Last updated: 2026-05-20

Coverage

This converter handles cooking volumes across the English-speaking world's measurement systems plus international metric: US customary (cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, fluid ounces, pints, quarts, gallons), UK imperial (fluid ounces, pints, quarts, gallons), Australian/Metric (250 mL cup, 20 mL tablespoon), and mL/L. Enter a value in any field and the remaining fields update automatically.

"Cup" and "tablespoon" are not universal units. The same recipe word can mean different volumes depending on the country of origin — a discrepancy large enough to affect baking results.

Cups around the world

Country / System	Cup volume	Tablespoon	Teaspoon
United States	236.6 mL	14.79 mL	4.93 mL
Australia / Canada / New Zealand (metric)	250 mL	20 mL (AU) / 15 mL (CA/NZ)	5 mL
United Kingdom	No official cup	17.76 mL (rarely used)	5 mL
Japan	200 mL (also: 1 go = 180.4 mL for rice)	15 mL	5 mL
Korea	200 mL	15 mL	5 mL
Taiwan	240 mL (cooking) / 180 mL (rice cup)	15 mL	5 mL

Notable differences:

• The US cup (236.6 mL) is smaller than the metric cup (250 mL) but larger than the East-Asian cup (200 mL).
• The Australian tablespoon is 20 mL, not 15 mL. A recipe using an AU tablespoon measured with a UK or US tablespoon under-doses by 25–35%.
• Britain has no official cup measure. Older British cookbooks may use "breakfast cup" or "teacup" but modern recipes give weights in grams or volumes in fluid ounces.

US and UK pint volumes

A US pint is 473.18 mL but a UK pint is 568.26 mL — about 20% larger. The split dates to the 1820s: the United States standardized on the older "wine gallon" (3.785 L), while the UK redefined the imperial gallon as 4.546 L. All derived units (fluid ounce, pint, quart, gallon) inherit that 1:1.20 ratio. Ordering "a pint" of beer in the US versus the UK yields meaningfully different volumes.

US and UK fluid ounce sizes

Counterintuitively, the US fluid ounce (29.57 mL) is larger than the UK fluid ounce (28.41 mL), even though all the bigger UK units (pint, quart, gallon) are larger than their US counterparts. The reason: a US pint has 16 fluid ounces while a UK pint has 20. The British packed more, smaller ounces into each pint.

Dry and liquid measuring technique

US measuring cups work for both dry and liquid ingredients, but the technique differs:

• Liquids — fill to the marked line at eye level; use a clear jug for amounts above 1 cup.
• Dry ingredients — spoon flour into the cup loosely, then level off with a straight edge. Scooping directly from the bag compresses the flour and can add 20–30% extra weight.

This is why professional bakers weigh ingredients in grams regardless of where the recipe is from. Volume measurements multiply by ingredient density, and density varies with packing, humidity, and brand.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How many tablespoons are in a cup?

A US cup contains 16 US tablespoons. A half cup is 8 tablespoons, a quarter cup is 4 tablespoons, and an eighth cup is 2 tablespoons. The same ratio holds for the Australian metric cup (250 mL ÷ 20 mL tbsp = 12.5 tbsp) — note that the AU tablespoon is 20 mL, larger than the US 14.79 mL, so the count differs.

How big is a "cup" in different countries?

There is no universal cup. US recipes use 236.6 mL; Australia, Canada, and New Zealand use a metric cup of 250 mL exactly; Japan uses 200 mL (matching the traditional rice-measure tradition); Korea also uses 200 mL by national food standard; Taiwan uses 240 mL for general cooking, with a separate 180 mL "rice cup" for measuring uncooked rice. The UK has no official cup — British recipes give weights in grams or volume in fl oz.

How many milliliters are in a tablespoon?

The tablespoon varies by country: US ≈ 14.79 mL, Australia 20 mL exactly, UK 17.76 mL (rarely used; British recipes say "15 mL" instead), Japan/Korea/Taiwan 15 mL. The teaspoon is more consistent — 5 mL almost everywhere except the US at 4.93 mL. For precise baking, prefer weight (grams) on a kitchen scale.

How do I convert cups to grams?

Cups measure volume, not weight — so gram equivalents depend on the ingredient. One US cup of water weighs 236.6 g, but one cup of all-purpose flour weighs roughly 120–130 g and one cup of granulated sugar around 200 g. This converter handles volume; for ingredient-specific gram lookups, consult a density table.

Why is a British pint bigger than an American pint?

The UK imperial pint is 568.26 mL, while the US pint is 473.18 mL — the British pint is about 20% larger. Both descend from older English measures, but the US standardized on the wine gallon (3.785 L) and the UK redefined the imperial gallon (4.546 L) in 1824. When ordering "a pint" of beer abroad, expect different volumes depending on the country.