Kitchen Measurement Converter
Pick volume or weight. The US customary cup this page starts with is 236.59 mL. A nutrition-label cup is 240 mL, and a metric cup is 250 mL.
Last reviewed
Converted kitchen measurement and unit breakdown
Converted amount
236.5882 mL
Factor
236.5882365 mL per US cup
Converting from
1 US cup
SI / metric equivalent
236.5882 mL (0.2366 L)
Nutrition-label & metric comparison
0.9858 US label cups (240 mL) · 0.9464 metric cups (250 mL)
Kitchen measure / USDA scoop match
1 US cup (8 oz ladle or two #8 dishers)
1 US cup equals 236.5882 mL at a conversion factor of 236.5882365 mL per US cup.
In SI units, this amount is 236.5882 mL (0.2366 L), or 0.9858 US label cups (240 mL) · 0.9464 metric cups (250 mL).
For kitchen portioning, that matches 1 US cup (8 oz ladle or two #8 dishers).
Your measurement type, amount, and units
- 1 US cup = 236.588237 mL; 1 mL = 1 mL
- factor = 236.588237 mL ÷ 1 mL = 236.5882365 mL per US cup
- converted amount = 1 US cup × 236.5882365 = 236.5882 mL
One unit of each size that shares a name, in the unit you convert to
Converted amount across recipe batch multiples (0.25× to 4×)
Common recipe amounts converted
At amount 0.25, the converted amount is 59.1471; at amount 1, it is 236.5882; and at amount 4, it reaches 946.3529.
| Amount | Converted |
|---|---|
| 0.25 | 59.1471 mL |
| 0.5 | 118.2941 mL |
| 0.75 | 177.4412 mL |
| 1 (closest to your input) | 236.5882 mL |
| 1.5 | 354.8824 mL |
| 2 | 473.1765 mL |
| 3 | 709.7647 mL |
| 4 | 946.3529 mL |
Converted amount for each recipe amount (rows) across 15 mL, 17.7 mL, and 20 mL Australian tablespoon settings (columns).
| Amount by australian tablespoon size (typical) | 15 mL | 17.7 mL | 20 mL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.25 | 59.1471 mL | 59.1471 mL | 59.1471 mL |
| 0.5 | 118.2941 mL | 118.2941 mL | 118.2941 mL |
| 0.75 | 177.4412 mL | 177.4412 mL | 177.4412 mL |
| 1 (closest to your input) | 236.5882 mL | 236.5882 mL | 236.5882 mL |
| 1.5 | 354.8824 mL | 354.8824 mL | 354.8824 mL |
| 2 | 473.1765 mL | 473.1765 mL | 473.1765 mL |
| 3 | 709.7647 mL | 709.7647 mL | 709.7647 mL |
| 4 | 946.3529 mL | 946.3529 mL | 946.3529 mL |
The same amount in every unit
| Unit | Amount |
|---|---|
| US teaspoon (4.93 mL) | 48 |
| US tablespoon (14.79 mL) | 16 |
| US fluid ounce (29.57 mL) | 8 |
| US cup (236.59 mL) | 1 |
| US pint (473.18 mL) | 0.5 |
| US quart (946.35 mL) | 0.25 |
| US gallon (3.785 L) | 0.0625 |
| Metric / US label teaspoon (5 mL) | 47.3176 |
| Metric / US label tablespoon (15 mL) | 15.7725 |
| US nutrition-label fluid ounce (30 mL) | 7.8863 |
| US nutrition-label cup (240 mL) | 0.9858 |
| Metric cup (250 mL) | 0.9464 |
| Australian tablespoon (size below) | 11.8294 |
| Millilitre (mL) | 236.5882 |
| Litre (L) | 0.2366 |
| Imperial fluid ounce (28.41 mL) | 8.3267 |
| Imperial cup, half a pint (284.13 mL) | 0.8327 |
| Imperial pint (568.26 mL) | 0.4163 |
| Imperial quart (1.137 L) | 0.2082 |
| Imperial gallon (4.546 L) | 0.052 |
For 1 US cup, the selected target unit gives 236.5882 mL and the SI equivalent is 236.5882 mL (0.2366 L).
