Gallons to Cups Converter

How to convert gallons to cups

1 gallon = 16 cups. To convert gallons to cups, multiply by 16. A US liquid gallon is 231 cubic inches, exactly 3.785411784 L. A US customary cup is 8 US fluid ounces, about 236.6 ml (nutrition labels use a rounded 240 ml).

Worked examples

• 0.5 gallons = 8 cup (0.5 × 16)
• 1 gallon = 16 cup (1 × 16)
• 3 gallons = 48 cup (3 × 16)

Where this conversion comes up

Gallons are used for gasoline, milk, paint and fish tanks in the US; cups for US recipes and nutrition labels. A US gallon is exactly 16 cups (4 quarts × 4 cups), which helps when batching drinks or soup.

Quick estimate

Multiply by 16.

Common mistakes

• Dividing instead of multiplying. A cup is smaller than a gallon, so the number of cups must come out larger: 0.5 gallons = 8 cup.
• Mixing fluid ounces with weight ounces. A fluid ounce is a volume (29.57 ml); an ounce on a kitchen scale is a weight (28.35 g). A cup of flour is 8 fl oz by volume but only about 4.25 oz by weight.
• Using the imperial (UK) unit. This page uses US measures. An imperial gallon is 4.546 L (20% more than a US gallon), an imperial pint 568 ml and an imperial fluid ounce 28.41 ml.

Going the other way? Use the cups to gallons converter. Related volume converters: ml to oz, oz to ml, liters to gallons, gallons to liters, liters to quarts, quarts to liters.