How many tablespoons are in a cup?

A US cup holds 16 US tablespoons (236.59 ml ÷ 14.787 ml). The count changes with the system: a metric 250 ml cup holds 16.667 tbsp of the 15 ml tablespoons, and an Australian cup holds 12.5 tbsp of Australia’s 20 ml tablespoons.

How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon?

Three in the US, UK and metric systems (a US tablespoon is 14.79 ml and a teaspoon 4.93 ml). Australia’s tablespoon is 20 ml with a 5 ml teaspoon, so it holds four. That difference is why a spoonful-heavy recipe can taste different when it crosses the Pacific.

What is ⅓ cup in tablespoons?

⅓ US cup is 5 tbsp + 1 tsp, which is 16 tsp in all and 78.86 ml. It is exact: ⅓ of 48 teaspoons is 16 teaspoons.

Is a US cup the same as a metric cup?

No. A US cup is 236.59 ml (8 US fluid ounces), a US legal cup, used on nutrition labels, is 240 ml, and the metric cup used in Australia, New Zealand and many Canadian recipes is 250 ml. The metric cup is about 6% bigger than a US cup, which matters in baking.

How big is a UK tablespoon?

UK recipes usually mean a 15 ml tablespoon (15 ml) and a 5 ml teaspoon, but conventions vary, and some older recipes use the 17.7 ml imperial tablespoon (⅝ imperial fluid ounce). If a UK recipe uses cups, it normally means the 250 ml metric cup. The UK setting here uses 15 ml and has no cup, so a cup is never guessed.

Why is there no conversion from cups to grams?

Because the answer depends on the ingredient and on how it is packed. A cup of flour can weigh anywhere from about 120 g to more than 150 g depending on whether it was spooned, scooped or sifted, and a cup of sugar, chopped nuts or grated cheese each weigh something different again. Any single grams-per-cup number would be wrong for most kitchens, so this tool converts volume to volume only. When a recipe gives grams, use a kitchen scale.

How much is a stick of butter in cups and tablespoons?

One US stick of butter is ½ cup, 8 tablespoons or 118.29 ml. The packaging prints its weight, about 113 g. Butter is the one ingredient this page gives a weight for, because the sticks are a fixed size and the weight is on the wrapper.

How do I scale a recipe up or down?

Divide the servings you want by the servings the recipe makes to get the factor, multiply every amount by it, and write the result in a unit you can measure. 1 1/2 cups for 4 servings, made for 6, is 1 1/2 × (6 ÷ 4) = 2 ¼ cups. The scaler moves to spoons for small amounts, so ¼ cup halved is 2 tbsp and ½ tsp × 1.5 is ¾ tsp. Seasoning, leavening and cooking time do not always scale in step with the amounts.

What is the difference between a US and an imperial pint?

A US pint is 473.176 ml (16 US fluid ounces); an imperial (UK) pint is 568.261 ml (20 imperial fluid ounces), so it is about 20% larger. The tool uses the one that belongs to the system you chose: pints and fluid ounces are US sizes in the US setting and imperial ones in the UK setting. A US pint is 473.18 ml, a UK pint 568.26 ml.

Does a fluid ounce measure weight?

No. A fluid ounce is a unit of volume. Ounces on a kitchen scale (avoirdupois ounces) measure weight, and the two are not interchangeable except by coincidence for water. The tool therefore reads “fl oz” as volume and refuses a bare “oz”.

Cooking Measurement Converter

A US cup is 236.59 ml, which is 16 US tablespoons or 48 teaspoons, so ¾ cup = 177.44 ml = 12 tbsp and ⅓ cup = 5 tbsp + 1 tsp. Cup and spoon sizes differ by country: a US legal (nutrition label) cup is 240 ml, a metric cup is 250 ml, a tablespoon is 14.79 ml in the US, 15 ml in UK recipes and 20 ml in Australia. Choose the system first and nothing is mixed silently. This converts volume only, not grams: how much a cup weighs depends on what is in it.

Updated 2026-10-03Runs in your browser: nothing you enter is uploadedHow this tool works

1. Which cups and spoons?

Measuring system

US cup 236.59 ml (8 US fl oz), tablespoon 14.79 ml, teaspoon 4.93 ml. Pints, quarts and gallons are US sizes.

2. Convert an amount

3/4 cup = 177.44 ml

177.44 ml

Sizes used: US customary.

Milliliters: 177.44 ml
Cups, kitchen fraction: ¾ cup
Tablespoons + teaspoons: 12 tbsp
Teaspoons: 36 tsp
Tablespoons: 12 tbsp
Fluid ounces: 6 fl oz

3. Scale a recipe

1 1/2 cups × (6 ÷ 4) = 2 ¼ cups

2 ¼ cups

Scaled by 1.5 (serves 4 to 6), US customary sizes.

