the other updates live, with bonus conversions to milliliters, gallons and cubic feet.
Type a value in either box — the other converts automatically.
Controls how the converted values are rounded.
| Unit | Value |
|---|---|
| Convert to see all units | |
How to use the cubic inches to liters converter
Type into either box and the other updates as you go — cubic inches to liters, or liters back to cubic inches, plus milliliters, gallons, fluid ounces, and a report you can download.
Type into either box
Enter cubic inches or liters — whichever your spec sheet uses. The other converts live.
Set the rounding
Auto handles most figures. Lock it to fixed decimals when you need to match a datasheet or parts listing.
Check the equivalents
See the volume in water bottles, soda cans, and milk jugs — a quick sanity check before you commit.
Read all units & save a PDF
Eight conversions, the side-by-side scale diagram, and a full report you can keep or share.
How the conversion is calculated
An inch is 2.54 centimeters, so a cubic inch is 2.54 cubed — 16.387064 cubic centimeters. A liter is a cube 10 cm on each side, or 1,000 cubic centimeters. Divide one by the other and you get the factor: 61.0237 cubic inches per liter.
Worked example — a tank 24 × 12 × 16 in
Volume: 24 × 12 × 16 = 4,608 in³
Liters: 4,608 × 0.016387 = 75.5 L
US gallons: 4,608 ÷ 231 = 19.9 gal
Cubic feet: 4,608 ÷ 1,728 = 2.67 ft³
≈ 75.5 liters — which is why a tank these dimensions is sold as a 20 gallon.
Cubic inches and liters conversion charts
The lookups that come up most — the conversion both ways, one liter in every unit, the engine displacements people search by name, and the container sizes worth knowing by heart.
| Cubic inches | Liters | Milliliters | US gallons |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 in³ | 0.0164 L | 16.39 mL | 0.0043 gal |
| 10 in³ | 0.1639 L | 163.9 mL | 0.0433 gal |
| 61.02 in³ | 1.0000 L | 1,000 mL | 0.2642 gal |
| 100 in³ | 1.6387 L | 1,638.7 mL | 0.4329 gal |
| 231 in³ | 3.7854 L | 3,785.4 mL | 1.0000 gal |
| 500 in³ | 8.1935 L | 8,193.5 mL | 2.1645 gal |
| 1,000 in³ | 16.3871 L | 16,387.1 mL | 4.3290 gal |
| 1,728 in³ | 28.3168 L | 28,316.8 mL | 7.4805 gal |
Two rows here are exact definitions rather than rounded conversions: 231 cubic inches is precisely one US gallon, and 1,728 cubic inches is precisely one cubic foot.
| Liters | Cubic inches | US fluid ounces | Cubic feet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 L | 30.51 in³ | 16.91 fl oz | 0.0177 ft³ |
| 1 L | 61.02 in³ | 33.81 fl oz | 0.0353 ft³ |
| 2 L | 122.05 in³ | 67.63 fl oz | 0.0706 ft³ |
| 5 L | 305.12 in³ | 169.07 fl oz | 0.1766 ft³ |
| 10 L | 610.24 in³ | 338.14 fl oz | 0.3531 ft³ |
| 20 L | 1,220.47 in³ | 676.28 fl oz | 0.7063 ft³ |
| 50 L | 3,051.19 in³ | 1,690.70 fl oz | 1.7657 ft³ |
| 100 L | 6,102.37 in³ | 3,381.40 fl oz | 3.5315 ft³ |
Note that cubic inches and fluid ounces are not the same measure — one US fluid ounce is about 1.805 cubic inches, so the two columns will never match.
