liters per minute to US gallons per minute

European plumbing fixtures are rated in liters per minute; American ones in gallons per minute — same faucet, two unit worlds. The bridge is 0.2641720523581484, the exact number of US gallons in one liter, carried forward per minute. A kitchen faucet that flows 8 L/min is a 2.11 GPM faucet; a European shower spec of 12 L/min is 3.17 GPM on the American box.

1 liter per minute = 0.264172 US gallons per minute, and 1 US gallon per minute = 3.785411784 liters per minute. The conversion is a single fixed factor: multiply L/min by 0.264172. Worked: 10 L/min = 2.64172 US gal/min; 100 L/min = 26.4172 US gal/min.

By EnginStack Editorial Team | Reviewed against NIST, BIPM and primary-source documentation About →
liters per minute
2.11337642 US gallons per minute
8 liters per minute = 2.11337642 US gallons per minute 8 US gallons per minute = 30.28329427 liters per minute

Authority: NIST SP 811 (SI usage guide) and the 1959 International Yard and Pound Agreement. The coefficient above is a defined value — it does not come from measurement and carries no uncertainty.

liters per minute to US gallons per minute

The factor is exact because the US gallon is legally 231 cubic inches — 3.785411784 liters — so one liter per minute is 1/3.785411784 = 0.2641720523581484 US gallons per minute. No approximation anywhere in the chain. Plumbing codes, pump curves, and fixture flow ratings cross this line constantly: a European pump datasheet in L/min meets an American fixture spec in GPM, and the difference between them is a number with thirteen significant digits that nobody guesses correctly.

US gallons per minute = liters per minute × 0.2641720523581484
1 L/min = 0.2641720524 GPM — the 231 in³ gallon per liter
The factor is exact: 1 US gal = 3.785411784 L.

Worked Examples

Example 1: Convert a 10 L/min tap flow

10 × 0.2641720524 = 2.64 GPM

Example 2: Convert a 30 L/min pump rating

30 × 0.2641720524 = 7.93 GPM

Example 3: Convert a 250 L/min transfer pump

250 × 0.2641720524 = 66.04 GPM

Common liters per minute to US gallons per minute Conversions

liters per minuteUS gallons per minuteContext
1 L/min0.2642 GPMThe definitional anchor.
8 L/min2.11 GPMA typical kitchen faucet.
12 L/min3.17 GPMA European shower head.
100 L/min26.4 GPMA small transfer pump.
500 L/min132.1 GPMA fire-fighting pump.

Engineering Context

Flow rate is volume per time, so this page inherits its anchor from the liters to gallons volume converter — the same 3.785411784 constant, per minute instead of per volume. The flow rate hub collects the full family, and the GPM to L/min page runs this factor backward. For the pump side of the equation, the pressure hub has the head-and-pressure converters.

European product literature quotes liters per minute and North American literature quotes gallons per minute, so this page is the one that sits between two regulatory regimes rather than two engineering traditions. The clearest example is the shower head: the US federal cap is 2.5 GPM, which is 9.46 L/min, while the European Union cap is 12 L/min, which is 3.17 GPM. Neither number is wrong and neither converts into the other, because they were set from different assumptions about supply temperature and comfort. When a fixture is marketed in both markets, expect the liter figure to look generous next to the gallon figure.

More: GPM to L/min · L/min to m³/h · L to gal · Flow Rate Guide · Flow Rate Hub

Related Unit Converters

US gallons per minute to liters per minute liters per minute to cubic meters per hour Liters to US Gallons Flow Rate Conversion Guide Flow Rate Converters

Frequently Asked Questions

How many GPM is 1 L/min?

Exactly 0.2641720524. One US gallon is 3.785411784 L by definition (231 in³), so one liter per minute is 1/3.785411784 gallons per minute.

Is the imperial gallon different for flow rates?

Yes — the imperial gallon is 4.54609 L, about 20% larger than the US gallon. A flow rated in imperial GPM is 1.2× the same number in US GPM. Always confirm which gallon a pump spec uses.

How do I convert L/min to GPM by hand?

Multiply by 0.264 for a mental estimate (within 0.07%). For exact work use 0.2641720523581484, or divide by 3.785411784 — the two operations are identical.