Butter Conversion Calculator

How it works

In the US, butter is sold in 1 lb packages of four sticks. Each stick weighs 4 oz (113.4 g) and is marked on its wrapper in tablespoons: 8 tablespoons, or ½ cup. So a tablespoon of butter weighs ½ oz (14.2 g) and a cup weighs 8 oz (226.8 g).

The calculator converts your amount to grams through the stick (4 oz, using the exact avoirdupois ounce of 28.349523125 g) or directly for weight units, then divides by the grams in each other unit. A European block is taken as 250 g, about 2.2 US sticks.

Measuring by weight is the reliable route when a recipe from one country meets butter packaged for another; cups of softened butter vary with how firmly they are packed.

Formula

1 stick = 4 oz = 4 × 28.349523125 g = 113.398 g
1 stick = 8 tbsp = ½ cup;  1 tbsp = 3 tsp
1 tbsp = 14.175 g;  1 cup = 2 sticks = 226.796 g;  1 lb = 4 sticks = 453.592 g
1 European block = 250 g = 2.205 sticks
result = amount × grams per input unit ÷ grams per output unit

Example

The default, 1 stick, is 113.4 g, 8 tablespoons, 24 teaspoons, 0.5 cup, 4 oz, 0.25 lb and 0.454 European blocks.

A 250 g European block is 2.2 sticks, 17.64 tablespoons or 1.102 cups. 3 tablespoons is 42.5 g, and 200 g of butter is 1.76 sticks (14.11 tablespoons).

Assumptions and limitations

• A US stick is taken as 4 oz by weight and ½ cup (8 tablespoons) by volume, as printed on US butter wrappers. USDA FoodData Central lists salted butter (FDC 173410, SR Legacy 2019) at 113 g per stick, 227 g per cup and 14.2 g per tablespoon, and King Arthur Baking's ingredient weight chart gives 8 tablespoons (½ cup) = 4 oz = 113 g.
• Tablespoons and cups are US customary measures of solid butter as marked on the wrapper. Softened or melted butter measured in a cup can differ by a few percent.
• European blocks are taken as 250 g; pack weights vary by brand and country.
• Salted and unsalted butter are treated as the same weight per tablespoon. Whipped butter, which has air beaten in, is not covered.

Frequently asked questions