Scale factor: × 1.5
Milliliters: 532.32 ml
Cups, kitchen fraction: 2 ¼ cups
Teaspoons: 108 tsp
Tablespoons: 36 tbsp
Fluid ounces: 18 fl oz

Volume only: this never turns cups into grams, because that depends on the ingredient.

Cup fractions in tablespoons, teaspoons and ml (US)

US customary sizes: 1 cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons. Every row is computed from the exact US cup, 236.5882365 ml.
Cups	Tablespoons + teaspoons	Teaspoons	Milliliters
⅛ cup	2 tbsp	6 tsp	29.57 ml
¼ cup	4 tbsp	12 tsp	59.15 ml
⅓ cup	5 tbsp + 1 tsp	16 tsp	78.86 ml
⅜ cup	6 tbsp	18 tsp	88.72 ml
½ cup	8 tbsp	24 tsp	118.29 ml
⅝ cup	10 tbsp	30 tsp	147.87 ml
⅔ cup	10 tbsp + 2 tsp	32 tsp	157.73 ml
¾ cup	12 tbsp	36 tsp	177.44 ml
⅞ cup	14 tbsp	42 tsp	207.01 ml
1 cup	16 tbsp	48 tsp	236.59 ml

The same cup in ml by system

A cup is not one size. Australia and New Zealand use the 250 ml metric cup; US nutrition labels round the cup to 240 ml.
Cups	US customary	US legal (label)	Metric / Australian
⅛ cup	29.57 ml	30 ml	31.25 ml
¼ cup	59.15 ml	60 ml	62.5 ml
⅓ cup	78.86 ml	80 ml	83.33 ml
⅜ cup	88.72 ml	90 ml	93.75 ml
½ cup	118.29 ml	120 ml	125 ml
⅝ cup	147.87 ml	150 ml	156.25 ml
⅔ cup	157.73 ml	160 ml	166.67 ml
¾ cup	177.44 ml	180 ml	187.5 ml
⅞ cup	207.01 ml	210 ml	218.75 ml
1 cup	236.59 ml	240 ml	250 ml

Spoon and cup sizes by system

The sizes the system setting in the tool uses. The UK has no standard cup; a UK recipe that says “cup” usually means the 250 ml metric cup.
System	Teaspoon	Tablespoon	Teaspoons per tablespoon	Cup	Tablespoons per cup
US customary	4.929 ml	14.787 ml	3	236.588 ml	16
US legal (nutrition label)	5 ml	15 ml	3	240 ml	16
Metric (250 ml cup)	5 ml	15 ml	3	250 ml	16.667
Australian (20 ml tablespoon)	5 ml	20 ml	4	250 ml	12.5
UK imperial (15 ml tablespoon)	5 ml	15 ml	3	none	none

US and imperial fluid measures

A US pint is 16 US fluid ounces; an imperial pint is 20 imperial fluid ounces. Fluid ounces measure volume, not weight.
Unit	US	Imperial (UK)
1 fluid ounce	29.5735 ml	28.4131 ml
1 pint	473.176 ml	568.261 ml
1 quart	946.353 ml	1136.523 ml
1 gallon	3785.412 ml	4546.09 ml

Butter sticks in tablespoons and cups (US)

One US stick is ½ cup, or 8 tablespoons. Its weight, 113 g, is printed on the packaging; this table is volume only.
Butter	Tablespoons	Cups	Milliliters
¼ stick	2 tbsp	⅛ cup	29.57 ml
½ stick	4 tbsp	¼ cup	59.15 ml
1 stick	8 tbsp	½ cup	118.29 ml
2 sticks	16 tbsp	1 cup	236.59 ml

How to convert cups, tablespoons and ml in a recipe

Choose the system. Pick the sizes the recipe was written for: US customary (cup 236.59 ml), US legal, metric (250 ml cup), Australian (20 ml tablespoon) or UK (15 ml tablespoon). The conversion uses only that system’s cup, tablespoon and teaspoon.
Enter the amount and the units. Type the amount as a fraction, a mixed number or a decimal (3/4, 1 1/2, 0.75), then choose what it is in and what to convert to. ¾ cup in ml gives 177.44 ml.
Read the kitchen version. Below the exact figure the tool writes the amount the way a measuring set is marked: ¼ cup, ⅓ cup, and spoon combinations such as ⅓ cup = 5 tbsp + 1 tsp. A rounded amount is marked “about”.
Scale the recipe if you need to. In the recipe scaler, type an ingredient amount with its unit, the servings the recipe makes and the servings you want. 1 1/2 cups for 4 servings becomes 2 ¼ cups for 6.
Weigh, do not convert, when a recipe gives grams. If a recipe lists both cups and grams, trust the grams: a cup of flour, sugar or chopped nuts weighs a different amount each time and for each ingredient, so a scale is the accurate tool.

