Cubic meters (m³)
The cubic meter (also cubic metre) is the SI unit of volume: the volume of a cube one meter on each side.
Convert cubic meters to any volume unit
1 cubic meter = 1,000 liters
Quick facts
- Unit
- Cubic meter (plural: cubic meters)
- Symbol
- m³
- Measures
- Volume / Capacity
- System
- Metric
- Equals
- 1,000 liters
- Definition
- The volume of a cube with 1 m edges: 1,000 liters.
- Also written
- cubic metre, m3, cbm
1 cubic meter in other units
| Liters | 1,000 L |
| Gallons | 264.1720524 gal |
| Milliliters | 1,000,000 mL |
| Cups | 4,226.752838 cup |
| Fluid ounces | 33,814.0227 fl oz |
| Tablespoons | 67,628.0454 tbsp |
| Teaspoons | 202,884.1362 tsp |
| Pints | 2,113.376419 pt |
What is a cubic meter?
The cubic meter (also cubic metre) is the SI unit of volume: the volume of a cube one meter on each side. It equals 1,000 liters, about 264.2 US gallons or 35.3 cubic feet.
Cubic meters are used for large quantities: water and gas consumption on utility bills, concrete, soil, timber, shipping cargo and room sizes.
Where the cubic meter sits among volume units
The cubic meter is number 200 of 234 on our scale of volume units, ordered from smallest to largest.
What cubic meters are used for
- Water and natural gas meters on utility bills
- Concrete, sand, gravel and soil
- Shipping and freight (CBM)
- Timber and firewood
- Room and building volumes for heating and ventilation
Cubic meters in real life
- A cubic meter of water weighs about 1 tonne
- An Olympic pool holds about 2,500 m³
- A standard 20-foot container holds about 33 m³
- A household uses about 10–15 m³ of water a month
One cubic meter is enough to fill about 4.8 oil drums, or enough to fill about 6.7 bathtubs, or enough to fill about 20 car fuel tanks, or about 67% of a hot tub.
Top cubic meter conversions
- Cubic meters to liters
- Cubic meters to gallons
- Cubic meters to milliliters
- Cubic meters to cups
- Cubic meters to fluid ounces
- Cubic meters to tablespoons
- Cubic meters to teaspoons
- Cubic meters to pints
- Cubic meters to quarts
- Cubic meters to cubic centimeters
- Cubic meters to cubic feet
- Cubic meters to imperial gallons
Common amounts of cubic meters
- 0.1 m³
- 0.2 m³
- 0.3 m³
- 0.4 m³
- 0.5 m³
- 0.6 m³
- 0.7 m³
- 0.8 m³
- 0.9 m³
- 1 m³
- 1.5 m³
- 2 m³
- 2.5 m³
- 3 m³
- 3.5 m³
- 4 m³
- 4.5 m³
- 5 m³
- 6 m³
- 7 m³
- 7.5 m³
- 8 m³
- 9 m³
- 10 m³
- 11 m³
- 12 m³
- 13 m³
- 14 m³
- 15 m³
- 16 m³
- 17 m³
- 18 m³
- 19 m³
- 20 m³
- 21 m³
- 22 m³
- 23 m³
- 24 m³
- 25 m³
- 26 m³
- 27 m³
- 28 m³
- 29 m³
- 30 m³
- 31 m³
- 32 m³
- 33 m³
- 34 m³
- 35 m³
- 36 m³
- 37 m³
- 38 m³
- 39 m³
- 40 m³
- 41 m³
- 42 m³
- 43 m³
- 44 m³
- 45 m³
- 46 m³
- 47 m³
- 48 m³