| Unit | 1 liter equals | Where you’ll see it |
|---|---|---|
| Cubic inches | 61.023744 in³ | Engine displacement, US part specs |
| Milliliters | 1,000 mL | Everyday liquid capacity |
| Cubic centimeters | 1,000 cm³ (cc) | Engine cc ratings, lab volumes |
| US gallons | 0.264172 gal | US fuel, tanks, containers |
| US fluid ounces | 33.814 fl oz | Bottles, cans, recipes |
| Imperial gallons | 0.219969 gal | UK and Commonwealth figures |
| Cubic feet | 0.0353147 ft³ | Appliance capacity, shipping |
The calculator lists all of these at once in the all-units table, so you can copy whichever basis the spec in front of you is written in.
| Cubic inches (CID) | Exact liters | Usually badged | Cubic centimeters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 289 in³ | 4.736 L | 4.7 L | 4,736 cc |
| 302 in³ | 4.949 L | 5.0 L | 4,949 cc |
| 318 in³ | 5.211 L | 5.2 L | 5,211 cc |
| 350 in³ | 5.735 L | 5.7 L | 5,735 cc |
| 351 in³ | 5.752 L | 5.8 L | 5,752 cc |
| 383 in³ | 6.276 L | 6.3 L | 6,276 cc |
| 396 in³ | 6.489 L | 6.5 L | 6,489 cc |
| 427 in³ | 6.997 L | 7.0 L | 6,997 cc |
| 440 in³ | 7.210 L | 7.2 L | 7,210 cc |
| 454 in³ | 7.440 L | 7.4 L | 7,440 cc |
Badged displacement is rounded for marketing, and the cubic-inch name is itself usually rounded from the true swept volume set by bore and stroke. Treat both as labels, and use a manufacturer spec when the exact figure matters.
| Liters | Cubic inches | Cubic centimeters |
|---|---|---|
| 1.6 L | 97.6 in³ | 1,600 cc |
| 2.0 L | 122.0 in³ | 2,000 cc |
| 2.5 L | 152.6 in³ | 2,500 cc |
| 3.0 L | 183.1 in³ | 3,000 cc |
| 3.5 L | 213.6 in³ | 3,500 cc |
| 5.0 L | 305.1 in³ | 5,000 cc |
| 5.7 L | 347.8 in³ | 5,700 cc |
| 6.2 L | 378.3 in³ | 6,200 cc |
Worth noting: 5.7 L converts to 347.8 cubic inches, not 350 — the famous “350” and the “5.7” are two roundings of the same engine, approached from opposite directions.
| Container | Liters | Cubic inches | US gallons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soda can (12 fl oz) | 0.355 L | 21.7 in³ | 0.094 gal |
| Water bottle (500 mL) | 0.5 L | 30.5 in³ | 0.132 gal |
| Soda bottle | 2 L | 122.0 in³ | 0.528 gal |
| Milk jug | 3.785 L | 231 in³ | 1.000 gal |
| Jerry can | 20 L | 1,220.5 in³ | 5.283 gal |
| 10-gallon aquarium | 37.85 L | 2,310 in³ | 10.00 gal |
The can, bottle, and jug figures are the same reference volumes the calculator uses for its live equivalents bars.
An inch is only 2.54 cm long — but that factor applies three times over in a volume. Square it for 6.452, cube it for 16.387. A liter holds 1,000 of those cubic centimeters, which is where 61.02 comes from.
- Milliliters and cc are identical — 1 mL is 1 cm³, which is why engine displacement is quoted interchangeably in cc, liters, and cubic inches.
- A liter is barely a 4 inch cube — 3.937 inches per side. Useful when you are eyeballing whether something will physically fit.
- Fluid ounces are a different measure — 1 US fl oz is 1.805 in³. Close enough to look interchangeable, far enough apart to throw a calculation.
Everything the converter works out
One figure in either box gives you the full picture — the conversion both ways, the same volume in every unit, a scale you can actually picture, and a report you can keep.
The figures behind every liter
Built for anyone reading a spec in the wrong unit
Cubic inches and liters describe the same space — but almost nothing quotes both, so one of them always has to be converted.
Translating a cubic-inch engine name into liters or cc — or the reverse — to match parts listings, insurance forms, and registration paperwork.
