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Pints to Quarts Converter

2 pints = 1 quart, in both systems.

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Two pints to the quart

A quart is two pints, in both US and Imperial measures. Like the gallon-to-quart relationship, this one does not change between systems — only the absolute sizes do.

2 pints = 1 quart, in both systems

The full US chain: 1 gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints = 16 cups = 128 fluid ounces.

The pint

A US pint is 16 US fluid ounces — 473.18 mL. An Imperial pint is 20 Imperial fluid ounces — 568.26 mL, about 20 % larger.

This is why a pint of beer in London is noticeably bigger than a pint in New York, and why recipes that call for "a pint" need their origin checked before scaling.

The quart

A quarter of a gallon, hence the name. A US quart is 946.35 mL — close enough to a litre that the two are often swapped in casual cooking. An Imperial quart is 1.1365 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

  1. Type into either box. The other side updates as you go; there is no button to press.
  2. Swap the direction with the button between the boxes, carrying your value across.
  3. Set the decimals if the default is more or less precision than you need.
  4. Copy the answer with its unit, ready to paste.
  5. Use the shortcut buttons for the values that come up most often.
  6. 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.

Quick reference

PintsQuarts
1 pt0.5 qt
2 pt1 qt
4 pt2 qt
8 pt4 qt
16 pt8 qt

Questions people ask

How many pints in a quart?

2, in both systems.

How many pints in a gallon?

8.

Are US and Imperial pints the same?

No. A US pint is 473 mL, an Imperial pint 568 mL.