- 49 m³
- 50 m³
- 51 m³
- 52 m³
- 53 m³
- 54 m³
- 55 m³
- 56 m³
- 57 m³
- 58 m³
- 59 m³
- 60 m³
- 61 m³
- 62 m³
- 63 m³
- 64 m³
- 65 m³
- 66 m³
- 67 m³
- 68 m³
- 69 m³
- 70 m³
- 71 m³
- 72 m³
- 73 m³
- 74 m³
- 75 m³
- 76 m³
- 77 m³
- 78 m³
- 79 m³
- 80 m³
- 81 m³
- 82 m³
- 83 m³
- 84 m³
- 85 m³
- 86 m³
- 87 m³
- 88 m³
- 89 m³
- 90 m³
- 91 m³
- 92 m³
- 93 m³
- 94 m³
- 95 m³
- 96 m³
- 97 m³
- 98 m³
- 99 m³
- 100 m³
- 110 m³
- 120 m³
- 130 m³
- 140 m³
- 150 m³
- 160 m³
- 170 m³
- 180 m³
- 190 m³
- 200 m³
- 210 m³
- 220 m³
- 230 m³
- 240 m³
- 250 m³
- 260 m³
- 270 m³
- 280 m³
- 290 m³
- 300 m³
- 310 m³
- 320 m³
- 330 m³
- 340 m³
- 350 m³
- 360 m³
- 370 m³
- 380 m³
- 390 m³
- 400 m³
- 410 m³
- 420 m³
- 430 m³
- 440 m³
- 450 m³
- 460 m³
- 470 m³
- 480 m³
- 490 m³
- 500 m³
- 600 m³
- 700 m³
- 800 m³
- 900 m³
- 1,000 m³
- 1,200 m³
- 1,500 m³
- 2,000 m³
- 2,500 m³
- 3,000 m³
- 4,000 m³
- 5,000 m³
- 10,000 m³
Convert cubic meters to all 233 other units
Metric
- m³ to L
- m³ to mL
- m³ to cm³
- m³ to µL
- m³ to dL
- m³ to cL
- m³ to mm³
- m³ to hL
- m³ to dm³
- m³ to km³
- m³ to kL
- m³ to ML
- m³ to GL
- m³ to st
- m³ to daL
- m³ to λ
US liquid
- m³ to gal
- m³ to cup
- m³ to fl oz
- m³ to tbsp
- m³ to tsp
- m³ to pt
- m³ to qt
- m³ to ft³
- m³ to yd³
- m³ to bbl
- m³ to in³
- m³ to ac⋅ft
- m³ to shot
- m³ to FBM
- m³ to cd
- m³ to US legal cup
- m³ to US liquid barrel
- m³ to mi³
- m³ to face cord
- m³ to fifth
- m³ to gi
- m³ to ac⋅in
- m³ to fl dr
- m³ to min
- m³ to US hogshead
- m³ to pottle
US dry
Imperial (UK)
- m³ to imp gal
- m³ to imp pt
- m³ to imp fl oz
- m³ to imp qt
- m³ to imperial cup
- m³ to imperial bushel
- m³ to imperial tablespoon
- m³ to imperial teaspoon
- m³ to UK beer barrel
- m³ to firkin
- m³ to imperial dessertspoon
- m³ to imperial gill
- m³ to imperial peck
- m³ to imperial fluid drachm
- m³ to imperial hogshead
- m³ to kilderkin
- m³ to quarter (UK dry)
- m³ to butt
- m³ to chaldron
- m³ to fluid scruple
- m³ to imperial minim
- m³ to UK beer tun
- m³ to coomb
- m³ to imperial pottle
- m³ to last
- m³ to strike
Wine & spirits
- m³ to standard wine bottle
- m³ to magnum
- m³ to half bottle
- m³ to jeroboam
- m³ to piccolo
- m³ to methuselah
- m³ to pipe
- m³ to balthazar
- m³ to nebuchadnezzar
- m³ to rehoboam
- m³ to salmanazar
- m³ to wine tun
- m³ to English wine rundlet
- m³ to melchior
- m³ to melchizedek
- m³ to primat
- m³ to puncheon
- m³ to solomon
- m³ to sovereign
- m³ to tierce
Cooking (metric & informal)
- m³ to metric cup
- m³ to metric tablespoon
- m³ to metric teaspoon
- m³ to dash
- m³ to pinch
- m³ to Australian tablespoon
- m³ to gtt
- m³ to stick of butter (volume)
- m³ to smidgen
- m³ to Japanese cup
- m³ to Canadian cup
