Millilitres to Cubic Centimetres
1 mL = 1 cm³ exactly. The numbers do not change.
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They are the same volume
A millilitre and a cubic centimetre are exactly equal. Not approximately — exactly, and the number does not change when you convert.
1 mL = 1 cm³ exactly
The reason is the definition of the litre: a cubic decimetre, which is a cube 10 cm on each side, holding 1,000 cubic centimetres. A thousandth of that is one cubic centimetre.
So why two names? Convention. Medicine writes cc, engineering writes cm³, cookery and pharmacy write mL. A 5 cc syringe and a 5 mL syringe are the same syringe.
One historical footnote: between 1901 and 1964 the litre was defined as the volume of a kilogram of water, which made it 1.000028 dm³. During those years a millilitre and a cubic centimetre were very slightly different. The definition was changed back in 1964.
The millilitre
A thousandth of a litre, and exactly one cubic centimetre. That equivalence is exact by definition, not an approximation — the litre was defined as a cubic decimetre, so a thousandth of it is a cubic centimetre.
It is the everyday unit for liquids across most of the world: medicine doses, recipes, drinks and fuel measurements.
The cubic centimetre
A cube one centimetre on each side, and exactly equal to one millilitre. Medicine tends to write cc, engineering writes cm³, and cookery writes mL, but all three are the same volume.
Engine displacement is the most familiar use: a 1,600 cc engine sweeps 1.6 litres.
The working, step by step
Every line updates with whatever you type above. The point is the method, which is the same for any pair of units in this family.
The same quantity, two different numbers
One physical amount, read off two scales. The tick marks do not line up, and the gap between them is the conversion factor made visible.
How much is that?
A number is easier to judge next to something familiar.
Your turn
Reading a method and being able to use it are different things. Answer within half a per cent and it counts as correct.
Score: 0 of 0
How to use this converter
- Type into either box. The other side updates as you go; there is no button to press.
- Swap the direction with the button between the boxes, carrying your value across.
- Set the decimals if the default is more or less precision than you need.
- Copy the answer with its unit, ready to paste.
- Use the shortcut buttons for the values that come up most often.
- Share the result. The address bar tracks what you type, so the link you copy opens on the same number.
Common uses and tips
Where volume conversions come up
- Cooking from a foreign recipe. The commonest reason, and the one where getting it wrong shows.
- Medicine doses, given in millilitres worldwide and sometimes in teaspoons at home — a genuinely risky place to guess.
- Fuel, where miles per gallon means two different things depending on which side of the Atlantic wrote the figure.
- Engine sizes, quoted in cubic inches, cubic centimetres or litres depending on the market and the decade.
- Building materials such as concrete and topsoil, sold by the cubic yard or cubic metre.
The big one: US and Imperial are different sizes
These are not two names for the same unit. They are different volumes.
- Gallon — US 3.785 L, Imperial 4.546 L. The Imperial one is about 20 % larger.
- Pint — US 473 mL (16 fl oz), Imperial 568 mL (20 fl oz).
- Quart — US 946 mL, Imperial 1,137 mL.
- Fluid ounce — US 29.57 mL, Imperial 28.41 mL. Here the US one is the larger, which catches everyone.
The reason for that last oddity is historical. The US kept the old English wine gallon of 231 cubic inches and divided it into 128 fluid ounces. Britain redefined its gallon in 1824 as ten pounds of water and divided it into 160. More ounces in a bigger gallon means each ounce comes out smaller.
The practical upshot: a British recipe's pint is a fifth more liquid than an American one, and 30 mpg in Britain is about 25 mpg in the United States.
Fluid ounces are not ounces
A fluid ounce measures volume; an ounce measures mass. They are related only for water, where a US fluid ounce weighs about 1.04 oz. For flour, honey or oil the two figures are nowhere near each other, which is why baking by weight is more reliable than baking by cups.
Tips worth knowing
- 1 mL is exactly 1 cm³. Not approximately — exactly, by definition.
- Australian tablespoons are 20 mL, against 15 mL everywhere else. Three tablespoons of an Australian recipe is 60 mL.
- Cubic conversions cube the length factor. A foot is 0.3048 m, so a cubic foot is 0.3048³ = 0.0283 m³.
- Weigh, do not measure, for baking. A cup of flour varies by 20 % depending on how it was packed.
Values people look up most
Each one opens the converter with the number already in it.
- 1 mL to cm³
- 2 mL to cm³
- 5 mL to cm³
- 10 mL to cm³
- 20 mL to cm³
- 50 mL to cm³
- 100 mL to cm³
- 250 mL to cm³
- 500 mL to cm³
- 1,000 mL to cm³
- 1,600 mL to cm³
- 2,000 mL to cm³
Quick reference
| Millilitres | Cubic centimetres |
|---|---|
| 1 mL | 1 cm³ |
| 5 mL | 5 cm³ |
| 10 mL | 10 cm³ |
| 50 mL | 50 cm³ |
| 100 mL | 100 cm³ |
| 500 mL | 500 cm³ |
| 1,000 mL | 1,000 cm³ |
| 2,000 mL | 2,000 cm³ |
Questions people ask
Is 1 mL the same as 1 cc?
Yes, exactly.
Why are there two names?
Convention in different fields. Medicine uses cc, engineering cm³, cookery mL.
Were they ever different?
Slightly, between 1901 and 1964, when the litre was defined by the mass of water rather than as a cubic decimetre.