One cup in each size that shares its name, in mL
| Unit | Size in the To unit |
|---|---|
| US cup | 236.5882 |
| label cup | 240 |
| metric cup | 250 |
| imp cup | 284.1306 |
Among the 4 cup definitions, 1 US cup is 236.5882 mL and 1 imp cup is 284.1306 mL.
Recipe batch multiples from 0.25× to 4×
| Batch multiple | In From unit | In To unit | SI equivalent (mL or g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.25× | 0.25 | 59.1471 | 59.1471 |
| 0.5× | 0.5 | 118.2941 | 118.2941 |
| 0.75× | 0.75 | 177.4412 | 177.4412 |
| current (1×) | 1 | 236.5882 | 236.5882 |
| 1.5× | 1.5 | 354.8824 | 354.8824 |
| 2× | 2 | 473.1765 | 473.1765 |
| 3× | 3 | 709.7647 | 709.7647 |
| 4× | 4 | 946.3529 | 946.3529 |
Doubling your recipe (2×) uses 473.1765 mL (473.1765 mL).
How kitchen volume and weight conversions work
Every unit is stored as its size in one base unit: cubic metres for volume and kilograms for weight. Multiply your amount by the From unit's size and divide by the To unit's size. The factor shows what one From unit equals in the To unit.
US customary measures are fixed fractions of the US liquid gallon. NIST Handbook 44 defines that gallon as 231 cubic inches (3.785411784 litres). A cup is 1/16 gallon (8 fluid ounces or half a pint). A tablespoon is half a fluid ounce, and a teaspoon is a third of a tablespoon. So the US customary cup, the page's "US cup", is 236.5882 mL.
US nutrition labels round the same measures for food packages only. Under 21 CFR 101.9(b)(5)(viii), a label teaspoon is 5 mL and a tablespoon is 15 mL. The same rule sets a label cup at 240 mL, a fluid ounce at 30 mL, and an ounce at 28 g. Health Canada's reference-amount table prints 1 cup as 250 mL, 1 tbsp as 15 mL and 1 tsp as 5 mL.
Imperial units follow the UK Weights and Measures Act 1985. One imperial gallon is 4.54609 litres, a pint is an eighth of a gallon, and a fluid ounce is a twentieth of a pint. The imperial cup, half a pint, is a kitchen convention the Act does not define.
Why cups and spoons differ across countries and nutrition labels
Four different cups share the word "cup" in English-language cooking. The US customary cup comes from the 231-cubic-inch wine gallon of 1707 and holds 236.5882 mL. Under 21 CFR 101.9(b)(5)(viii), the FDA sets a food-label cup at 240 mL. That rounded size divides cleanly into eight 30 mL fluid ounces or sixteen 15 mL tablespoons.
Metric kitchens in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK use a 250 mL cup. That cup equals one-quarter of a litre. Older British cookbooks used the imperial half-pint cup of 284.1306 mL (10 imperial fluid ounces). Baking a 250 mL metric recipe with a 236.59 mL US cup shorts each cup by 13.41 mL. To resize a whole batch by servings, use the recipe scaling calculator.
Spoons split along the same regional lines. One US customary tablespoon is 1/2 US fluid ounce (14.7868 mL). One US teaspoon is 1/6 US fluid ounce (4.9289 mL). On US food labels and in Canada, the UK, and NIST Metric Kitchen tables, a tablespoon is 15 mL and a teaspoon is 5 mL. Australia's food database (FSANZ AUSNUT 2023) sets the Australian tablespoon at 20 mL, or four 5 mL teaspoons.
