Dilution Ratio Calculator

The dilution ratio calculator tells you how much solute and solvent you need to get the desired dilution ratio. Our tool has a built-in volume conversion, so you will be able to perform your calculations using any units you want! Check the article below to answer the question "How do you calculate dilution ratio?" and check out our dilution ratio chart with examples.

Be sure to try our other tools that you may find useful:

• Solution dilution calculator;
• Dilution factor calculator;
• Serial dilution calculator;
• Alcohol dilution calculator; and
• Mixing ratio calculator.

The dilution ratio is the ratio of the solute (the substance to be diluted) to the solvent (e.g., water). The diluted liquid needs to be thoroughly mixed to achieve true dilution.

If you have a 1:3 dilution, i.e., a 1:3 dilution ratio, this means that you add 1 unit volume of solute (e.g., concentrate) to 3 unit volumes of the solvent (e.g., water), which will give a total of 4 units of volume.

Why is this useful? You may already be using the dilution ratio in your everyday life without knowing it! It can help you to prepare the perfect brine for your homemade preserves or tells you the amount of concentrated cleaning product you need if you want to reuse a bottle (and so use less plastic).

Let's discover the maths and science behind calculating the dilution ratio.

• We can present dilution ratio in the following way:

  solvent ratio: solute ratio

  For example:

  5:1

• The calculation for the solute looks as follows:

  solute volume = final volume / (solvent ratio + solute ratio)

  For example:

  solute volume = final volume / (5 + 1)

• We can express the calculation for the solvent as follows:

  solvent volume = solute volume × solvent ratio

  For example:

  solvent volume = solute volume × 5.

As you probably noticed, there are 5 different variables in these calculations:

• Solute ratio – which is always equal to 1 in our dilution ratio calculator;
• Solvent ratio – which can be any number larger than 0;
• Final volume – this is the desired amount of diluted liquid you want to get;
• Solute volume – the amount of solute used; and
• Solvent volume – the amount of solvent used.

The solute ratio is constant, so we have four unknown quantities. You only need to know two of them to perform calculations using our dilution ratio calculator.

You now know all the calculations, so let's use a practical example to show how the dilution ratio calculator works.

1. Let's assume you have a container with a volume of 1 liter. You want to mix the cleaner concentrate with water. According to the label, the ratio of water to concentrate should be equal to 3:1 (so 3 parts water, 1 part concentrate).

2. Calculate the concentrate volume (solute volume).

   solute volume = final volume / (solvent ratio + solute ratio)

   solute volume = 1 liter / (3 + 1)

   solute volume = 1 liter / 4

   solute volume = 0.25 liter

3. Now, we can calculate water volume (solvent volume).

   solvent volume = solute volume × solvent ratio

   solvent volume = 0.25 × 3

   solvent volume = 0.75 liter

4. That's all! Now you know that if the desired dilution ratio is 1:3 and your container has 1 liter, you need to use 0.25 liters of concentrate and 0.75 liters of water.

Check our dilution ratio chart below to see some other examples!

You will find example values of how much solute you need if you know the dilution ratio and the final volume in the dilution chart below. Let's say you need the final volume of 1 liter or 1 US gallon. How much concentration do you need to dilute?

Do you find this dilution ratio chart useful? Our calculator allows you to do even more!