Cups to mL Converter
Geometry & trigFreeNo sign-up
One US cup is 236.588 mL, usually rounded to 240 mL (the nutrition-label cup) or 237 mL. A metric cup is 250 mL, a UK half-pint cup is 284 mL and a Japanese cup is 200 mL.
Enter your numbers
Your result
1 US cup equals 236.588 milliliters. In kitchen terms that is about 240 mL.
Conversion factor
- 1 US cup = 236.5882365 milliliters
- 1 milliliter = 0.004226752838 US cups
- US cup = 236.588 mL
Show the steps
- Amount: 1 US cup.
- To milliliters: 1 × 236.5882365 mL = 236.5882365 mL.
- To milliliters: 236.5882365 ÷ 1 mL = 236.5882365.
Check which cup your recipe uses. The difference between a US cup and a metric cup is 5.7 percent, enough to change a cake.
Quick lookup chart: US cups to milliliters
Every row is calculated live from the same factor shown above.
| US cups | milliliters | liters | US fluid ounces |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⅛ | 29.574 mLKitchen: 30 mL | 0.029574 LKitchen: 0.05 L | 1 fl ozKitchen: 1 fl oz |
| ¼ | 59.147 mLKitchen: 60 mL | 0.059147 LKitchen: 0.05 L | 2 fl ozKitchen: 2 fl oz |
| ⅓ | 78.863 mLKitchen: 80 mL | 0.078863 LKitchen: 0.1 L | 2.6667 fl ozKitchen: 2 ¾ fl oz |
| ⅜ | 88.721 mLKitchen: 90 mL | 0.088721 LKitchen: 0.1 L | 3 fl ozKitchen: 3 fl oz |
| ½ | 118.29 mLKitchen: 120 mL | 0.11829 LKitchen: 0.1 L | 4 fl ozKitchen: 4 fl oz |
| ⅔ | 157.73 mLKitchen: 160 mL | 0.15773 LKitchen: 0.15 L | 5.3333 fl ozKitchen: 5 ¼ fl oz |
| ¾ | 177.44 mLKitchen: 180 mL | 0.17744 LKitchen: 0.2 L | 6 fl ozKitchen: 6 fl oz |
| ⅞ | 207.01 mLKitchen: 210 mL | 0.20701 LKitchen: 0.2 L | 7 fl ozKitchen: 7 fl oz |
| 1 | 236.59 mLKitchen: 240 mL | 0.23659 LKitchen: 0.25 L | 8 fl ozKitchen: 8 fl oz |
| 1 ½ | 354.88 mLKitchen: 350 mL | 0.35488 LKitchen: 0.35 L | 12 fl ozKitchen: 12 fl oz |
| 2 | 473.18 mLKitchen: 470 mL | 0.47318 LKitchen: 0.45 L | 16 fl ozKitchen: 16 fl oz |
| 3 | 709.76 mLKitchen: 710 mL | 0.70976 LKitchen: 0.7 L | 24 fl ozKitchen: 24 fl oz |
| 4 | 946.35 mLKitchen: 950 mL | 0.94635 LKitchen: 0.95 L | 32 fl ozKitchen: 32 fl oz |
Common recipe fractions of a cup in milliliters
Kitchen answers round to the nearest 10 mL above 100 mL, which is how most metric recipes are written.
| Recipe amount (US cup) | milliliters | US fluid ounces | US tablespoons |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⅛ | 29.574 mLKitchen: 30 mL | 1 fl ozKitchen: 1 fl oz | 2 tbspKitchen: 2 tbsp |
| ¼ | 59.147 mLKitchen: 60 mL | 2 fl ozKitchen: 2 fl oz | 4 tbspKitchen: 4 tbsp |
| ⅓ | 78.863 mLKitchen: 80 mL | 2.6667 fl ozKitchen: 2 ¾ fl oz | 5.3333 tbspKitchen: 5 tbsp 1 tsp |
| ⅜ | 88.721 mLKitchen: 90 mL | 3 fl ozKitchen: 3 fl oz | 6 tbspKitchen: 6 tbsp |
| ½ | 118.29 mLKitchen: 120 mL | 4 fl ozKitchen: 4 fl oz | 8 tbspKitchen: 8 tbsp |
| ⅝ | 147.87 mLKitchen: 150 mL | 5 fl ozKitchen: 5 fl oz | 10 tbspKitchen: 10 tbsp |
| ⅔ | 157.73 mLKitchen: 160 mL | 5.3333 fl ozKitchen: 5 ¼ fl oz | 10.667 tbspKitchen: 10 tbsp 2 tsp |
| ¾ | 177.44 mLKitchen: 180 mL | 6 fl ozKitchen: 6 fl oz | 12 tbspKitchen: 12 tbsp |
| ⅞ | 207.01 mLKitchen: 210 mL | 7 fl ozKitchen: 7 fl oz | 14 tbspKitchen: 14 tbsp |
| 1 | 236.59 mLKitchen: 240 mL | 8 fl ozKitchen: 8 fl oz | 16 tbspKitchen: 16 tbsp |
Same number of cups, five different cups
1 cups in each standard. A recipe written for one cup size and measured with another is a common reason a bake goes wrong.
