Litres of water to kilograms runs on one number, 0.99751367 kilograms per litre. It is a measured property of this ingredient rather than a defined conversion, which is why a generic volume-to-weight tool cannot give you it.
Put next to water — 1 g per mL exactly — water measures 0.99751 g per mL. That ratio, 99.75%, is what separates this page from every other ingredient in the same units, and it is measured rather than defined.
A litre of water weighs 0.99751 kg, because its density is 0.99751 kg per litre. Litres and kilograms are the units this ingredient is actually bought in at any scale beyond a single recipe, which is what makes this the useful conversion for batch cooking and for costing.
A kilogram of water is 4.237 cups, and a 500 g pack is 2.119 cups. Metric pack sizes are round numbers in weight and awkward ones in volume, which is the practical argument for scaling a recipe by weight: 2.119 cups is a measurement you have to count out, 500 g is one you read off.
What the number depends on: The reference case. A US cup is 236.6 mL and water is 1 g per mL, so the two numbers are the same and every other ingredient can be read against it.
The formula
litres- The amount of water you are converting, in litres
0.997513669704- Kilograms per litre for water, from its density of 0.99751 g/mL
kilograms- The equivalent quantity in kilograms
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in litres.
- It is multiplied by 0.997513669704, the kilograms-per-litre figure for water.
- The result appears in kilograms, with a second reading in lb beneath it.
- Use the measure table if you want a standard recipe quantity rather than a number you type in.
Worked examples
1/2 L of water in kilograms
1/2 L of water weighs out at 0.498757 kilograms. Divide 0.498757 by 0.99751367 and you get back to 1/2 L, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
1 L of water in kilograms
A recipe calling for 1 L of water needs 0.997514 kilograms on the scale. The arithmetic is 1 × 0.99751367 = 0.99751367, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 0.498757 kilograms.
2 L of water in kilograms
2 L of water weighs out at 1.99503 kilograms. Divide 1.99503 by 0.99751367 and you get back to 2 L, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many kilograms are in 1 L of water?
One litre of water is 0.99751367 kilograms. Half that quantity is 0.498757 kilograms and double it is 1.99503 kilograms, so the figure scales straight up and down — there is no offset in this conversion, only the factor.
Why is a cup of water not 236 g like water?
Because weight per cup depends on what is in the cup. Water has a density of 0.99751 g per mL where water has 1.00, so a cup of it weighs 236 g rather than 236.6 g. That is a difference of 0.6 g per cup, and it is the reason a single volume-to-weight factor cannot be applied to every ingredient.
Does how I measure it change the weight?
Barely. Water does not compress, so a cup of it is 236 g however it is poured — within about 1%, which is inside the accuracy of a domestic scale. This is the group where measuring by volume is defensible.
Is a fluid ounce of water the same as an ounce?
No. A fluid ounce is a volume — one eighth of a US cup, 29.57 mL — and an ounce is a weight. One fluid ounce of water weighs 1.041 oz, so the two readings differ by 4.06%. They coincide only for something with the density of water, and then only roughly.
Is this a US cup or a metric cup?
US customary: 236.59 mL, which is the cup every US recipe means. A metric cup is 250 mL, so the same cup of water would weigh 249.38 g instead of 236 g — 13.4 g more, or 5.67%. Australian and some European recipes use the metric cup, and the difference is large enough to matter in baking.
Do I need a scale for this, or will measuring cups do?
A scale, if the result matters. Volume measuring carries a spread of about 1% for water — roughly 2.36 g on a 236 g cup — while a domestic scale is accurate to a gram or two. For anything where the ratio of ingredients drives the outcome, bread and pastry above all, weigh it.
How many litres of water is 1 kg?
1 kg of water is 1.0025 litres — 1.00249 litres to one kilogram, so 1 × 1.00249 = 1.0025. Going that way is a division by 0.997514, or a multiplication by 1.00249 if you prefer.
Water in litres and kilograms
| Litres | Kilograms | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 0.1 L | 0.0997514 kg | 0.09975136697 |
| 1/4 L | 0.249378 kg | 0.2493784174 |
| 1/2 L | 0.498757 kg | 0.4987568349 |
| 3/4 L | 0.748135 kg | 0.7481352523 |
| 1 L | 0.997514 kg | 0.9975136697 |
| 1 1/2 L | 1.49627 kg | 1.496270505 |
| 2 L | 1.99503 kg | 1.995027339 |
| 3 L | 2.99254 kg | 2.992541009 |
Based on 236 g per cup of water. One litre of water is 0.99751367 kilograms.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 236 g | 8.32 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 3/4 cup | 177 g | 6.24 oz | 177.4 mL |
| 2/3 cup | 157.3 g | 5.55 oz | 157.7 mL |
| 1/2 cup | 118 g | 4.16 oz | 118.3 mL |
| 1/3 cup | 78.67 g | 2.77 oz | 78.86 mL |
| 1/4 cup | 59 g | 2.08 oz | 59.15 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 14.75 g | 0.52 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 1 tsp | 4.917 g | 0.173 oz | 4.929 mL |
US customary measures: 1 cup = 236.59 mL, 1 tbsp = 14.79 mL, 1 tsp = 4.93 mL.
| Ingredient | Grams per cup | Ounces per cup | Density (g/mL) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coconut oil | 218 g | 7.69 oz | 0.9214 |
| Mayonnaise | 220 g | 7.76 oz | 0.9299 |
| Cream cheese | 227 g | 8.007 oz | 0.9595 |
| Water (this page) | 236 g | 8.325 oz | 0.9975 |
| Heavy cream | 238 g | 8.395 oz | 1.006 |
| Vinegar | 239 g | 8.43 oz | 1.01 |
| Sour cream | 240 g | 8.466 oz | 1.014 |
Ordered by weight. The spread across this group is why a single generic cups-to-grams factor cannot work.