Pints to Litres Calculator

UK Pints to Litres Conversion Table

Note: 1 UK pint = 1.201 US pints. Conversely, 1 US pint = 0.833 UK pints.

The UK Pint vs The US Pint: A 20% Difference

The British imperial pint and the American liquid pint are both called "pints," yet they differ by approximately 20%. The UK pint is 568.261 ml while the US pint is 473.176 ml. This difference trips up countless cooks, homebrewers, and travellers every year.

The reason for the discrepancy is historical. After American independence, the United States and Britain diverged in their measurement systems. The US retained older wine gallon and ale gallon measurements, while Britain standardised on the imperial system in 1824 with the Weights and Measures Act. The US gallon (3.785 litres) is smaller than the imperial gallon (4.546 litres), and since both pints are one-eighth of their respective gallons, the US pint is proportionally smaller.

History of the British Imperial Pint

The pint has been a unit of measurement in Britain for centuries, but its exact definition varied by region and what was being measured. Before 1824, there were several competing "pints" across the British Isles: the wine pint, the ale pint, and the corn pint all had slightly different volumes.

The Weights and Measures Act 1824 standardised the imperial system across Britain, defining the imperial gallon as the volume of 10 pounds of water at 62°F. The imperial pint was set as one-eighth of this gallon — giving us the 568.261 ml we use today. This act was landmark legislation that created a unified system of weights and measures across the British Empire.

The imperial pint has remained legally defined ever since, surviving metrication, joining the Common Market, and numerous calls for full conversion to metric. Today it stands as one of the UK's most stubbornly beloved non-metric units.

Where the UK Pint Is Still Legally Required

Unlike most other imperial measurements, the pint has not been replaced by metric equivalents in several key UK contexts. Under the Weights and Measures Act 1985 and EU retained legislation, the pint remains a legal unit of measure for:

• Draught beer and cider in licensed premises: must be sold in one-third pint, half-pint, or multiples of half-pint
• Doorstep milk delivery and retail milk: traditionally sold in 1, 2, 4, and 6-pint cartons
• Pre-packed goods: pints may be used alongside metric on product labelling

The UK government has confirmed that pints will remain legal indefinitely. Proposals to phase them out have repeatedly been abandoned due to strong public attachment to the unit. You can legally order "a pint" in any UK pub — indeed, asking for "568.261 millilitres of lager" would get you a very strange look.

The EU, Metrication and the Great British Pint Opt-Out

When the UK joined the European Economic Community in 1973, it committed to metrication — replacing imperial units with metric for trade and commerce. Most imperial units were phased out over the following decades. However, the UK successfully negotiated exemptions for beer, cider, and milk.

This was not merely sentiment. The British pub culture is deeply tied to the pint. Market research consistently showed that consumers strongly preferred pint measures for draught drinks. The EU granted the UK an indefinite derogation (opt-out) for these specific products. Post-Brexit, the UK has confirmed it will continue using pints for these purposes — and has additionally restored the right to display imperial measurements more prominently on goods.

In 2023, the UK government launched a consultation on reinstating imperial measurements more broadly, reflecting continued public affection for pints, miles, and pounds.

Pints in Cooking: US vs UK Recipe Confusion

Cooking is where the pint difference causes the most practical headaches. A US recipe calling for "1 pint of cream" means 473 ml, but a UK cook measuring "1 pint" would use 568 ml — a difference of nearly 100 ml (about 3.3 fl oz). For a small amount this may not matter, but in baking where precision is crucial, this 20% discrepancy can ruin a recipe.

Practical conversion guide for US recipes:

• 1 US pint = 0.833 UK pints (multiply by 0.833)
• 2 US pints = 1.665 UK pints (just under 1⅔ UK pints)
• For cooking, convert to millilitres first: 1 US pint = 473 ml

The safest approach when following American recipes in a UK kitchen is to measure all liquid quantities in millilitres rather than pints, eliminating ambiguity entirely.

Beer Measures: Half-Pint, Pint, and the Yard of Ale

British pub culture has its own vocabulary of beer measures, all built around the pint:

• Half-pint: 284 ml (0.284 litres) — common for those who want a smaller measure or a stronger beer
• Pint: 568 ml (0.568 litres) — the standard pub measure for draught beer and cider
• Yard of ale: approximately 1.42 litres (2.5 pints) — held in a long, narrow glass used for novelty drinking challenges
• Two-pint jug: 1.136 litres, often used for sharing jugs of cocktails or cider

UK law is very specific: all draught beer and cider must be sold in registered measures. The full pint glass must contain a full 568 ml of liquid, which is why UK pint glasses are typically designed with the 568 ml mark clearly visible (often with a crown stamp).