| Cup standard | One cup | 1 cups in mL | In US fluid ounces | Versus US cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US cup236.588 mL | 236.5882 mL | 236.588 mLKitchen: 240 mL | 8 fl oz | baseline |
| US legal cup240 mL, the nutrition label cup | 240 mL | 240 mLKitchen: 240 mL | 8.1154 fl oz | +1.44% |
| metric cup250 mL, used in Australia, New Zealand and Canada | 250 mL | 250 mLKitchen: 250 mL | 8.4535 fl oz | +5.67% |
| UK half-pint cup10 imperial fl oz, 284.131 mL (older UK kitchen cup) | 284.1306 mL | 284.131 mLKitchen: 280 mL | 9.6076 fl oz | +20.1% |
| Japanese cup200 mL (a rice cooker cup is 180 mL) | 200 mL | 200 mLKitchen: 200 mL | 6.7628 fl oz | −15.5% |
Cups to milliliters: pick the right cup
There is no single cup. A US customary cup is 236.5882365 mL, which comes from the US gallon of 3,785.411784 mL divided by 16. US nutrition labels use a 240 mL cup. Australia, New Zealand, Canada and many modern recipe books use a 250 mL cup. The older UK half-pint cup is 10 imperial fluid ounces, 284.13 mL, and the Japanese cup is 200 mL (a Japanese rice cooker cup is 180 mL, which is a different measure). The converter lets you choose each one and compare them in a table.
How to use it
- Enter the cups, or switch the From box to milliliters to go the other way.
- Choose the cup standard in the From box.
- Read the exact milliliters, the kitchen value and the other volume units shown in the cards.
- Use the chart for common sizes, or scale the amount for a bigger batch.
Exact or practical?
Exact mode shows every digit, such as 236.588 mL for one US cup. Kitchen mode rounds to what you can read on a jug: 240 mL for one cup, 120 mL for ½ cup, 60 mL for ¼ cup and 80 mL for ⅓ cup. The difference between exact and kitchen is under 2 percent in each case.
Which cup should I assume?
- American recipe or American brand: US customary cup (236.6 mL).
- Recipe with a nutrition label: US legal cup (240 mL).
- Australian, New Zealand or Canadian recipe: metric cup (250 mL).
- Vintage British recipe that says "cup": it may mean the half-pint cup (284 mL), but modern UK recipes use mL and grams, so check the other quantities for a clue.
- Japanese recipe: 200 mL. The cup that comes with a rice cooker is 180 mL, so do not mix them up.
Practice questions
Quiz complete
Sources
- NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8: conversion factors for US customary units
- 21 CFR 101.9(b)(5)(viii): household measures for nutrition labeling (FDA)
- Cup (unit): cup sizes by country (Wikipedia)
- Weights and Measures Act 1985, Schedule 1 (UK imperial gallon and fluid ounce)
- USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy: household measure gram weights
Quick check: test yourself
Question 1. About how many mL is a US customary cup?
Question 2. How many mL are in a metric cup?
Question 3. How many mL is ½ US cup, rounded for the kitchen?
Common questions
How many mL are in a cup?
A US customary cup is 236.588 mL. The US nutrition-label cup is 240 mL, the metric cup is 250 mL, the UK half-pint cup is 284.131 mL and the Japanese cup is 200 mL.
How many mL is ½ cup, ¼ cup and ⅓ cup?
In US cups: ½ cup is 118.3 mL, ¼ cup is 59.1 mL and ⅓ cup is 78.9 mL. Kitchen values are 120, 60 and 80 mL.
Is a cup 240 mL or 250 mL?
Both exist. 240 mL is the US label cup and 250 mL is the metric cup. The US customary cup sits between them at 236.6 mL.
How many cups are in 500 mL?
500 mL is 2.11 US cups, 2.08 US legal cups, 2 metric cups or 1.76 UK half-pint cups.
How many cups are in a liter?
1 liter is 4.23 US cups, 4.17 US legal cups, 4 metric cups or 3.52 UK half-pint cups.
Does a cup of flour have the same mL as a cup of water?
Yes. A cup is a volume, so it is the same number of mL for any ingredient. The weight is different, and you can see it by choosing an ingredient above.
Related calculators
Kitchen unit converters
More conversion tools
More geometry & trig calculators
Related to This Article
More math articles
- Civil rights enforcement
- How to Compare Money Amounts
- How Do You Pass the CBEST Math?
- Top 10 Tips to Create a CBEST Math Study Plan
- Using a Table to Write down a Two-Variable Equation
- The Best Grade 8 ELA Practice Tests for Oklahoma Students
- The Ultimate 7th Grade MEA Math Course (+FREE Worksheets)
- Number Properties Puzzle -Critical Thinking 5
- The Ultimate College Algebra Course (+FREE Worksheets & Tests)
- Slope Unity in Mean Value Theorem: Average Meets Instant
What people say about "Cups to mL Converter: US, Metric, UK and Japanese Cups"?
No one replied yet.