USDA portion scoops, dishers, and commercial kitchen equivalents
Commercial kitchens and bakeries portion batters, dough, and cooked sides with numbered scoops called dishers. The number stamped on the disher is the count of level scoops in 1 US liquid quart (32 US fl oz, or 946.3529 mL). USDA Food Buying Guide Table 13 lists the standard level measures alongside those nominal capacities. A #40 disher holds 1 2/3 tbsp (0.80 US fl oz), and a #30 holds 2 tbsp (1.07 US fl oz). A #24 holds 2 2/3 tbsp (1.33 US fl oz), and a #20 holds 3 1/3 tbsp (1.60 US fl oz).
Larger dishers match standard cup fractions for muffin batters and cafeteria sides. In USDA Table 13, a #16 disher delivers 1/4 cup (4 tbsp, or 2.00 US fl oz). A #12 delivers 1/3 cup (5 1/3 tbsp, or 2.67 US fl oz), and a #10 delivers 3/8 cup (6 tbsp, or 3.20 US fl oz). An #8 disher delivers 1/2 cup (8 tbsp, or 4.00 US fl oz), and a #6 delivers 2/3 cup (10 2/3 tbsp, or 5.33 US fl oz). At the small end, a #50 disher holds 3 3/4 tsp (0.64 US fl oz) and a #60 holds 3 1/4 tsp (0.53 US fl oz).
When you convert any volume here, the card matches it to the closest kitchen fraction or USDA disher. To plan cooked weight, trim loss, and portion counts for a banquet, pair that scoop with the batch servings and yield calculator. When a recipe lists canned foods by trade can number (#300, #303, #2.5, or #10), convert the can first with the can size conversion calculator.
When to convert volume and when to switch to a kitchen scale
A pure volume or weight conversion depends only on the two units, never on what is inside the cup. One US cup is 236.5882 mL whether you fill it with water, olive oil, honey, or flour. That is why this converter keeps volume and weight as separate modes. Converting 1 cup into grams needs the bulk density of the specific food.
For pourable liquids, density stays steady enough to convert between volume and mass. Water weighs 1.00 g/mL (236.59 g per US cup), and whole milk is 1.03 g/mL (244 g per US cup). Vegetable oil is 0.92 g/mL (218 g per US cup), while honey is 1.42 g/mL (336 g per US cup). Check label serving sizes in the nutrition label portion calculator or convert larger tanks in the volume conversion calculator.
Dry powders and fats vary much more by how you scoop them. Depending on whether you dip-and-sweep or spoon-and-level, 1 US cup of all-purpose flour weighs 120 g to 150 g. USDA FoodData Central uses 125 g per cup. For flour, sugar, oats, and cocoa, use the cups to grams converter. For sticks and blocks of butter, use the butter conversion calculator; for stones and tonnes, use the weight conversion calculator.
Video walkthrough
A 2:42 walkthrough of how the kitchen measurement converter turns cups, spoons, ounces and grams into any unit, and why the same cup name holds different sizes.
Read the transcript
How many milliliters in a cup?
0:00 How many milliliters are in one cup?
0:02 On the page's example, one US cup comes to about 236.6 milliliters.
0:08 You type the amount and pick the units to convert between.
0:12 Every figure on the page updates while you type.
Cups that share a name
0:14 The word cup covers more than one size.
0:17 The US customary cup, the one the page starts with, is about 236.6 milliliters.
0:24 On US nutrition labels, the FDA defines a cup as 240 milliliters.
0:30 Canada's reference table uses a cup of 250 milliliters.
0:35 The imperial half-pint cup is about 284 milliliters.
0:39 Bake a metric recipe with the US cup and each cup comes up about 13.4 milliliters short.
0:46 The spread is why a recipe from another country does not measure out the same.
0:51 The summary card counts the amount again in nutrition-label cups and in metric cups, so the gap between the sizes is easy to see.
0:59 The gap grows with every cup the recipe calls for.
One amount, every unit
1:02 Type an amount and the page writes it out unit by unit.
1:06 In the example, the US cup is 48 teaspoons.
1:09 It is 16 tablespoons, and 8 fluid ounces.
