Volume Converter

Recipes cross borders more than any other measurement. An American blog gives cups, an Indian packet gives millilitres, a British one gives fluid ounces, and the milk in the fridge is a gallon — sometimes the imperial gallon, which is not the same gallon. This converter scales any liquid measure you enter into kitchen units and litres together, so the jug you pick is actually the right size.

Enter values

Results

In US cups (cup): 2.1134
In litres (L): 0.5
In tablespoons (tbsp): 33.814
In teaspoons (tsp): 101.4421
In US fluid ounces (fl oz): 16.907
Exact factor: 1 mL = 0.0042267528 cup

How is the Volume Converter calculated?

Type the volume, select the unit printed on the recipe or the packet, and select the unit you need. Your answer is the headline figure, with litres, tablespoons, teaspoons and fluid ounces alongside for a sanity check, and the exact factor (1 cup = 236.5882365 mL) at the bottom. The selects use US customary sizes, because that is what online recipes mean; the imperial gallon is listed separately.

Formula

Convert through litres: L = value × from factor, then target = L ÷ to factor. Exact factors: 1 US cup = 236.5882365 mL · 1 tbsp = 14.78676478125 mL (3 tsp) · 1 fl oz = 29.5735295625 mL · 1 US gal = 3.785411784 L · 1 imperial gal = 4.54609 L.

Example

A recipe wants 500 mL of stock: 500 ÷ 236.5882365 = 2.11 US cups, so one level cup plus a sixth. A 750 mL wine bottle holds 750 ÷ 29.5735295625 = 25.36 fl oz. Fuel catches people twice — a US gallon is 3.785 L while an imperial gallon is 4.546 L — so '40 mpg' means very different efficiency depending on which gallon the badge used.

Things to remember

Kitchen conversions drift when volume turns into weight: a cup of flour is about 120 g but a cup of water is 240 g, because cups measure space, not mass. Use this page for liquids and spoon measures, weigh dry ingredients in grams instead, and remember that metric cookbooks outside the US often mean a 250 mL cup.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many millilitres are in one US cup?

236.5882365 mL. The US cup is 8 fluid ounces of 29.5735295625 mL each, so two cups are 473.18 mL and half a cup is 118.29 mL — handy when a recipe has to scale by thirds rather than halves.

Is a metric cup the same as a US cup?

No. A metric cup is 250 mL in Australia and much of Asia, while the US cup is 236.59 mL — about 5.5% smaller. A recipe that says 'cups' without naming its country is ambiguous, so check the source before you pour.

How do I convert litres to gallons?

Divide litres by 3.785411784 for US gallons: 10 L becomes 2.64 gal. For imperial gallons divide by 4.54609 instead: 10 L becomes 2.20 imp gal. The two gallons differ by about 20%, which is why fuel numbers never match across the Atlantic.

Why do American and British pints disagree?

They are different pints. The US pint is 16 fluid ounces or 473 mL, while the imperial pint is 20 ounces or 568 mL — a quarter more beer for the same word. This calculator names each unit's convention so you never inherit the ambiguity.