Cubic Measurement Converter
Convert cubic metres, cubic feet, cubic yards, litres and more — ideal for concrete, soil and shipping.
Convert cubic and volume units
This cubic measurement converter handles units of three-dimensional volume — cubic centimetres, litres, cubic metres, cubic inches, cubic feet, and cubic yards — plus US and UK gallons. It is especially useful for ordering bulk materials like concrete, soil, gravel, and mulch, which are sold by cubic metre or cubic yard.
Common cubic conversions
| From | To | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 cubic metre | cubic feet | 35.31 ft³ |
| 1 cubic yard | cubic metres | 0.7646 m³ |
| 1 cubic metre | litres | 1,000 l |
| 1 cubic foot | litres | 28.32 l |
Ordering building materials
Concrete and aggregates are usually sold by the cubic metre (UK) or cubic yard (US). One cubic yard is about 0.765 cubic metres. To work out exactly how much you need for a slab or path, use our concrete calculator or gravel calculator.
Common cubic conversions at a glance
Cubic conversions trip people up because the ratio is cubed, not linear: one metre is 3.28 feet, but one cubic metre is 3.28³ = 35.31 cubic feet. These are the conversions people look up most often:
| From | To | Multiply by |
|---|---|---|
| Cubic metres (m³) | Cubic feet (ft³) | 35.315 |
| Cubic metres (m³) | Cubic yards (yd³) | 1.308 |
| Cubic metres (m³) | Litres | 1,000 |
| Cubic feet (ft³) | Cubic metres (m³) | 0.02832 |
| Cubic yards (yd³) | Cubic metres (m³) | 0.7646 |
| Litres | US gallons | 0.2642 |
| Litres | UK gallons | 0.2200 |
Builders’ materials are usually sold by the cubic metre in the UK and the cubic yard in the US, which is why a quote can look wildly different across the two markets — a cubic yard is only about three quarters of a cubic metre. For material quantities, try our concrete calculator or gravel calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How many cubic feet in a cubic metre?
One cubic metre equals about 35.31 cubic feet.
Cubic conversion factors at a glance
| 1 unit | Equals |
|---|---|
| 1 cubic metre (m³) | 1,000 litres · 35.3147 ft³ · 1.30795 yd³ · 219.969 UK gal · 264.172 US gal |
| 1 cubic yard (yd³) | 0.764555 m³ · 27 ft³ · 764.6 litres |
| 1 cubic foot (ft³) | 28.3168 litres · 1,728 in³ · 6.229 UK gal · 7.481 US gal |
| 1 litre | 1,000 cm³ · 0.0353 ft³ · 61.024 in³ |
| 1 cubic centimetre (cm³) | 1 millilitre |
Why cubic factors are so large
A volume conversion is a length conversion applied three times. One metre is 3.28084 feet, so one cubic metre is 3.28084 × 3.28084 × 3.28084 = 35.3147 cubic feet. This is why you should never convert each dimension and then guess — always multiply the three converted lengths, or convert the finished volume using the factors above.
Worked examples
Ready-mix concrete: a UK quote for 2.5 m³ equals 2.5 × 1.30795 = 3.27 cubic yards. Going the other way, a US order of 4 yd³ equals 4 × 0.764555 = 3.06 m³.
Skip size: UK skips are still sold in cubic yards. A 6-yard skip holds 6 × 0.764555 = 4.59 m³ of waste.
Aquarium: a tank measuring 100 × 40 × 50 cm holds 200,000 cm³, which is 200 litres — about 44 UK gallons or 52.8 US gallons.
Volume is not weight
Building materials are often sold by the tonne, but you measure the space in cubic metres. To convert, multiply the volume by the material’s density. Water is 1 tonne per m³, dry sand and gravel are typically 1.5–1.8 tonnes per m³, and concrete is about 2.4 tonnes per m³. So 2 m³ of gravel weighs roughly 3.2 tonnes. The gravel calculator and concrete calculator include these densities for you.