Frequently asked questions

How many tablespoons are in a cup?: A US cup holds 16 US tablespoons (236.59 ml ÷ 14.787 ml). The count changes with the system: a metric 250 ml cup holds 16.667 tbsp of the 15 ml tablespoons, and an Australian cup holds 12.5 tbsp of Australia’s 20 ml tablespoons.
How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon?: Three in the US, UK and metric systems (a US tablespoon is 14.79 ml and a teaspoon 4.93 ml). Australia’s tablespoon is 20 ml with a 5 ml teaspoon, so it holds four. That difference is why a spoonful-heavy recipe can taste different when it crosses the Pacific.
What is ⅓ cup in tablespoons?: ⅓ US cup is 5 tbsp + 1 tsp, which is 16 tsp in all and 78.86 ml. It is exact: ⅓ of 48 teaspoons is 16 teaspoons.
Is a US cup the same as a metric cup?: No. A US cup is 236.59 ml (8 US fluid ounces), a US legal cup, used on nutrition labels, is 240 ml, and the metric cup used in Australia, New Zealand and many Canadian recipes is 250 ml. The metric cup is about 6% bigger than a US cup, which matters in baking.
How big is a UK tablespoon?: UK recipes usually mean a 15 ml tablespoon (15 ml) and a 5 ml teaspoon, but conventions vary, and some older recipes use the 17.7 ml imperial tablespoon (⅝ imperial fluid ounce). If a UK recipe uses cups, it normally means the 250 ml metric cup. The UK setting here uses 15 ml and has no cup, so a cup is never guessed.
Why is there no conversion from cups to grams?: Because the answer depends on the ingredient and on how it is packed. A cup of flour can weigh anywhere from about 120 g to more than 150 g depending on whether it was spooned, scooped or sifted, and a cup of sugar, chopped nuts or grated cheese each weigh something different again. Any single grams-per-cup number would be wrong for most kitchens, so this tool converts volume to volume only. When a recipe gives grams, use a kitchen scale.
How much is a stick of butter in cups and tablespoons?: One US stick of butter is ½ cup, 8 tablespoons or 118.29 ml. The packaging prints its weight, about 113 g. Butter is the one ingredient this page gives a weight for, because the sticks are a fixed size and the weight is on the wrapper.
How do I scale a recipe up or down?: Divide the servings you want by the servings the recipe makes to get the factor, multiply every amount by it, and write the result in a unit you can measure. 1 1/2 cups for 4 servings, made for 6, is 1 1/2 × (6 ÷ 4) = 2 ¼ cups. The scaler moves to spoons for small amounts, so ¼ cup halved is 2 tbsp and ½ tsp × 1.5 is ¾ tsp. Seasoning, leavening and cooking time do not always scale in step with the amounts.
What is the difference between a US and an imperial pint?: A US pint is 473.176 ml (16 US fluid ounces); an imperial (UK) pint is 568.261 ml (20 imperial fluid ounces), so it is about 20% larger. The tool uses the one that belongs to the system you chose: pints and fluid ounces are US sizes in the US setting and imperial ones in the UK setting. A US pint is 473.18 ml, a UK pint 568.26 ml.
Does a fluid ounce measure weight?: No. A fluid ounce is a unit of volume. Ounces on a kitchen scale (avoirdupois ounces) measure weight, and the two are not interchangeable except by coincidence for water. The tool therefore reads “fl oz” as volume and refuses a bare “oz”.

How it works

Every amount is converted to milliliters and then to the unit you asked for, using the sizes of the system you chose. US sizes are exact: 1 US gallon = 3785.411784 ml, so a US cup (1/16 gallon) is 236.5882365 ml, a US fluid ounce 29.5735295625 ml, a tablespoon 14.78676478125 ml and a teaspoon a third of that. The legal (label) sizes are 240 ml, 15 ml and 5 ml; the metric cup is 250 ml; an Australian tablespoon is 20 ml; imperial units use the legal definitions of the UK (imperial pint 568.26125 ml). The kitchen versions round to the nearest ⅛ cup or ⅓ cup and to the nearest ⅛ teaspoon, and say “about” when they have rounded. Only volume is converted: densities differ by ingredient and by how it is packed, so no grams are given except the 113 g printed on a US butter stick. Everything runs in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Sources

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