Cooking Measurement Converter

A US cup is a volume measurement (236.6 mL), but baking recipes often require weight for precision. Because flour, sugar, and butter have very different densities, 1 cup of each weighs a different amount:

• flour ~125 g
• sugar ~200 g
• butter ~227 g

Our converter stores the density of 12+ common ingredients so every conversion is accurate. Professional bakers almost always measure by weight (grams) because it eliminates the variability of how tightly an ingredient is packed into a cup.

The US customary kitchen ladder:

• 1 gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints = 16 cups = 128 fluid ounces
• Within a cup: 1 cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons
• 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons = 14.79 mL
• 1 stick of butter = ½ cup = 8 tablespoons = 113 g

These relationships are exact by US definition and never change between ingredients — they are pure volume equivalents.

When scaling recipes, multiply every ingredient by the same factor (desired servings / original servings). However, some ingredients need special attention:

• leavening agents (baking powder, baking soda, yeast) should be scaled conservatively — if doubling, try 1.5× first
• Salt and spices are best adjusted to taste
• Cooking times may also change: larger volumes of batter need longer baking at slightly lower temperatures

Our Recipe Scaler handles the multiplication, but always use your judgment for seasoning and bake times.

One US cup of all-purpose flour weighs about 125 grams when spooned into the cup and leveled. The exact figure depends on flour type and packing: bread flour is roughly 130 g per cup, while cake flour is about 114 g.

A US cup equals exactly 236.588 milliliters, a value fixed by the US customary system that NIST publishes in Handbook 44. Flour's density (~0.53 g/mL) is much lower than sugar's, so you cannot use a simple volume swap.

If you scoop flour directly instead of spooning it, you compact the powder and can measure 140–150 g, which is why weight is more reliable for baking.

To convert a volume to grams, multiply the volume in milliliters by the ingredient's density in grams per milliliter: weight (g) = volume (mL) × density (g/mL). First convert cups to mL (1 US cup = 236.588 mL exactly), then apply the density.

For example, 1 cup of granulated sugar = 236.588 mL × 0.845 g/mL ≈ 200 g. Water is the simplest case because its density is essentially 1 g/mL, so 1 cup of water ≈ 237 g.

The SI, maintained by the BIPM, defines the gram and litre used throughout these calculations. Our converter stores published densities so you skip the manual math.

There are exactly 16 US tablespoons in one US cup, so 1 tablespoon equals 1/16 cup, or about 14.787 mL. The full customary ladder is: 1 cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons = 8 fluid ounces = 236.588 mL, and 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons.

These relationships are fixed volume equivalents defined by the US customary system documented by NIST, so they never change with the ingredient.

Beware of regional differences: the Australian tablespoon is 20 mL (holding 4 teaspoons rather than 3), which can throw off a recipe if you assume the US definition. When halving quantities, this ladder makes mental math quick.

In US customary units, 1 tablespoon = 14.787 mL and 1 teaspoon = 4.929 mL, with a tablespoon holding exactly 3 teaspoons. To convert, multiply your tablespoon count by 14.787 or your teaspoon count by 4.929 — for instance, 2 tbsp = 29.57 mL.

The millilitre is an SI-derived unit defined by the BIPM as one-thousandth of a litre.

Note that some countries round these figures: a UK/metric teaspoon is exactly 5 mL and a metric tablespoon is 15 mL, while Australia uses a 20 mL tablespoon. Always confirm which standard a recipe follows before converting small quantities like spices or leaveners.

This question has two answers because "ounce" can mean volume or weight. By volume, 1 US cup = 8 US fluid ounces exactly, where 1 fluid ounce = 29.574 mL.

By weight, it depends on the ingredient:

• 1 cup of water weighs about 8.35 avoirdupois ounces
• 1 cup of flour about 4.4 oz
• 1 cup of sugar about 7.05 oz

The avoirdupois ounce is defined as exactly 28.349523125 grams under the international yard-and-pound agreement that NIST codifies. Confusing fluid ounces with weight ounces is a frequent recipe error, so our converter clearly separates volume and weight results.

Not all cups are equal.

• The US customary cup is 236.588 mL
• the US "legal" cup used on nutrition labels is exactly 240 mL
• the metric cup used in Australia, New Zealand, and much of Europe is 250 mL
• The now-rare UK imperial cup was about 284 mL

These differences mean a European recipe calling for one cup delivers roughly 6 percent more volume than a US cup. The SI and metric definitions trace to the BIPM, while US customary values come from NIST.

When adapting international recipes, identify the origin's cup standard first — our converter uses the US customary cup unless you convert from mL directly.

Home cooks reach for a measurement converter in many everyday situations:

• converting a European baking recipe from grams and millilitres into US cups
• halving or doubling a family recipe
• swapping a broken measuring cup for a kitchen scale

Bakers converting cups to grams gain the repeatability that professional recipes rely on, since weight removes packing variability. Meal-preppers scale single-serving recipes to batch sizes, and cocktail or coffee enthusiasts convert fluid ounces and millilitres precisely.

Nutrition tracking also benefits, because food databases like USDA FoodData Central list ingredients by weight, making a reliable cup-to-gram conversion essential for accurate calorie counts.

There are several common conversion mistakes to watch for:

• The biggest mistake is using a single conversion factor for every ingredient — a cup of flour (~125 g) and a cup of sugar (~200 g) weigh very differently because of density.
• Another is confusing fluid ounces (volume) with weight ounces, which share a name but not a value.
• Cooks also mix up cup standards: assuming a 250 mL metric cup equals a 236.588 mL US cup introduces a 6 percent error.
• Scaling leaveners linearly is a further trap; baking powder and yeast do not double cleanly.
• Finally, scooping rather than spooning flour packs extra grams into the cup.

Measuring by weight, per NIST and SI definitions, sidesteps most of these errors.