- Remember badges are rounded
- cc and mL are the same unit
- Use a manufacturer spec when exact
Working out what an aquarium, water butt, planter, or custom box actually holds from its interior dimensions in inches.
- Measure interior, not exterior
- Divide in³ by 231 for US gallons
- Allow for fill line and contents
Comparing an imported product’s metric capacity against a US listing in cubic inches, or checking a supplier’s carton volume against your own figures.
- Convert before comparing quotes
- Check US vs imperial gallons
- Save the PDF against the order
7 tips for converting volume without errors
The slips that turn a clean conversion into a wrong number — and the habits that catch them first.
Cubic inches to liters FAQ
The conversion, displacement, and capacity questions people ask most when a volume is quoted in the unit they don’t use.
One liter is about 61.0237 cubic inches. Going the other way, one cubic inch is 0.016387 L, or 16.387 milliliters.
A liter is defined as a cube 10 centimeters on each side, which works out to roughly 3.94 inches per side — a little smaller than a 4 inch cube.
Multiply the cubic inches by 0.016387, or divide by 61.0237 — the two are the same operation. A 350 cubic inch figure comes to 350 × 0.016387 = 5.735 L.
If you’re starting from dimensions, multiply length by width by height with all three in inches first, then apply the factor. For milliliters instead, multiply cubic inches by 16.387.
A 350 cubic inch engine is about 5.735 liters, which is why it’s badged as a 5.7. Similarly, a 302 is 4.95 L badged as 5.0, a 454 is 7.44 L badged as 7.4, and a 427 is 7.00 L.
Badged displacement is always rounded, and the true swept volume depends on the exact bore and stroke rather than the round number on the label.
One US gallon is exactly 231 cubic inches. That’s a definition rather than a rounded figure, which makes it one of the most useful numbers in tank and container math.
An imperial gallon is larger at about 277.42 in³, or 4.546 liters, so US and UK gallon figures differ by roughly 20 percent and are not interchangeable.
One cubic inch is 16.387064 milliliters, which is also 16.387064 cubic centimeters — millilitres and cc are the same thing.
This is why engine displacement appears in cc as well as cubic inches and liters. A 350 cubic inch engine is 5,735 cc, or 5.735 liters.
Multiply the interior length, width, and height in inches to get cubic inches, then multiply by 0.016387 for liters. A 24 × 12 × 16 inch tank is 4,608 in³, or about 75.5 liters.
Divide the same cubic inch figure by 231 for US gallons — that tank comes to 19.9 gallons. Use interior dimensions, and remember actual fill volume is lower once you account for the fill line, substrate, and anything placed inside.
Because the two units come from unrelated systems. A liter is a cube 10 cm on each side, and an inch is 2.54 cm — so one cubic inch is 2.54³ = 16.387064 cm³.
Divide 1,000 cubic centimeters by 16.387064 and you get 61.0237 cubic inches per liter. The awkward number is just the cube of 2.54 working in reverse.
No. One US fluid ounce is about 1.8047 in³, so the two are close enough to confuse but far enough apart to matter.
Cubic inches measure geometric volume from dimensions, while fluid ounces measure liquid capacity. One liter is 61.02 cubic inches but 33.81 US fluid ounces — different numbers for the same amount of space.
Planning Estimate Only — Not a Technical Specification: This converter changes the volume you enter between cubic inches, liters, and other units using exact conversion factors. Engine displacement figures shown on this page are conversions of nominal, badged sizes — actual swept volume is determined by bore, stroke, and cylinder count, and manufacturers round both the cubic-inch name and the liter badge. Container and tank capacities calculated from dimensions assume a clean rectangular interior and represent gross volume, not usable fill volume, which is reduced by wall thickness, fill lines, fittings, and contents. Always confirm against the manufacturer’s specification before ordering parts, sizing equipment, or completing registration, insurance, or compliance paperwork. For planning purposes only.