UK Milk: Why We Still Sell in Pints

Milk remains one of the last consumer products sold primarily in pint quantities in the UK. The major supermarkets sell milk in:

• 1 pint = 568 ml
• 2 pints = 1.136 litres
• 4 pints = 2.272 litres
• 6 pints = 3.408 litres

Doorstep milk deliveries have always been measured in pints, and the beloved British milkman remains a cultural institution. The ml equivalent is shown on packaging alongside the pint measure, but British consumers overwhelmingly think of milk in pints. The "six-pint" family carton is as recognisable as any UK brand.

This exemption was specifically negotiated and retained because milk was considered a staple food with deeply embedded consumer expectations around pint quantities. Changing it would require re-educating an entire population about how much milk to buy for their morning tea.

Petrol and Fuel: The Switch from Gallons to Litres

Unlike beer and milk, petrol (gasoline) was fully metricated in the UK. Petrol was sold in gallons until 1 January 1994, when the UK switched to selling fuel exclusively in litres. Many drivers who remember the transition recall the psychological shock of seeing fuel prices suddenly appear much cheaper per unit — because litres are smaller than gallons.

A UK gallon of petrol in 1993 was sold for approximately 44p per litre equivalent. After metrication, the per-litre price was displayed directly. Today, UK fuel prices are always quoted per litre — typically ranging from 140p to 160p per litre in 2024-26.

For reference: 1 UK gallon = 8 UK pints = 4.546 litres. So a car with a 50-litre fuel tank holds approximately 11 UK gallons or 88 UK pints of fuel.

Homebrewing: Converting Recipes Between UK and US Pints

Homebrewing is an area where the pint difference matters enormously. Many homebrew recipes, particularly for American craft beers and ales, are written in US pints or US gallons. A UK homebrewer following a US recipe without accounting for the measurement difference will end up with incorrect proportions of ingredients.

Key homebrewing conversions:

• 5 US gallons (standard US batch size) = 18.93 litres = 33.3 UK pints
• 1 US gallon = 3.785 litres = 6.66 UK pints
• 1 UK gallon = 4.546 litres = 8 UK pints = 9.608 US pints

For homebrewing, it is strongly recommended to convert all quantities to litres and use metric scales throughout. This avoids any ambiguity between US and UK pints and gives much more precise measurements for hop and grain bills.

Medical Drip Rates: ml/Hour from Pints

In NHS clinical settings, intravenous drips are always prescribed and administered in millilitres per hour (ml/hr). However, some older medical training and nursing textbooks still reference pint bags — notably the one-pint (568 ml) IV fluid bag. Understanding the conversion is important for clinical calculations.

A 1-pint (568 ml) IV bag running at 100 ml/hr would take approximately 5.68 hours to infuse. A typical overnight infusion of 1 litre = 1.76 pints running at 125 ml/hr takes 8 hours. Modern NHS practice uses exclusively metric measurements for all clinical calculations, but awareness of the pint-to-ml equivalence remains useful for understanding older literature.

Wine Glass Sizes: Pints vs ml

Standard UK pub wine glass measures are set by licensing law:

• Small wine glass: 125 ml = approximately 0.22 pints
• Standard wine glass: 175 ml = approximately 0.31 pints
• Large wine glass: 250 ml = approximately 0.44 pints

A standard 750 ml bottle of wine contains approximately 1.32 UK pints, or about 4.28 standard 175 ml glasses. For a dinner party, a rough guide is that one bottle serves 4 people a standard glass each, with a little left over.

Interestingly, a pint of 5% ABV lager contains approximately the same alcohol as 2 standard 175 ml glasses of 12% wine. Both contain roughly 2.8 units of alcohol per UK unit guidelines, making the pint a useful reference point for alcohol unit calculations.

Calorie Reference: A Pint of Beer

A UK pint (568 ml) of 5% ABV lager contains approximately 215 calories. However, this varies significantly by beer style:

• Light lager (3.5%): approximately 150-170 calories per pint
• Standard lager (5%): approximately 210-220 calories per pint
• Real ale (4.5%): approximately 180-200 calories per pint
• Stout like Guinness (4.2%): approximately 170 calories per pint
• Strong ale (6%+): 250-300+ calories per pint

The calories in a pint come primarily from the alcohol content (7 kcal per gram of alcohol) and residual sugars. A typical night out with 3 pints could add 600-700 calories — similar to a full main meal.

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