- m³ to tad
- m³ to teacup
- m³ to coffeespoon
- m³ to saltspoon
- m³ to wineglass
Oil, gas & shipping
- m³ to scf
- m³ to TEU
- m³ to MMbbl
- m³ to Nm³
- m³ to Mbbl
- m³ to Mcf
- m³ to Bcf
- m³ to MMcf
- m³ to Sm³
- m³ to Tcf
- m³ to FEU
- m³ to freight ton
- m³ to RT
- m³ to displacement ton (volume)
- m³ to water ton
Scientific
Ancient
- m³ to Roman amphora
- m³ to ephah
- m³ to sextarius
- m³ to Biblical hin
- m³ to Roman cyathus
- m³ to bath
- m³ to congius
- m³ to cor
- m³ to hemina
- m³ to heqat
- m³ to log
- m³ to modius
- m³ to omer
- m³ to Egyptian hin
- m³ to acetabulum
- m³ to choinix
- m³ to chous
- m³ to culleus
- m³ to kab
- m³ to khar
- m³ to kotyle
- m³ to kyathos
- m³ to lethech
- m³ to ligula
- m³ to medimnos
- m³ to metretes
- m³ to quartarius
- m³ to ro
- m³ to seah
- m³ to urna
- m³ to xestes
East & Southeast Asian
- m³ to 合
- m³ to 升
- m³ to 石
- m³ to 升
- m³ to 斗
- m³ to 石
- m³ to 홉
- m³ to 斗
- m³ to 撮
- m³ to 合
- m³ to 勺
- m³ to 勺
- m³ to Thai sat
- m³ to 되
- m³ to kwian
- m³ to 말
- m³ to 才
- m³ to 섬
- m³ to thanan
European (pre-metric)
- m³ to Mass
- m³ to fanega
- m³ to vedro
- m³ to Russian chetvert
- m³ to Schoppen
- m³ to alqueire
- m³ to cantara
- m³ to charka
- m³ to cuartillo
- m³ to pinte
- m³ to Dutch kan
- m³ to Dutch mud
- m³ to Eimer
- m³ to Fuder
- m³ to Ohm
- m³ to Oxhoft
- m³ to Russian vodka bottle
- m³ to Scheffel
- m³ to Seidel
- m³ to Swedish stop
- m³ to almud
- m³ to almude
- m³ to azumbre
- m³ to bochka
- m³ to boisseau
- m³ to canada
- m³ to chetverik
- m³ to chopine
- m³ to copa
- m³ to demiard
- m³ to feuillette
- m³ to garnets
- m³ to kanna
- m³ to kappe
- m³ to kruzhka
- m³ to moio
- m³ to muid
- m³ to osmina
- m³ to posson
- m³ to quartaut
- m³ to quartilho
- m³ to roquille
- m³ to setier
- m³ to shkalik
- m³ to tunna
- m³ to velte
Everyday comparisons
Convert to cubic meters
- Liters to cubic meters
- Gallons to cubic meters
- Milliliters to cubic meters
- Cups to cubic meters
- Fluid ounces to cubic meters
- Tablespoons to cubic meters
- Teaspoons to cubic meters
- Pints to cubic meters
- Quarts to cubic meters
- Cubic centimeters to cubic meters
- Cubic feet to cubic meters
- Imperial gallons to cubic meters
Frequently asked questions
What is a cubic meter?
The cubic meter (also cubic metre) is the SI unit of volume: the volume of a cube one meter on each side.
How is the cubic meter defined?
The volume of a cube with 1 m edges: 1,000 liters.
How many liters are in a cubic meter?
One cubic meter equals 1,000 liters.
How many gallons are in a cubic meter?
One cubic meter equals 264.1720524 gallons.
How many milliliters are in a cubic meter?
One cubic meter equals 1,000,000 milliliters.