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Convert litres to millilitres

1 L = 1000 mL

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Questions

How many millilitres are in a litre?

One litre is 1000 millilitres. To convert any amount, multiply by 1000. Going the other way, one millilitre is 0.001 litres.

What is the formula to convert L to mL?

Multiply the litre figure by 1000. So mL = L × 1000. For a quick mental estimate, multiplying by about 1000 gets you within a percent or so, which is close enough for most everyday purposes.

What does a litre actually look like?

One litre is a large bottle of soft drink. The litre is exactly one cubic decimetre. It is not strictly an SI unit but is accepted for use with SI, and it is the fuel and beverage unit almost everywhere.

And what is a millilitre?

One millilitre is a fifth of a teaspoon. A millilitre is exactly one cubic centimetre, which is why medical equipment marked cc and mL means the same thing.

Is this conversion exact?

Yes. Since the 1959 international yard and pound agreement, the imperial and metric systems are related by exact definitions rather than measurements — the inch is exactly 25.4 mm and the pound exactly 0.45359237 kg. Everything derived from those, including this conversion, is therefore exact. Round at the end rather than partway through, since rounding L before converting introduces an error the conversion then multiplies.

About l to ml

How to convert litres to millilitres

Multiply by 1000. One litre is 1000 millilitres, and one millilitre is 0.001 litres.

mL = L × 1000

Worked example

10 L = 10000 mL. For a sense of scale, one litre is a large bottle of soft drink, and one millilitre is a fifth of a teaspoon.

About the litre

The litre is exactly one cubic decimetre. It is not strictly an SI unit but is accepted for use with SI, and it is the fuel and beverage unit almost everywhere.

About the millilitre

A millilitre is exactly one cubic centimetre, which is why medical equipment marked cc and mL means the same thing.

Quick reference

litresmillilitres
1 L1000 mL
2 L2000 mL
5 L5000 mL
10 L10000 mL
25 L25000 mL
50 L50000 mL
100 L100000 mL
1000 L1000000 mL

Getting it right

Check whether your source means US or imperial measures. An imperial gallon is about 20% larger than a US gallon, and an imperial fluid ounce is slightly smaller than a US one. Recipes and fuel-economy figures are where this bites hardest, because the numbers look plausible either way.

Other volume conversions

Convert millilitres back to litres, or pick any other pair with the full unit converter. Related: L to gal, L to fl oz, L to cup.