Quarts to Liters Converter

A US quart is 0.946 litres — close enough to a litre to be dangerous when you are filling an engine.

Conversion table

Volume	In litres
0.5	0.47318 L
1	0.94635 L
1.5	1.4195 L
2	1.8927 L
2.5	2.3659 L
3	2.8391 L
4	3.7854 L
5	4.7318 L
6	5.6781 L
7	6.6245 L
8	7.5708 L
9	8.5172 L
10	9.4635 L
12	11.3562 L
15	14.1953 L

🔧 Numbers to remember

1 US quart0.946353 L
1 litre1.0567 US quarts
1 imperial quart1.1365 L
5 quarts (oil change)4.73 L

When the 5% gap matters

A quart is 5.4% smaller than a litre. Five quarts of oil is 4.73 litres, so pouring five litres overfills by 270 ml.
Always fill oil to the dipstick, not to the number in the manual. Capacities assume a full filter change and a fully drained sump.
A US quart is two US pints and a quarter of a US gallon; the whole chain divides cleanly, which is why American labels use it.
The imperial quart is 1.1365 L, 20% larger. Older British recipes and manuals may mean that one.

A quarter of a gallon, and why it is not a litre

The quart is literally a quarter: one fourth of a gallon, two pints, thirty-two fluid ounces. Because the US gallon is 3.785411784 litres, the US quart comes to exactly 0.946353 litres. That places it about 5.4% below a litre, close enough that cartons of milk and bottles of oil look interchangeable on a shelf but far enough that the difference adds up across several of them. The imperial quart, built on the larger British gallon, is 1.1365 litres — slightly larger than a litre rather than slightly smaller, which is a trap of its own.

The oil change, where 5% becomes a problem

American service manuals give engine oil capacity in quarts, and a common figure is five, which is 4.73 litres. In a country that sells oil in litre bottles, the temptation is to pour five litres and stop — 270 millilitres too much. Overfilling matters because the crankshaft can reach the oil surface and whip air into it, and aerated oil carries less pressure to the bearings. The safe procedure is the same everywhere: use the manual's capacity as a guide, fill to about 80% of it, run the engine, then top up to the dipstick mark.

Quarts in the kitchen

A US quart is 4 cups, which is why American recipes scale so easily between the two.
Stock and soup pots are sold by the quart in the US: a 6 qt pot is 5.7 litres.
A quart of milk is 946 ml; the litre carton sold elsewhere holds 5% more.
Ice cream is sold by the pint and the quart in the US, and by the litre almost everywhere else.
A dry quart is a different unit again, 1.101 litres, used for berries and produce.
Recipes converted from quarts to litres are usually safe to round, because cooking volumes tolerate 5%. Engine oil does not.

The whole US volume ladder

1 US gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints = 16 cups = 128 fl oz.
1 quart = 0.946 L, 1 pint = 473 ml, 1 cup = 237 ml, 1 fl oz = 29.6 ml.
Everything halves cleanly, which is why the system survives in American kitchens.
The imperial ladder has the same shape but every rung is 20% larger.
Metric replaces the whole ladder with one unit and a decimal point.
Nutrition labels in the US must show metric alongside, which is why a carton says 1 qt (946 mL).

Worked examples

Oil, stock and cartons

An oil change calling for 5 quarts

5 × 0.946353 = 4.73 litres
Five 1-litre bottles would be 270 ml too much
Fill 4.5 L, run the engine, then top up to the dipstick

5 qt = 4.73 L

A 6 quart stock pot

6 × 0.946353 = 5.68 litres
That is 24 US cups
In imperial quarts it would be 5 qt, a 20% larger unit

6 qt = 5.68 L

Frequently Asked Questions

How many litres is a quart?

0.946353 litres for the US quart, which is exactly a quarter of the US gallon of 3.785411784 litres. The imperial quart is 1.1365 litres, about 20% larger. A litre, going the other way, is 1.0567 US quarts.

How many litres of oil is 5 quarts?

4.73 litres. That is 270 millilitres less than five litres, which is why buying five one-litre bottles and emptying them all is a common way to overfill an engine. Fill short of the stated capacity and finish on the dipstick.

Is a quart the same as a litre?

No, but it is close: a US quart is 5.4% smaller. For soup or stock that difference is irrelevant; for engine oil, brake fluid or coolant it is enough to matter, and for anything measured repeatedly it accumulates.

What happens if I overfill engine oil?

Above the maximum mark, the rotating crankshaft can reach the oil surface and aerate it. Foamed oil is compressible and carries less pressure to the bearings, so lubrication suffers exactly when the engine is working hardest. A small overfill is usually harmless; a litre too much should be drained.

How many cups are in a quart?

Four US cups, which is 32 fluid ounces or 946 millilitres. The whole American volume ladder divides by two: a gallon is four quarts, a quart is two pints, a pint is two cups.

Is a British quart the same as an American one?

No. The imperial quart is 1.1365 litres against the US quart's 0.9464 — the same 20% gap that separates the two gallons. Older British cookbooks and workshop manuals may mean the imperial one, so check the source before converting.