Cups to mL Converter

How to use this calculator

Enter the number of cups. Select your cup standard from the dropdown: US cup (236.6 mL), metric cup (250 mL), UK imperial cup (284 mL), or Japanese cup (200 mL). Press Calculate to see the millilitre and litre equivalents, fluid ounces, and tablespoons.

Cup standards around the world

A cup is a unit of volume used in cooking, but its size is not internationally standardised. Four different cup sizes are in regular use.

US customary cup: 236.588 mL (exactly 8 US fluid ounces). Used in all US cookbooks, recipes, and measuring equipment. The most widely referenced standard globally because of the dominance of American food media.

Metric cup: 250 mL. Used in Australia, Canada, South Africa, and increasingly in international food content. Exactly one quarter of a litre, which makes metric calculations convenient.

UK imperial cup: 284.131 mL (half an imperial pint of 568.261 mL). Not used in modern UK cooking, but appears in older British cookbooks from before metric adoption. Modern UK recipes typically specify mL directly or use US cup values.

Japanese cup (合, gō): 200 mL. Used specifically for measuring rice in Japanese cooking. Japanese rice cookers are calibrated to the 180 mL gō (rice measurement), so always check which standard a Japanese recipe uses.

Cups to mL conversion table

Cups	US (mL)	Metric (mL)	UK (mL)
1/8	29.6	31.3	35.5
1/4	59.1	62.5	71.0
1/3	78.9	83.3	94.7
1/2	118.3	125.0	142.1
2/3	157.7	166.7	189.4
3/4	177.4	187.5	213.1
1	236.6	250.0	284.1
1.5	354.9	375.0	426.2
2	473.2	500.0	568.3
3	709.8	750.0	852.4
4	946.4	1000.0	1136.5

4 metric cups = exactly 1 litre. 4 US cups = 946.4 mL (just under 1 litre). This is a useful difference to remember when scaling recipes.

The relationship between cups, fluid ounces, and millilitres

The US cup is formally defined as 8 US fluid ounces. The US fluid ounce is 29.5735 mL. Therefore:

UK fluid ounces are different from US fluid ounces. 1 UK fluid ounce = 28.4131 mL (slightly smaller). This is a common source of confusion when using British recipes with US measuring equipment.

For most cooking purposes, the difference between US and UK fluid ounces is small enough to ignore. For precision chemistry, brewing, or large-batch manufacturing, use the correct value for your region.

Converting cup recipe quantities to mL for precision

Recipes from different countries sometimes specify cups without stating which standard. A practical approach is to identify the recipe origin and apply the appropriate standard.

When in doubt, use the US cup value (236.6 mL). It is the most common standard in internet recipes and food content, and the measuring cups sold in most English-speaking countries other than Australia and Canada are the US size.

Cups in coffee brewing

Coffee recipes often specify cups, but the “cup” in coffee brewing is typically not a measuring cup. Standard coffee makers in the US use a 6 fl oz (177 mL) cup for calibration, not the 8 fl oz culinary cup. This is why a 12-cup coffee maker does not produce 12 × 236 mL = 2.83 litres, but rather 12 × 177 mL = 2.12 litres.

Specialty coffee brewing methods use even more specific ratios. The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) standard for cupping is 150 mL per cup. Espresso is served in 25-30 mL shots. Always check which “cup” a coffee recipe refers to before measuring.

mL measurement in medicine and pharmaceuticals

Liquid medications are dosed in mL, not cups. Common prescription conversions:

• 1 teaspoon = 5 mL
• 1 tablespoon = 15 mL
• 2 tablespoons = 30 mL = 1 fl oz
• 1/4 cup = 60 mL
• 1/2 cup = 120 mL

For medication dosing, never estimate with household cups or spoons. Oral syringes and medicine cups are calibrated in mL and should always be used for pharmaceutical doses. The error margin of a household teaspoon compared to a calibrated 5 mL syringe can be 20-30%.

Practical kitchen tips for volume measurement

For water and milk: Weight and volume are nearly interchangeable. 1 mL of water = 1 g. Measuring 240 mL of water on a scale gives approximately 240 g, which is close enough for any cooking application.

For oils and syrups: Density differs from water. Use volume (mL) measurements from a jug rather than converting from grams on a scale, unless you know the specific density.

Clear vs opaque measuring cups: Read liquid volumes at eye level with the cup on a flat surface. The meniscus (curved surface of the liquid) should sit at the measurement line. Reading from above gives an underestimate; reading from below gives an overestimate.

Dry ingredients in liquid cups: Technically, dry ingredients should be measured in flat-topped measuring cups (dry cups) and wet ingredients in spouted measuring jugs (wet cups). In practice, using the correct cup type for each ingredient gives more accurate volume readings.

