Convert US cups to millilitres

Content last reviewed:2026-09-07

Type a number of cups from an American recipe and read the result in millilitres. One US customary cup is 236.59 millilitres, and a 3/4 typed straight from the recipe gives 177.44 millilitres. Below you will find a 55-row table with fractions, the tablespoon count of a cup and every cup size compared. Two American cups, written 2 US cup, come to 473.2 millilitres. For example, 2 US cup is 473.18 ml.

Cups

US cup

Millilitres

Cup type

US customary: 236.59 ml, the volume an American measuring cup holds and what one cup means in a recipe. US legal: 240 ml, the figure written into American food-labelling law. Metric: 250 ml, the cup used in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

How many millilitres are in one cup?

One US customary cup is 236.59 millilitres. The legal cup used on food labels holds exactly 240 millilitres[1], and the metric cup exactly 250.

Three measures mean three answers to one question, so the measure follows the origin of the recipe. A recipe written in the United States means the customary cup. A Nutrition Facts panel means the legal cup. A recipe from Australia, New Zealand or Canada means the metric cup.

You set the measure with the Cup type switch under the converter fields. The US customary cup is the default, because that is what a recipe means when it says one cup.

For the calculation in the other direction, use the millilitres to cups converter.

A plastic 180 millilitre rice measuring cup standing in front of a rice cooker — The cup that ships with a rice cooker holds 180 millilitres, which is 0.7608 of a US customary cup. Its graduations count portions of rice rather than cups, and the capacity comes from the old Japanese gō. Photo: C9mVio9JRy, CC0.

Where does the figure 236.5882365 millilitres come from?

A US cup is a sixteenth of a US gallon, so its capacity follows straight from the definition of the gallon.

The whole calculation takes three steps. A US gallon is exactly 231 cubic inches. An inch is exactly 2.54 centimetres, so the gallon holds 3,785.411784 millilitres. Divide that by sixteen and 236.5882365 millilitres is left, which is the full, unrounded capacity of a cup[2].

Smaller kitchen measures describe the same unit from below. A US cup is eight fluid ounces, sixteen tablespoons or forty-eight teaspoons. That is where the rule American recipes repeat comes from: sixteen tablespoons make a cup.

The metric cup arrived by a different route, adopted simply as a quarter of a litre. It grew out of the metre, yet the International Bureau of Weights and Measures does not recognise it, so it sits outside the SI — just like the litre, which is a special name for the cubic decimetre.

How do you convert cups to ml? Formula and fractions

Multiply the number of cups by the capacity of the measure your recipe uses.

Formula: millilitres = cups × 236.5882365 for the US customary cup. The multiplier is 240 for the legal cup and 250 for the metric one.

American recipes state volumes as fractions, because that is how nested measuring sets are sold: 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 and 1 cup, with 2/3 and 3/4 marked on the scale as well[3]. That is why the converter field reads fractions exactly as the recipe writes them.

Type 3/4 and you get 177.44 millilitres. Type 2 1/2 with a space between the whole number and the fraction and you get 591.47 millilitres. Decimals work the same way, and the full stop and the comma are interchangeable, so 2.5 and 2,5 give the same answer.

Three fractions come up more than any others. Half a US cup is 118.29 millilitres. A third gives 78.86 millilitres. A quarter is 59.15 millilitres.

A result in litres is handled by the litres to millilitres converter, and recipe values in fluid ounces by the fluid ounces to millilitres converter.

How many millilitres is a given number of cups?

Rows run from a sixteenth of a cup up to thirty-two cups, and the fractions are written exactly as they appear in American recipes. The three columns match the three options on the Cup type switch.