1:13 Every conversion is one multiplication.
1:16 The page divides the From unit's size by the To unit's size, then multiplies your amount by that factor.
Spoons that differ by country
1:22 A US tablespoon is about 14.8 milliliters, and spoons split along the same lines as cups do.
1:29 On food labels and in NIST's tables, a tablespoon is 15 milliliters.
1:35 Australia's food measures record a tablespoon at 20 milliliters; you can set that size on the page.
Weight needs its own units
1:41 Volume and weight do not convert into each other without a food's density.
1:45 Switch the page to weight and type 8 ounces.
1:48 That comes to about 227 grams.
1:51 On a nutrition label, an ounce means 28 grams.
1:55 At that size, the same 8 ounces is 224 grams, against about 227 grams at the scale's ounce.
Batch sizes and kitchen scoops
2:03 The batch table scales the amount up and down.
2:06 A quarter batch takes about 59 milliliters.
2:09 A double batch takes about 473 milliliters, and a quadruple batch takes about 946 milliliters.
2:17 The factor stays the same in every row.
2:20 The USDA's Food Buying Guide lists numbered dishers, or scoops, by their level measure.
2:26 The page matches each amount to one of those scoops or a ladle.
2:30 One caution.
2:31 For accuracy, NIST calls weighing on a kitchen scale a best practice.
2:36 A volume conversion cannot see what is in the cup.
2:39 Try the converter at fastcalc.us.
Kitchen measurement conversion formula and unit ratios
result = amount × (size of From unit) ÷ (size of To unit)
factor = (size of From unit) ÷ (size of To unit)
US: 1 gal = 231 cu in = 3.785411784 L; 1 cup = 1/16 gal
1 cup = 8 fl oz = 16 tbsp = 48 tsp
Label: cup 240 mL, fl oz 30 mL, tbsp 15 mL, tsp 5 mL, oz 28 g
Imperial: gal 4.54609 L; pt = gal ÷ 8; fl oz = pt ÷ 20Worked kitchen measurement conversion examples
The default, 1 US cup in millilitres, is 3,785.411784 mL ÷ 16 = 236.5882 mL. The same cup is 0.9858 label cups, 0.9464 metric cups and 0.8327 imperial cups. That spread is why recipes from different countries do not measure out the same.
One imperial pint is 568.26 mL, or 1.2009 US pints. Three US teaspoons are 1 US tablespoon (14.7868 mL), and a 20 mL Australian tablespoon is 1.3526 US tablespoons. In weight mode, 8 oz is 226.7962 g, against 224 g by the 28 g label ounce.
Assumptions, measurement tolerances, and regional limits
- Printed figures: NIST SP 811 Appendix B.9 (updated 2025-08-18) prints the US cup as 236.5882 mL and the fluid ounce as 29.57353 mL. It prints the US tablespoon as 14.78676 mL and the teaspoon as 4.928922 mL. It also prints the imperial gallon as 4.54609 L, the imperial fluid ounce as 28.41306 mL, the ounce as 28.34952 g, and the pound as 0.4535924 kg. Handbook 44 (2026) Appendix C gives the gallon as 231 cubic inches and calls the 15 mL tablespoon and 5 mL teaspoon imprecise units.
- Derived figures: the US pint and quart are ⅛ and ¼ gallon. The imperial pint, quart, and cup are fractions of the UK gallon, and every conversion uses exact arithmetic shown to four decimals. Under section 1 and Schedule 1 of the UK Act, the pint (0.56826125 dm³), gallon, quart, and fluid ounce are defined; the imperial cup is not statutory.
- The Australian tablespoon is the size entered, 20 mL by default. FSANZ's AUSNUT 2023 food measures (updated 5 September 2025) record all 167 of their tablespoon measures as 20 mL, all 300 cups as 250 mL and 12 of 14 teaspoons as 5 mL. Two have no volume, and older recipes use other spoons.
