Cubic Meters to Cubic Centimeters (m³ to cm³)

1 cubic meter equals 1,000,000 cubic centimeters exactly.

1 cubic meter = 1,000,000 cubic centimeters

How to convert cubic meters to cubic centimeters

To convert cubic meters to cubic centimeters, multiply the number of cubic meters by 1,000,000. This factor is exact. To go the other way, multiply cubic centimeters by 0.000001.

cubic centimeters = cubic meters × 1,000,000

Example: 10 cubic meters = 10,000,000 cubic centimeters.

Pints, quarts, gallons and fluid ounces differ between the US and the UK. Units are labeled 'US' or 'imperial' to avoid confusion.

About these units

Cubic Meter (m³)

Metric (SI)Current unit

The SI derived unit of volume: 1,000 liters. Used for water supply, gas, concrete and shipping space.

When the metric system was set up, the cube whose edge is one meter became its natural large unit of volume. A cubic meter also went by other names: kiloliter, now rarely used, and stere, still applied to stacked firewood. In modern SI it is the coherent derived unit of volume, and the liter is a convenience unit defined from it as one thousandth of a cubic meter.

A cubic meter is large by everyday standards. It holds 1,000 liters, and pure water at its densest weighs almost exactly one tonne in that space, which is how the metric tonne and the cubic meter ended up so conveniently paired. It is the unit of choice for water supply, gas, timber, concrete and shipping space, where freight is often quoted in CBM. For a picture, about 6.29 oil barrels or 264 US gallons fit in one, and an Olympic swimming pool, at least 2 meters deep, holds roughly 2,500 of them.

1 cubic meter = 1,000 liters (exactly).

Sources: Wikipedia: Cubic metre; Wikipedia: Olympic-size swimming pool; NIST Guide to the SI, Chapter 5: units outside the SI

Cubic Centimeter (cm³)

Metric (SI)Current unit

Exactly one milliliter. Used for engine displacement (as 'cc') and in medicine.

Cubic centimeter is the volume of a cube one centimeter on each side, and it belonged to the old centimeter-gram-second system of units, in which one cubic centimeter of water was meant to weigh about one gram. Its famous abbreviation, cc, is not an SI symbol at all. The official symbol is cm³, yet cc stuck in medicine, cooking and engineering because it is quick to write and say.

A cubic centimeter equals exactly one milliliter, so the two names are interchangeable and which one you meet depends on the field. Doses are often written in cc. Motorcyclists, scooter makers and engine builders use it for displacement: the swept volume is the bore area times the stroke times the number of cylinders, so a 1,000 cc sport bike can move eight times as much air per cycle as a 125 cc scooter. One cubic inch is 16.38706 cubic centimeters, which lets Americans and Europeans compare engines.

1 cubic centimeter = 0.001 liters (exactly).

Sources: Wikipedia: Cubic centimetre; Wikipedia: Litre

Related conversions

See all volume units.