Cup Volume Conversions
Cups into millilitres, fluid ounces, tablespoons and teaspoons — for all four cup types. No ingredients, no charts: just the definitions of the units.
Definitions, not ingredients
Every other page on this site converts a weight, and weights need a source chart because they depend on the ingredient. This page converts volume to volume, and volumes need no chart — only definitions. A US customary cup is defined as 236.588 millilitres. A US fluid ounce is defined as 29.5735 millilitres, which makes a cup exactly 8 fluid ounces. A US tablespoon is defined as one sixteenth of a cup, and a teaspoon as one third of a tablespoon. Those four definitions, which are the same constants this whole site is built on, generate every number on this page; no ingredient data is involved, and nothing here needed a source beyond the definitions of the units themselves.
The definitions also draw the line this site is careful about: fluid ounces are not ounces. One measures space, the other measures weight, and they only coincide (roughly) for water. When a recipe says "8 ounces of flour", it means weight — the main converter handles that. When a jug says "8 fl oz", it means volume — this page.
Fractions of a US cup
| US customary cup | Millilitres | Fluid ounces | Tablespoons | Teaspoons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/4 cup | 59.15 mL | 2.00 fl oz | 4.00 tbsp | 12.00 tsp |
| 1/3 cup | 78.86 mL | 2.67 fl oz | 5.33 tbsp | 16.00 tsp |
| 1/2 cup | 118.29 mL | 4.00 fl oz | 8.00 tbsp | 24.00 tsp |
| 2/3 cup | 157.73 mL | 5.33 fl oz | 10.67 tbsp | 32.00 tsp |
| 3/4 cup | 177.44 mL | 6.00 fl oz | 12.00 tbsp | 36.00 tsp |
| 1 cup | 236.59 mL | 8.00 fl oz | 16.00 tbsp | 48.00 tsp |
| 2 cup | 473.18 mL | 16.00 fl oz | 32.00 tbsp | 96.00 tsp |
The four cup types in volume units
| Cup type | Millilitres | Fluid ounces | US tablespoons |
|---|---|---|---|
| US customary cup | 236.588 mL | 8.00 fl oz | 16.00 tbsp |
| US legal cup | 240 mL | 8.12 fl oz | 16.23 tbsp |
| Metric cup | 250 mL | 8.45 fl oz | 16.91 tbsp |
| UK imperial cup | 284.131 mL | 9.61 fl oz | 19.22 tbsp |
Frequently asked questions
How many millilitres are in a US cup?
236.588 mL — that is the definition of the US customary cup. A US legal cup (used on nutrition labels) is defined as 240 mL, a metric cup as 250 mL and a UK imperial cup as 284.131 mL.
How many tablespoons are in a cup?
16 US tablespoons — by definition, a US tablespoon is one sixteenth of a US cup. A third of a cup is therefore 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (5.33 tablespoons), which is the practical way to measure it.
Is a fluid ounce the same as an ounce of weight?
No, and confusing them is a classic kitchen error. A fluid ounce measures volume (29.5735 mL); an ounce measures weight (28.3495 g). They coincide only for water, roughly. Every other page on this site converts to weight ounces; this page alone deals in fluid ounces, and it labels them 'fl oz' throughout.
How many fluid ounces in a metric cup?
About 8.45 fl oz: a metric cup is defined as 250 mL, and 250 ÷ 29.5735 mL per fluid ounce = 8.45. The cup-types table on this page lists all four definitions side by side.
Related pages
- Cups to Grams Converter — when the recipe's ounces are weight, not volume
- Water: cups to grams — the one ingredient where volume and weight nearly meet
- Cups to Grams Chart — all 69 ingredient weights on one page
All figures on this page are calculated from unit definitions: 1 US customary cup = 236.588 mL; 1 US fluid ounce = 29.5735 mL; 1 cup = 16 US tablespoons; 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons. Tablespoon counts for non-US cups are expressed in US tablespoons.