SettingsSettings for this calculationUS
The spread rate printed on the tin — square metres covered by one litre, per coat.
European data sheets quote this for one coat on a smooth, sealed substrate: commonly 12 to 14 m²/L for matt emulsion, 6 to 8 for masonry paint, and less again for a first coat on unsealed plaster or render. Enter the sheet figure as printed and derate for the substrate afterwards, not before.
Coverage
488.9 ft²/gal
Converted using an exact defined factor of 40.74583333333333 ft²/gal per m²/L. Tin figures are theoretical single-coat rates on a smooth sealed substrate; porous masonry can take far more than the sheet allows.
- Conversion factor applied
- 40.75 ft²/gal per m²/L
They open the calculator with your figures already in it
Paint Spread Rate m²/L to ft²/gal Calculator: 489 ft²/gal — shown in imperial, US market. The link sets both, so the result they see is the one on your screen.
Show calculation logicHide calculation logic
How this was calculated
Formula source(s)
- 1 ft² = 0.09290304 m² exactly and 1 US gallon = 3.785411784 L exactly, so 1 m²/L = 3.785411784 ÷ 0.09290304 = 9779/240 = 40.745833… ft²/gal. The ratio is exact by definition; its decimal expansion repeats (…8333…), so the digits shown are the exact value carried out, not a rounded measurement. Output is per US gallon, not per imperial gallon.
Inputs used
- Spread rate (m²/L)
- 12
Intermediate steps
- Conversion factor applied
- 40.75 ft²/gal per m²/L
Confidence note: Converted using an exact defined factor of 40.74583333333333 ft²/gal per m²/L. Tin figures are theoretical single-coat rates on a smooth sealed substrate; porous masonry can take far more than the sheet allows.
Add the equipment this sizes
This result is a specification — 488.9 ft²/gal — not a quantity. Put the thing it sizes into your project: how many, what you call it, and your supplier’s price.
Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Presented in US customary units and US trade terminology. Where a formula follows a published standard, that standard and its edition are cited beside it on this page; where none governs, the page says so. Local amendments override model codes — verify against the code in force where you build.
Sources checked 2026-08-26 · in the site-wide review of 2026-09-06 · v1.0.0
Regulatory standards & verification citations1
- 1 ft² = 0.09290304 m² exactly and 1 US gallon = 3.785411784 L exactly, so 1 m²/L = 3.785411784 ÷ 0.09290304 = 9779/240 = 40.745833… ft²/gal. The ratio is exact by definition; its decimal expansion repeats (…8333…), so the digits shown are the exact value carried out, not a rounded measurement. Output is per US gallon, not per imperial gallon.
Cite this page
Your workspace
Most jobs need more than one number. Add the calculators you need next and they open right here, underneath this one — your figures stay on screen and nothing is lost to a page change.
A decorator or coatings supplier pricing an American job from a European product sheet works in this direction. The tin gives 12 m²/L; the take-off wants square feet and the paint is bought by the US gallon, so the sheet's figure has to land in the same units as the schedule. What surprises people is how generous the converted number looks — around 489 ft²/gal against the 250 to 400 an American painter expects to see printed. The gap is not the arithmetic. European spread rates are theoretical: one coat, smooth, sealed, non-absorbent substrate, nothing lost in the tray, on the roller or in overspray. Convert first, then take the substrate and the coat count off the top.