Converting large quantities for batch cooking

For large-batch cooking or scaling recipes up:

For beverage planning, knowing the mL equivalent helps when buying stock. A 2-litre bottle contains 8.45 US cups. A 1.5-litre bottle contains 6.34 US cups.

Accuracy and best practices for cooking measurements

For baked goods where small errors change results, weigh your ingredients rather than measuring by volume. A digital kitchen scale accurate to 1 g is the most reliable approach.

For measuring by volume: Use the correct cup standard for your recipe’s country of origin. Spoon ingredients into the cup rather than scooping. Level off with a straight edge. Read liquids at eye level with the measuring cup on a flat surface.

For measuring by weight: Tare (zero) the scale with the bowl on it. Add each ingredient directly to the bowl. Tare again between ingredients to add them one at a time without emptying the bowl.

Ingredient freshness: Old flour that has absorbed moisture weighs slightly more than fresh flour at the same volume. Weighing is unaffected by moisture absorption. Cup measurements become slightly off as dry ingredients age and their density changes.

Converting recipe quantities for different batch sizes

When scaling a recipe up or down, converting all measurements to grams first makes the scaling arithmetic much simpler.

Step 1: Convert every ingredient to grams using the appropriate conversion. Step 2: Multiply every gram value by the scale factor (e.g. 2 for double batch, 0.5 for half batch). Step 3: Convert back to your preferred units if needed.

This approach avoids fractional cup values like “2.67 cups” that are hard to measure. Instead you get a gram weight that can be measured directly on a scale.

For large-scale batch cooking (catering, meal prep services), all recipes are specified in grams or kilograms. Volume measurements become impractical at scale because a 100-cup batch cannot be measured accurately in individual cup scoops.

Ingredient substitutions and weight equivalents

When substituting one ingredient for another, weight equivalents are more reliable than volume equivalents. Different forms of the same ingredient have different densities.

Flour substitutions:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (125 g): substitute 1 cup + 2 tbsp cake flour (130 g) for a lighter texture, or use the gram weight for precision
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (125 g): substitute 95 g almond flour + 10 g arrowroot for a grain-free alternative

Sugar substitutions:

• 200 g white sugar: substitute 170 g honey (reduce other liquids by 30 mL) or 160 g maple syrup
• Liquid sweeteners are denser than granulated sugar, so volume measurements give incorrect ratios

Fat substitutions:

• 113 g butter (1/2 cup): substitute 95 mL vegetable oil (3/4 the volume, same mass of fat)
• Coconut oil is slightly less dense than butter; use the same gram weight, not the same cup amount

In every substitution case, using gram weights rather than cup volumes gives the correct ratio of the functional ingredient (fat, sugar, protein) regardless of the physical form.

Altitude adjustments in baking

At high altitudes (above 3000 feet / 900 m), leavening gases expand more rapidly. Standard recipes need adjustment. These adjustments are small and best expressed in grams or millilitres.

General high-altitude guidelines for baked goods:

• Reduce baking powder by 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per teaspoon called for
• Increase liquid by 2-4 tablespoons per cup (30-60 mL)
• Increase flour by 1-2 tablespoons per cup (8-16 g of all-purpose flour)
• Reduce sugar by 1-2 tablespoons per cup (12-25 g)

These adjustments are most reliable when expressed in grams because the percentage change relative to total weight is what matters physically. Adding “2 tablespoons of flour” means different things at different altitudes if the original cup was scooped vs spooned.

Ingredient substitutions and weight equivalents

When substituting one ingredient for another, weight equivalents are more reliable than volume equivalents. Different forms of the same ingredient have different densities, so volume measurements create wrong ratios.

Flour substitutions by weight: Replacing all-purpose flour with almond flour in equal gram amounts keeps the structural ratio correct. Volume substitution fails because almond flour is much less dense (96 g/cup vs 125 g/cup for all-purpose).

Liquid sweetener substitutions: When swapping honey for sugar, use gram equivalents and reduce other liquids by about 15% to compensate for the additional moisture honey brings. 200 g of sugar replaced by 175 g of honey is a commonly used ratio.

Oil and butter equivalence: Butter is approximately 80% fat. 113 g butter (1/2 cup) contains about 90 g of fat. Replacing with oil: use 90 g (about 98 mL) of pure oil. Volume substitution of 1/2 cup butter for 1/2 cup oil gives too much fat because butter contains water and milk solids that oil does not.

In every substitution, weight-based conversion gives the correct functional ratio. Volume-based substitution introduces errors from density differences between ingredients.