Reference
Paint Can Sizes and Unit Conversions
The containers paint is sold in, the exact factors between US and metric units, and the weights of full cans, in one place.
The cans paint is sold in
Paint is sold in a handful of fixed sizes, and every quantity calculator on this site rounds its answer up to them. In the US the sizes are fractions of a US gallon; in Europe, the UK, Canada and most of the world they are litres.
| Container | Volume | In the other system | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sample pot | 8 fl oz | 237 mL | Colour testing |
| Half pint | 8 fl oz | 237 mL | Stain, touch-up, small furniture |
| Quart | 32 fl oz | 0.946 L | Trim, doors, accent walls, stains |
| Gallon | 128 fl oz | 3.785 L | One room, one coat or two |
| 5-gallon pail | 640 fl oz | 18.93 L | Whole houses, exteriors, contractors |
| 1 L can | 1 L | 1.057 quarts | Trim, small jobs |
| 2.5 L can | 2.5 L | 2.64 quarts | A small room, one coat |
| 5 L can | 5 L | 1.321 gallons | A room |
| 10 L tub | 10 L | 2.642 gallons | Several rooms, exteriors |
Some US stores also sell pints for stains and enamels, and Canadian stores sell 3.78 L cans, which are US gallons labelled in litres. Deep-base cans can hold slightly less paint than their nominal size to leave room for the colourant; the label gives the net volume.
How we round to cans
The calculators round up, not to the nearest can, because a can short is a trip to the store and possibly a colour mismatch between batches.
- US: whole 5-gallon pails first, then gallons, then quarts. A remainder over 4 gallons becomes another pail, because a pail costs less than four gallons and a quart. Four quarts become a gallon.
- Metric: 10 L tubs, then 5 L, then 2.5 L and 1 L cans. A remainder over 7.5 L becomes another 10 L tub; one over 3.5 L becomes a 5 L can.
The can size optimizer goes further: it searches every combination of cans for the cheapest one at your prices, which is sometimes a pail even for 3.5 gallons.
Exact volume conversions
| From | To | Multiply by |
|---|---|---|
| US gallons | litres | 3.785411784 (exact) |
| litres | US gallons | 0.264172 |
| US quarts | litres | 0.946353 |
| litres | US quarts | 1.056688 |
| US pints | litres | 0.473176 |
| US fluid ounces | millilitres | 29.5735 |
| US gallons | US quarts / pints / fl oz | 4 / 8 / 128 |
| UK (imperial) gallons | litres | 4.54609 (exact) |
| UK gallons | US gallons | 1.20095 |
A UK gallon is about 20% larger than a US gallon. Old British coverage figures quoted “per gallon” mean the larger gallon; everything on this site means the US gallon.
Coverage conversions
| From | To | Multiply by |
|---|---|---|
| sq ft per US gallon | m² per litre | ÷ 40.746 |
| m² per litre | sq ft per US gallon | × 40.746 |
| sq ft | m² | 0.092903 |
| m² | sq ft | 10.7639 |
| gallons per 100 sq ft | sq ft per gallon | 100 ÷ the figure |
| litres per m² | m² per litre | 1 ÷ the figure |
| sq ft per gallon | m² per litre |
|---|---|
| 100 | 2.5 |
| 150 | 3.7 |
| 200 | 4.9 |
| 250 | 6.1 |
| 300 | 7.4 |
| 350 | 8.6 |
| 400 | 9.8 |
| 450 | 11.0 |
| 500 | 12.3 |
The full list of coverage figures by product is in the coverage rates table.
What paint weighs
| Product | Density | Full gallon (paint only) | Full 5-gallon pail (paint only) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latex wall paint | 11.3 lb/gal (1.35 kg/L) | 11.3 lb | 56.5 lb |
| Latex primer | 11.0 lb/gal (1.32 kg/L) | 11.0 lb | 55.0 lb |
| Oil-based or alkyd enamel | 9.5 lb/gal (1.14 kg/L) | 9.5 lb | 47.5 lb |
| Elastomeric or masonry coating | 12 lb/gal (1.44 kg/L) | 12 lb | 60 lb |
| Deck or fence stain | 8.5 lb/gal (1.02 kg/L) | 8.5 lb | 42.5 lb |
An empty steel gallon can weighs about 0.7 lb and an empty plastic pail about 2 lb, so a full pail of latex is about 58 lb. A safety data sheet gives density as specific gravity: multiply it by 8.345 for pounds per US gallon, or read it directly as kilograms per litre. The paint weight calculator uses these figures for loads and for working out how much is left in a part-used can by weighing it.
Worked lookups
- 2.39 gallons in cans: 2 gallons and 0.39 left, which is two quarts (0.5 gallon), so 2 gallons + 2 quarts.
- 4.2 gallons: the remainder over 4 gallons rule makes it one 5-gallon pail.
- A 5 L can in US units: 5 × 0.264172 = 1.321 gallons, a gallon and about a quart and a quarter.
- An 8 fl oz sample pot: 8 ÷ 128 = 1/16 gallon.
Sources and notes
The US gallon is defined as 231 cubic inches, exactly 3.785411784 litres, and the imperial gallon as exactly 4.54609 litres (NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C; UK Weights and Measures Act 1985). The densities are typical values from manufacturers’ safety data sheets and product data for each class; individual products vary by a few percent, and the data sheet for your product is the authority. Container weights are typical and rounded.
Calculators that use this table
- The paint quantity converter converts between every unit here and rounds to cans.
- The can size optimizer finds the cheapest mix of the can sizes.
- The paint weight calculator uses the densities and container weights.
- The sample pot calculator works in 8 fl oz pots.
- The leftover and touch-up planner turns cans bought into what to keep.
- Every quantity calculator, from the wall paint calculator to the exterior house paint calculator, rounds its answer to these cans.
The guide paint can sizes and the leftover problem covers when a 5-gallon pail pays off.