Cups	US customary cup	US legal cup	Metric cup
1/16	14.79 ml	15 ml	15.63 ml
1/8	29.57 ml	30 ml	31.25 ml
1/6	39.43 ml	40 ml	41.67 ml
1/4	59.15 ml	60 ml	62.5 ml
1/3	78.86 ml	80 ml	83.33 ml
3/8	88.72 ml	90 ml	93.75 ml
1/2	118.29 ml	120 ml	125 ml
5/8	147.87 ml	150 ml	156.25 ml
2/3	157.73 ml	160 ml	166.67 ml
3/4	177.44 ml	180 ml	187.5 ml
7/8	207.01 ml	210 ml	218.75 ml
1	236.59 ml	240 ml	250 ml
1 1/4	295.74 ml	300 ml	312.5 ml
1 1/3	315.45 ml	320 ml	333.33 ml
1 1/2	354.88 ml	360 ml	375 ml
1 2/3	394.31 ml	400 ml	416.67 ml
1 3/4	414.03 ml	420 ml	437.5 ml
2	473.18 ml	480 ml	500 ml
2 1/4	532.32 ml	540 ml	562.5 ml
2 1/3	552.04 ml	560 ml	583.33 ml
2 1/2	591.47 ml	600 ml	625 ml
2 2/3	630.9 ml	640 ml	666.67 ml
2 3/4	650.62 ml	660 ml	687.5 ml
3	709.76 ml	720 ml	750 ml
3 1/4	768.91 ml	780 ml	812.5 ml
3 1/3	788.63 ml	800 ml	833.33 ml
3 1/2	828.06 ml	840 ml	875 ml
3 3/4	887.21 ml	900 ml	937.5 ml
4	946.35 ml	960 ml	1000 ml
4 1/4	1005.5 ml	1020 ml	1062.5 ml
4 1/2	1064.65 ml	1080 ml	1125 ml
4 3/4	1123.79 ml	1140 ml	1187.5 ml
5	1182.94 ml	1200 ml	1250 ml
5 1/4	1242.09 ml	1260 ml	1312.5 ml
5 1/2	1301.24 ml	1320 ml	1375 ml
5 3/4	1360.38 ml	1380 ml	1437.5 ml
6	1419.53 ml	1440 ml	1500 ml
6 1/2	1537.82 ml	1560 ml	1625 ml
7	1656.12 ml	1680 ml	1750 ml
7 1/2	1774.41 ml	1800 ml	1875 ml
8	1892.71 ml	1920 ml	2000 ml
8 1/2	2011 ml	2040 ml	2125 ml
9	2129.29 ml	2160 ml	2250 ml
9 1/2	2247.59 ml	2280 ml	2375 ml
10	2365.88 ml	2400 ml	2500 ml
11	2602.47 ml	2640 ml	2750 ml
12	2839.06 ml	2880 ml	3000 ml
13	3075.65 ml	3120 ml	3250 ml
14	3312.24 ml	3360 ml	3500 ml
15	3548.82 ml	3600 ml	3750 ml
16	3785.41 ml	3840 ml	4000 ml
18	4258.59 ml	4320 ml	4500 ml
20	4731.76 ml	4800 ml	5000 ml
24	5678.12 ml	5760 ml	6000 ml
32	7570.82 ml	7680 ml	8000 ml

Every value here can go into the converter field in the form shown in the first column — the fraction 5/8 and the mixed number 1 3/4 are both read correctly. The metric column gives the roundest results at fractions, because a quarter of a metric cup is exactly 62.5 millilitres.

How many millilitres are in the measures and spoons of a recipe?

The American nested set, the international metric measures and the Australian ones side by side. The difference sits in the tablespoon, and that is what decides the result on smaller quantities.

Measure	US system	International system	Australian system
1 cup	236.59 ml	250 ml	250 ml
3/4 cup	177.44 ml	187.5 ml	187.5 ml
2/3 cup	157.73 ml	166.67 ml	166.67 ml
1/2 cup	118.29 ml	125 ml	125 ml
1/3 cup	78.86 ml	83.33 ml	83.33 ml
1/4 cup	59.15 ml	62.5 ml	62.5 ml
1 tablespoon	14.79 ml	15 ml	20 ml
1 teaspoon	4.93 ml	5 ml	5 ml
Tablespoons in one cup	16	16.67	12.5
Teaspoons in one cup	48	50	50

An Australian tablespoon holds 20 millilitres where the international one holds 15[4]. It follows that an Australian cup takes 12.5 tablespoons while an American recipe counts sixteen. On a single spoon the gap is small, but across four it grows to 20 millilitres, a full extra tablespoon.

How many millilitres is a cup in different countries?

The middle column says what each measure comes to in US customary cups, the measure most recipes mean.

Type of cup	Millilitres	In US customary cups	Where you meet it
US customary cup	236.5882365 ml	1	United States: recipes and measuring sets
US legal cup	240 ml	1.0144	United States: Nutrition Facts panels
Metric cup	250 ml	1.0567	Australia, New Zealand and Canada
European quarter-litre carton	250 ml	1.0567	Continental Europe: packaging
Pre-metric Canadian cup	227.3045 ml	0.9608	Canada until the 1970s
Japanese cup	200 ml	0.8454	Japan: modern recipes
Gō	180.4 ml	0.7625	Japan: rice and sake
Rice cooker cup	180 ml	0.7608	Rice cookers sold worldwide
British cup of 1894	170.48 ml	0.7206	Older British cookbooks
Drip coffee maker cup	148 ml	0.6256	Coffee makers and their carafes

The Japanese gō was fixed by law in 1891 at 2401/13310 of a litre, about 180.4 millilitres, and its metric rounding to 180 millilitres is the cup manufacturers ship with rice cookers[5]. A 720 millilitre sake bottle holds exactly four gō.

