Cup · Tablespoon · Teaspoon · ml · Litre · fl oz · Pint · Quart · Gallon
Convert cooking measurements between US and metric units instantly. Essential for scaling recipes, adapting international cookbooks and baking with precision.
Result
1 cup (US) = 16 tbsp = 48 tsp|1 tbsp = 14.79 ml|1 cup (metric) = 250 ml
About Cooking Measurements
Cooking measurements vary between the US system (cups, fluid ounces, pints) and the metric system (millilitres, litres). The difference matters most in baking, where precise ratios of ingredients directly affect results. A recipe from an American cookbook uses 236.6 ml cups; one from an Australian or British cookbook uses 250 ml cups — a 5.5% difference that compounds when scaling recipes.
🇺🇸 US Cooking Measurements
The US system uses cups (236.6 ml), tablespoons (14.79 ml) and teaspoons (4.93 ml) as the primary volume units. The hierarchy is: 1 gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints = 16 cups = 128 fl oz. US tablespoons and teaspoons differ slightly from metric equivalents — 1 US tsp = 4.93 ml vs 5 ml metric. For most savoury cooking this difference is negligible; for baking it can matter.
🌍 Metric Cooking Measurements
Metric cooking uses millilitres and litres exclusively. A metric cup = 250 ml, a metric tablespoon = 15 ml, a metric teaspoon = 5 ml. Australia, Canada, New Zealand and most European countries use metric cups. The UK uses metric volumes in modern recipes but older recipes may reference Imperial measurements (1 UK pint = 568 ml, much larger than the US pint of 473 ml).
For baking precision: Use ml or grams rather than cups when following recipes from a different country. Ingredient density varies too — 1 cup of flour is approximately 120–140g depending on how it was scooped. Weight measurements (grams/ounces) are always more accurate than volume for dry ingredients in baking.
Cooking Measurement Reference Chart
Common cooking unit equivalents for quick reference.
Unit
ml
US Cup
Tablespoons
Teaspoons
1 US Cup
236.6 ml
1 cup
16 tbsp
48 tsp
1 Metric Cup
250 ml
1.057 cups
16.67 tbsp
50 tsp
1 US Tablespoon
14.79 ml
1/16 cup
1 tbsp
3 tsp
1 US Teaspoon
4.93 ml
1/48 cup
1/3 tbsp
1 tsp
1 Fluid Ounce (US)
29.57 ml
1/8 cup
2 tbsp
6 tsp
1 US Pint
473.2 ml
2 cups
32 tbsp
96 tsp
1 US Quart
946.4 ml
4 cups
64 tbsp
192 tsp
1 US Gallon
3785 ml
16 cups
256 tbsp
768 tsp
Frequently Asked Questions — Cooking Units Converter
One US cup equals 16 tablespoons or 48 teaspoons. One metric cup (250 ml) equals approximately 16.67 metric tablespoons (15 ml each). This is one of the most useful cooking ratios to memorise: 1 cup = 16 tbsp = 48 tsp.
One US tablespoon equals approximately 14.79 ml. One metric tablespoon (used in Australia, Canada, UK) equals exactly 15 ml. One US teaspoon equals approximately 4.93 ml; one metric teaspoon equals 5 ml. For most recipes the difference between US and metric tablespoons is negligible, but for baking precision use metric tablespoons (15 ml each).
250 ml equals approximately 1.057 US cups, or exactly 1 metric cup. This is why Australian and British recipes that use 'cup' differ slightly from US recipes — 250 ml vs 236.6 ml. When baking, this 5.5% difference compounds across multiple cup measurements. Use this converter to ensure accuracy when adapting international recipes.
There are exactly 3 teaspoons in 1 tablespoon, in both US and metric systems. This ratio is universal: 1 tbsp = 3 tsp. Conversely, 1 teaspoon = ⅓ tablespoon. A US tablespoon is ~14.79 ml (3 × 4.93 ml), and a metric tablespoon is exactly 15 ml (3 × 5 ml).
A US cup is 236.588 ml while a metric cup (used in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK) is exactly 250 ml. The difference is about 5.5% — small for most savoury recipes but significant in baking where precise ratios matter. Always check which standard your recipe uses. A recipe from an Australian cookbook uses 250 ml cups; a recipe from an American cookbook uses ~237 ml cups.
One US cup = 236.588 ml (approximately 237 ml). One metric cup = exactly 250 ml. For most practical purposes, US cooks use 240 ml as a rounded cup value. For baking precision, use 236.6 ml per US cup. The UK metric cup is 250 ml; the old UK Imperial cup (rarely used today) was 284 ml.
One US fluid ounce = 29.5735 ml. One UK/Imperial fluid ounce = 28.4131 ml. Note: US and UK fluid ounces differ! For recipes: 1 fl oz ≈ 30 ml is a useful approximation. So 8 fl oz (1 US cup) = 236.6 ml; 16 fl oz (1 US pint) = 473.2 ml. A UK pint is 20 fl oz = 568 ml, significantly larger than a US pint of 16 fl oz = 473 ml.