Volume Converter
This volume converter turns US cooking measures, cups, fluid ounces, tablespoons, teaspoons, pints, quarts and gallons, into milliliters and liters, and back. Enter one amount and every unit updates live as you type, so scaling a recipe or reading a metric bottle label takes seconds instead of arithmetic.
Volume Converter tool
Converted to every unit
| Unit | Value |
|---|---|
| US cups | – |
| US fluid ounces (fl oz) | – |
| US tablespoons | – |
| US teaspoons | – |
| US pints | – |
| US quarts | – |
| US gallons | – |
| Milliliters (mL) | – |
| Liters (L) | – |
Tap a row value to copy it.
How to use it
- Type the value you want to convert.
- Pick the unit you are converting from.
- Read every other unit at once, and tap a value to copy it.
What is volume conversion?
Volume conversion, or capacity conversion, restates an amount of liquid in another unit. US kitchen measures all build on the fluid ounce, and metric recipes use milliliters, so the bridge between them is one factor:
milliliters = US fluid ounces × 29.5735A US cup is 8 fluid ounces, which makes it 236.6 mL; a tablespoon is 14.8 mL; and a gallon of 128 fluid ounces is 3.785 liters. Going the other way, one liter is 33.8 fluid ounces or 4.23 cups. The tool converts every unit through the liter, so any amount you type fills in all nine rows at once.
Worked example
US kitchen measures in milliliters
| Measure | Equals | Milliliters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 teaspoon | 1/3 tablespoon | 4.9 |
| 1 tablespoon | 3 teaspoons | 14.8 |
| 1 fluid ounce | 2 tablespoons | 29.6 |
| 1 cup | 8 fluid ounces | 236.6 |
| 1 pint | 2 cups | 473.2 |
| 1 quart | 2 pints | 946.4 |
| 1 gallon | 4 quarts | 3,785.4 |
US cups and metric milliliters
US cooking measures are all defined from the fluid ounce: a US cup is 8 fluid ounces, or 236.6 milliliters, a tablespoon is half a fluid ounce (14.8 mL), and a teaspoon is a third of a tablespoon (4.93 mL). Larger measures stack the same way: 2 cups to a pint (473 mL), 2 pints to a quart (946 mL), and 4 quarts to a gallon, which is 3.785 liters or 128 fluid ounces. Recipes written for a metric kitchen use milliliters and liters, so converting is the difference between a cake that works and one that does not.
In the other direction, one liter is 4.23 US cups, 33.8 fluid ounces or 1.057 quarts. A 500 mL bottle is 2.1 cups, and 250 mL is a shade over a US cup. If a recipe calls for 750 mL of stock, that is 3.17 cups, or 3 cups plus about 3 tablespoons, which is close enough to measure with what is in the drawer.
Cups are not the same everywhere
Watch the label on a recipe, because a US cup, 236.6 mL, is not the same as the 250 mL metric cup used in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, or the 240 mL ‘legal’ cup that US nutrition labels use. Imperial measures are larger still: a UK pint is 568 mL (20 imperial fluid ounces of 28.4 mL each) against the US pint's 473 mL, and an imperial gallon is 4.546 liters. Australian tablespoons are 20 mL, not 15. This converter uses US customary units, which is what American recipes mean.
Cups measure volume, and dry ingredients vary in density. A cup of all-purpose flour weighs about 120 to 130 grams depending on how it is scooped, while a cup of granulated sugar is about 200 grams. When a recipe gives grams, weigh; when it gives cups, use the conversions here for liquids and reach for a scale with anything you can pack down.
Common uses
- Converting recipes between cups and milliliters
- Scaling drink and batch recipes
- Reading metric measurements on packaging
- Measuring without the right cup on hand
- Converting gallons to liters for fuel and water
- Working out servings from a bottle or carton
When to use it
- A recipe calls for 750 mL of stock and your measuring cups read in cups (it is about 3.17 cups).
- You want to know how many ounces are in a gallon while mixing a drink cooler.
- You are scaling a European recipe from milliliters to cups and tablespoons.
- You are comparing price per liter with price per gallon at the store.
- You need to know how many cups are in 2 liters when a punch recipe meets a soda bottle (about 8.5 cups).
Related tools
The Weight Converter is the better match for flour and sugar, which bake more reliably by grams than by cups.
The Temperature Converter translates the oven setting in the same metric recipe.
The Length Converter rounds out the set for pan sizes given in centimeters.