How do you measure a cup without a nested measuring set?

An American recipe assumes a set of cup measures, yet the same volumes come out of equipment most kitchens already have.

With a jug graduated in millilitres
Read off the table above how many millilitres match the fraction in the recipe, then pour to that mark. Check the level at eye height from the bottom of the meniscus, which is what liquid measures are built for — they carry a scale and a pouring spout[3].
With a kitchen scale, when the recipe prints grams too
American baking recipes increasingly give grams next to cups, because the same volume of flour and sugar carries a different weight. When both figures are printed, the scale gives a repeatable result every time you bake.
With a tablespoon
Sixteen tablespoons make a US cup, eight make half a cup and four make a quarter. With a 15 millilitre metric tablespoon a metric cup needs 16.67 spoons, so the nearest convenient portion is sixteen tablespoons and two teaspoons.
With a metric measuring cup from a European kitchen
A European measuring jug is graduated in millilitres and often in grams for flour, sugar and rice as well. Set the switch to metric and a cup count from the recipe turns straight into quarter-litre marks on the jug.

How many millilitres is 2 cups of flour, and how many is 2 cups of milk?

473.18 millilitres in both cases, because a cup measures volume and a measure filled to the same mark holds as much flour as milk.

The weight of that portion is what depends on the ingredient. Milk sits close to the density of water, so two cups weigh nearly 490 grams. Wheat flour is far lighter at the same volume, and two cups give between 240 and 280 grams depending on whether the flour was sifted in or scooped straight from the bag[2].

That is why an American recipe states volume while a European one states weight. When a source prints both figures, pick the one your equipment measures more comfortably.

Convert other units to Millilitres

oz to ml liters to ml

Sources

21 CFR 101.9 — Nutrition labeling of food — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
Cup (unit) — Wikipedia
Measuring cup — Wikipedia
Tablespoon — Wikipedia
Ge (unit) — Wikipedia

Every figure in the tables was computed from the unit definitions and checked arithmetically before publication. Historical values and the names of local units come from the sources listed above.

Content last reviewed: September 7, 2026 · written and checked by the Arteon team

Common questions about converting cups to millilitres

How many millilitres is half a cup?

Half a US customary cup is 118.29 millilitres. In the legal cup it comes to exactly 120 millilitres. In the metric cup it is 125 millilitres, a full quarter of half a litre.

How many millilitres is 3/4 cup?

Three quarters of a US customary cup is 177.44 millilitres. The legal cup gives 180 millilitres and the metric cup 187.5. You can type 3/4 into the converter field exactly in that form.

How many millilitres is 1/3 cup?

A third of a US customary cup is 78.86 millilitres. In the legal cup it comes to exactly 80 millilitres. In the metric cup it is 83.33 millilitres. A third is one of the four sizes an American nested measuring set is sold in.

How many tablespoons make one cup?

Sixteen US tablespoons of 14.79 millilitres each make a US cup. A metric cup takes 16.67 spoons at 15 millilitres. With the Australian tablespoon of 20 millilitres, 12.5 spoons are enough.

How many cups is a pint?

A US liquid pint is exactly two US customary cups, or 473.18 millilitres. An imperial pint is larger at 568.26 millilitres, which comes to 2.4018 US cups — British pubs pour that measure, and British recipes state volumes in millilitres rather than cups.

How many fluid ounces are in one cup?

Eight US fluid ounces, and that ratio is where the capacity of the cup comes from. One US fluid ounce is 29.5735 millilitres. The fluid ounces to millilitres converter handles both the US and the imperial ounce.

Is the cup that comes with a rice cooker one cup?

It holds 180 millilitres, which is 0.7608 of a US customary cup. That is the metric rounding of the Japanese gō[5]. The cup used in modern Japanese recipes is a separate measure of exactly 200 millilitres.

Where does the 284 ml figure listed as an imperial cup come from?

It is half an imperial pint. No imperial culinary measuring cup was ever established, and British cookbooks from the end of the nineteenth century gave a cup as six imperial fluid ounces, about 170.48 millilitres[2]. British recipes today state volumes in millilitres or fluid ounces.

Arteon free tool screenshot: Convert US cups to millilitres

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