Is a cup 240 ml or 250 ml?

A US legal cup is 240 ml exactly and is the cup used in American recipes; a metric cup, used in Australia, Canada and much of the Commonwealth, is 250 ml. This converter uses the US 240 ml cup. For a metric-cup recipe, convert to millilitres first and multiply by 250/240.

Can I convert cups of flour to grams?

Not with this tool — the grams option assumes water (1 ml = 1 g). Flour is far lighter and varies by how it is scooped. Use a kitchen scale and a flour-specific chart for dry ingredients.

Are the spoon measures level or heaped?

All spoon conversions assume level measures, the standard in written recipes. A heaped tablespoon can hold two to three times as much, which is enough to throw off a recipe.

Why does my cup-to-ml result differ from another converter?

Because of the cup definition. This converter uses the US 240 ml cup. A converter using the metric 250 ml cup gives about 4% more millilitres for the same cup count. Check which cup your recipe uses before comparing.

Are Australian tablespoons the same as US tablespoons?

No — an Australian tablespoon is 20 ml, while a US tablespoon is 15 ml. This converter uses the US 15 ml tablespoon. For an Australian recipe, multiply the tablespoon count by 20 to get millilitres directly.

Cooking & DIY/Home Calculators

Cooking Measurement Converter

Cooking measurements are a tangle of cups, spoons and millilitres, and the cup itself differs between the US (240 ml) and the Commonwealth (250 ml). This converter uses the exact, internationally defined US customary factors so a recipe written in cups translates cleanly into millilitres and back, with no rounding drift.

Enter the amount you have, choose the unit it is in and the unit you want. The converter handles volume measures (cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, millilitres, fluid ounces, litres) and a water-weight shortcut that treats 1 ml as 1 g — accurate for water and water-like liquids, an approximation for anything denser or lighter.

It is the bridge between a recipe written for one kitchen and a cook in another — the cup-and-spoon American recipe made workable in millilitres, or the metric European recipe made workable in cups, without the rounding errors that creep in from memory.

Amount

From

Enter your values to see the result.

How this is calculated

Every unit is converted through its exact millilitre equivalent, so the path is always amount × (ml per from-unit) ÷ (ml per to-unit). The factors are the exact, internationally defined US customary values: 1 US cup = 240 ml, 1 US tablespoon = 15 ml, 1 US teaspoon = 5 ml, 1 US fluid ounce = 29.5735295625 ml, 1 litre = 1000 ml. The gram-of-water option treats 1 ml as 1 g, which is exact for water and a close approximation for water-like liquids.

The cup is the unit that causes the most confusion, because it differs by region: the US cup is 240 ml, the metric cup used in Australia, Canada and much of the Commonwealth is 250 ml, and an older UK cup was 284 ml. This converter uses the US 240 ml cup, which is what American recipes mean. For a metric-cup recipe, convert to millilitres first and multiply by 250/240, or simply use the millilitre output as the common currency.

The gram conversion is a water shortcut and is not valid for dry ingredients. Flour, sugar and rice have very different densities — a cup of flour is about 120 g, a cup of sugar about 200 g — and they pack differently depending on how they are scooped. For dry ingredients, use a kitchen scale and a density chart specific to the ingredient rather than the water-based gram option here.

Worked example

A recipe calls for 1/3 cup of milk. You want millilitres.

1Enter 0.333 cups → millilitres.
2ml = 0.333 × 240 = 80 ml.
3In tablespoons: 80 ÷ 15 ≈ 5.3 tbsp.
4So 1/3 cup ≈ 80 ml ≈ 5⅓ tablespoons.

Frequently asked questions

Is a cup 240 ml or 250 ml?: A US legal cup is 240 ml exactly and is the cup used in American recipes; a metric cup, used in Australia, Canada and much of the Commonwealth, is 250 ml. This converter uses the US 240 ml cup. For a metric-cup recipe, convert to millilitres first and multiply by 250/240.
Can I convert cups of flour to grams?: Not with this tool — the grams option assumes water (1 ml = 1 g). Flour is far lighter and varies by how it is scooped. Use a kitchen scale and a flour-specific chart for dry ingredients.
Are the spoon measures level or heaped?: All spoon conversions assume level measures, the standard in written recipes. A heaped tablespoon can hold two to three times as much, which is enough to throw off a recipe.
Why does my cup-to-ml result differ from another converter?: Because of the cup definition. This converter uses the US 240 ml cup. A converter using the metric 250 ml cup gives about 4% more millilitres for the same cup count. Check which cup your recipe uses before comparing.
Are Australian tablespoons the same as US tablespoons?: No — an Australian tablespoon is 20 ml, while a US tablespoon is 15 ml. This converter uses the US 15 ml tablespoon. For an Australian recipe, multiply the tablespoon count by 20 to get millilitres directly.

Related calculators

Method: exact US customary volume factors (1 cup = 240 ml, 1 tbsp = 15 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml, 1 fl oz = 29.5735295625 ml). Gram option assumes water density (1 ml = 1 g). Last updated: September 2026.

These results are general estimates from established formulas and conversion factors. Paint coverage, tile yields, concrete volumes, fuel economy, oven behaviour and clothing and shoe sizes vary by product, surface, vehicle, oven and brand. Always confirm with your supplier, the product label or the brand’s own size chart before buying or acting on a calculation.