Flow Rate Converter

Written byOleh Soloninupdated 25 September 2026

Value

From

Result

Result166.666667
From unitcubic metre per hour
To unitlitre per minute
Conversion factor16.666667
Inverse factor0.06
In other units
litre per second: 2.7778 litre per hour: 10,000 cubic metre per second: 0.002778 US gallon per minute: 44.0287 cubic foot per minute: 5.8858

Pumps, ventilation and plumbing each count differently

Converts flow between cubic metres an hour, litres a minute and a second, and gallons a minute.

Pump output is normally quoted in cubic metres an hour, tap flow in litres a minute, ventilation again in cubic metres an hour, and imported equipment in gallons a minute. One quantity, four habits.

The anchor worth memorising: one cubic metre an hour is 16⅔ litres a minute, about 16.67. From there estimates are easy — a 3 m³/h pump gives about 50 litres a minute. Whether that serves two outlets at once depends on their flow and the pressure they need.

How to use

Enter a flow rate.
Choose the unit you are converting from: m³/h, L/min, L/s, L/h, m³/s, US gallons per minute or cubic feet per minute.
Choose the unit you are converting to. Below it you get the factors and the same value in the other units.

Cubic metres per hour and litres per minute

Pumps are rated in m³/h and plumbing in L/min. A cubic metre an hour is 16.67 L/min, and a litre a second is 3.6 m³/h.

Every row comes from the calculator on this page.
From	To
1 m³/h	16.67 L/min
3 m³/h	50 L/min
10 m³/h	166.67 L/min
12 L/min	0.72 m³/h
60 L/min	3.6 m³/h
1 L/s	3.6 m³/h
1 m³/s	3,600 m³/h

Gallons and cubic feet

American pumps are rated in gallons per minute (GPM) and fans in cubic feet per minute (CFM). 100 CFM is almost 170 cubic metres an hour.

Every row comes from the calculator on this page.
From	To
1 US GPM	3.785 L/min
1 US GPM	0.227 m³/h
100 CFM	169.9 m³/h
500 m³/h	294.29 CFM

What this calculator shows

A conversion between the pair of flow units you pick
The conversion factor in both directions
The same quantity in the other units

What to keep in mind

The gallon is the US gallon; the imperial one is 20 percent bigger — check which the manufacturer means.
Flow rate is volume per unit of time; it says nothing about pressure or head, and choosing a pump needs both.

FAQs

How many litres per minute is one cubic metre per hour?

16.67. In the other direction, 60 litres a minute is 3.6 cubic metres an hour.

How do I convert L/min to m³/h?

Multiply by 0.06: 12 L/min is 0.72 m³/h, 50 L/min is 3 m³/h.

How do I convert gallons per minute?

One US gallon a minute is 0.227 cubic metres an hour, or 3.785 litres a minute.

What is CFM on a fan?

Cubic feet per minute. 100 CFM is 169.9 m³/h, so an extractor rated at 300 m³/h is about 177 CFM.

How is flow different from head?

Flow is how much water passes in a given time; head is how high the pump can lift it. A pump is chosen on both at once.

How many m³/h is one litre per second?

3.6. A litre a second is 60 litres a minute.

Worked example

Ten cubic metres an hour

Input: 10 m³/h to litres per minute

Output: 166.67 L/min

Note: One cubic metre an hour is exactly 16.67 litres a minute, so a 3 m³/h pump delivers 50 L/min. For a tap or shower, take the flow from its data sheet and convert it the same way.

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Flow Rate Converter

Result

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