Milliliters to Centiliters (mL to cL)

1 milliliter equals 0.1 centiliters exactly.

1 milliliter = 0.1 centiliters

How to convert milliliters to centiliters

To convert milliliters to centiliters, multiply the number of milliliters by 0.1. This factor is exact. To go the other way, multiply centiliters by 10.

centiliters = milliliters × 0.1

Example: 10 milliliters = 1 centiliter.

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

Milliliter (mL)

Metric (SI)Current unit

One thousandth of a liter, or exactly 1 cubic centimeter. Used for medicine, cooking and small containers.

Milliliters inherit everything from the liter, since the prefix simply means one thousandth. Because the liter is a cubic decimeter, a milliliter works out to exactly one cubic centimeter, a coincidence the metric system built in on purpose so that volume, length and mass interlock. One milliliter of water has a mass of about one gram, so a dosing syringe, a kitchen scale and a measuring jug can all be checked against one another.

Today milliliters dominate wherever small amounts must be measured precisely: medicine, flavorings, perfume, shampoo and the fine print on drink labels. Spelling is a mild regional split, with uppercase mL preferred in the United States, Canada and Australia and lowercase ml common in the UK and Europe. For scale, a US teaspoon is just under 5 mL, a US tablespoon is about 14.8 mL, and the US nutrition-label cup is exactly 240 mL, so one such cup is 240 of these tiny units.

1 milliliter = 0.001 liters (exactly).

Sources: Wikipedia: Litre; NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8: conversion factors for volume; 21 CFR 101.9: nutrition labeling household measures

Centiliter (cL)

Metric (SI)Current unit

One hundredth of a liter (10 mL). Used on drink labels across Europe.

Centi- means one hundredth, so a centiliter is 0.01 liter, which is 10 milliliters or 10 cubic centimeters. Among the liter's smaller multiples it is the one that suits glassware: it indicates the capacity of drinking glasses and small bottles, and shot-sized servings of alcohol are often 3 cL.

The unit sits between the milliliter, used for medicine and small packaging, and the deciliter, which is ten times larger at 10 cL. The figure used here is exactly 0.01 liter. Because 1 cL is 10 cubic centimeters, a 33 cL container holds 330 mL, and three such measures of 3 cL come to 9 cL. Ten centiliters make one deciliter.

1 centiliter = 0.01 liters (exactly).

Sources: Wikipedia: Litre; Wikipedia: Metric prefix

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