- A 21 CFR 101.9 size applies to nutrition panels; it does not redefine the cup in a recipe. Kitchen cups and spoons have manufacturing tolerances and fill unevenly, so a result is only as exact as your scoop. An ounce is a weight and a fluid ounce is a volume: a US fluid ounce of water weighs about 1.04 oz.
What to do with your converted measurement
Before converting, check which cup your recipe uses. A US recipe usually means the customary cup, while a US nutrition panel rounds the cup up by 3.41 mL. Health Canada's reference-amount table and Australia's AUSNUT food measures use 250 mL. Those three differ by up to 5.7%, enough to change a cake, and an imperial half-pint cup is 20% bigger than the US one.
For baking, weigh on a gram scale. A volume conversion cannot know how tightly flour was packed. Use the cups to grams converter for dry foods and keep this page for liquids and international recipes. In Australian recipes check the tablespoon too: at 20 mL it is a third bigger than the 15 mL metric spoon and holds four 5 mL teaspoons.
When scaling a recipe up for a crowd, convert small spoon counts into cups or fluid ounces before measuring. That step keeps spoon-by-spoon rounding errors from stacking up. For example, 12 US tablespoons equals 0.75 US cups (6 US fl oz, or 177.4412 mL), which you can pour in one fill.
Kitchen measurement conversion questions
How many mL are in a cup?
The page's "US cup" is the customary one, so 1 US cup converts to 236.5882 mL. A US nutrition-label cup is 240 mL, a metric cup is a quarter-litre, and an imperial half-pint cup is 284.13 mL.
Is a UK pint the same as a US pint?
No. An imperial pint is 568.26 mL and holds 20 imperial fluid ounces; a US pint is 473.18 mL and holds 16 US fluid ounces. An imperial pint is about 1.2 US pints.
How many tablespoons are in a cup?
A US customary cup holds 16 US tablespoons. A 250 mL metric cup holds 16⅔ metric tablespoons of 15 mL, or 12.5 Australian tablespoons of 20 mL.
How many grams are in an ounce?
An avoirdupois ounce is 28.3495 g, so 8 oz is 226.8 g. A US nutrition label rounds an ounce to 28 g, which gives 224 g for 8 oz.
Can this page turn cups into grams?
No. A cup is 236.59 mL for any food, but what it weighs depends on the food and how it is packed. Volume and weight stay separate here; use the cups to grams converter for an ingredient.
How many teaspoons are in an Australian tablespoon?
An Australian standard 20 mL tablespoon holds 4 metric teaspoons of 5 mL (or 4.0577 US teaspoons of 4.9289 mL). In the US, UK, and Canada, 1 tablespoon of 15 mL holds 3 teaspoons of 5 mL.
How many cups are in a US quart and a US gallon?
One US liquid quart (946.3529 mL) holds 4 US customary cups or 2 US pints. One US liquid gallon (3,785.4118 mL) holds 16 US customary cups, 8 US pints, or 4 US quarts.
Sources
- NIST, Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SP 811), Appendix B.9 (page modified Aug 18, 2025)
- NIST, Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SP 811), Appendix B.8 (page modified Aug 18, 2025)
- NIST, Handbook 44 (2026), Appendix C, General Tables of Units of Measurement (current version)
- NIST, Metric Kitchen: Cooking Measurement Equivalencies (page modified Apr 29, 2026)
- NIST, Metric Kitchen: Culinary Measurement Tips (page modified Apr 29, 2026)
- eCFR, 21 CFR 101.9, Nutrition labeling of food (current version)
- USDA Food and Nutrition Service, Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs, Introduction (current version)
- UK Legislation, Weights and Measures Act 1985, Schedule 1 (Definitions of Units of Measurement) (current version)
- FSANZ, AUSNUT 2023 Food measures (page modified Sep 5, 2025)
- Health Canada, Nutrition labelling: Table of reference amounts for food (page modified Feb 25, 2025)
More in Cooking Conversion Calculators and Cooking & Food Calculators.