Is a metric cup the same as a US cup?

No. A US cup is 240 ml and a metric cup is 250 ml. The difference is about 4%, enough to matter in baking. This site’s converter uses the US 240 ml cup; for a metric-cup recipe, convert to millilitres and adjust, or work in millilitres throughout.

Can I convert cups of flour to grams here?

Not reliably — the gram option assumes water density. Flour is far lighter and varies by packing. Use a kitchen scale and a flour-specific chart (a cup of all-purpose flour is about 120 g, scooped and levelled).

Why are my spoon measures different in Australia?

An Australian tablespoon is 20 ml, while a US tablespoon is 15 ml. An Australian recipe’s tablespoon count gives 33% more volume than the same count in US spoons. Convert Australian tablespoons to millilitres directly (×20) to avoid the error.

Should I weigh or measure ingredients?

Weigh dry ingredients for baking — it is far more consistent. Volume measures are fine for liquids and for cooking where small errors do not compound. A kitchen scale is the cheapest precision upgrade you can buy.

Cooking & DIY/Home Calculators

Cooking Conversions Explained

Cooking conversions look simple until you hit the details: a cup is not always 240 ml, a tablespoon is not always 15 ml, and a cup of flour is not 240 grams. The conversions that trip up cooks are the ones where a unit name hides a regional difference or a density assumption. This guide explains the conversions behind the Cooking Measurement Converter so you know exactly what the numbers mean and when to trust them.

Read it alongside the converter to put numbers on each case. The core idea is that volume conversions (cups, spoons, millilitres) are exact and reliable, while volume-to-weight conversions (cups to grams) depend on the ingredient and are only exact for water.

In detail

The cup that is not one cup

The cup is the most ambiguous cooking unit. A US legal cup is 240 ml exactly and is what American recipes mean. A metric cup, used in Australia, Canada and much of the Commonwealth, is 250 ml — about 4% larger. An older UK cup was 284 ml. The Cooking Measurement Converter uses the US 240 ml cup, matching American recipes. For a metric-cup recipe, convert to millilitres and multiply by 250/240, or simply use millilitres as the common currency between the two.

Spoons: level, not heaped

A US tablespoon is 15 ml and a US teaspoon is 5 ml, a clean 1:3 ratio. An Australian tablespoon is 20 ml, which breaks that ratio and catches out cooks using Australian recipes with US tools. All spoon conversions assume level measures — the standard in written recipes — because a heaped tablespoon can hold two to three times as much. Always level a spoon with the back of a knife for a reliable measure, especially in baking where the difference compounds across ingredients.

The water-to-grams shortcut

The converter’s gram option treats 1 ml as 1 g, which is exact for water and close for water-like liquids (milk, stock, juice). It is not valid for dry ingredients or oils: a cup of flour is about 120 g, a cup of sugar about 200 g, and a cup of oil about 220 g — all very different from the 240 g a water conversion would give. For dry ingredients, use a kitchen scale and a density chart specific to the ingredient. The water shortcut is a convenience for liquids, not a general weight converter.

Why dry ingredients need a scale

Dry ingredients pack differently depending on how they are scooped, sifted or settled. A cup of flour scooped from the bag can be 120 g or 150 g depending on how packed it is — a 25% swing that ruins a dough. A scale removes that variability: 150 g of flour is 150 g regardless of how it got into the bowl. For baking in particular, weighing dry ingredients is the single biggest upgrade you can make to consistency, and no volume-to-weight converter can replace it.

Temperature and the oven

Volume is half the conversion story; oven temperature is the other. Recipes arrive in Celsius, Fahrenheit, gas mark and fan settings, and reading the wrong one means a burnt or raw result. The Oven Temperature Converter handles all four, and the key facts are: a fan oven runs about 20°C lower than conventional for the same result; gas mark is a fixed British table (Mark 4 = 180°C); and Fahrenheit converts with °C = (°F − 32) × 5/9. Use the converter rather than guessing, and verify with an oven thermometer for critical bakes.

Frequently asked questions

Is a metric cup the same as a US cup?: No. A US cup is 240 ml and a metric cup is 250 ml. The difference is about 4%, enough to matter in baking. This site’s converter uses the US 240 ml cup; for a metric-cup recipe, convert to millilitres and adjust, or work in millilitres throughout.
Can I convert cups of flour to grams here?: Not reliably — the gram option assumes water density. Flour is far lighter and varies by packing. Use a kitchen scale and a flour-specific chart (a cup of all-purpose flour is about 120 g, scooped and levelled).
Why are my spoon measures different in Australia?: An Australian tablespoon is 20 ml, while a US tablespoon is 15 ml. An Australian recipe’s tablespoon count gives 33% more volume than the same count in US spoons. Convert Australian tablespoons to millilitres directly (×20) to avoid the error.
Should I weigh or measure ingredients?: Weigh dry ingredients for baking — it is far more consistent. Volume measures are fine for liquids and for cooking where small errors do not compound. A kitchen scale is the cheapest precision upgrade you can buy.

Related calculators

Concept guide based on standard US customary and metric cooking measurement definitions. Exact factors: 1 US cup = 240 ml, 1 US tbsp = 15 ml, 1 US tsp = 5 ml. Last updated: September 2026.

These guides are provided for general information only and do not constitute financial advice. Exchange rates, tax rules, customs allowances and tipping customs vary by country, provider and over time. Always confirm critical figures with the relevant authority or a qualified adviser before acting on anything here.