What this kitchen measurement converter does
American recipes measure liquids (and many powders) by volume: cups, tablespoons and teaspoons. Most of the rest of the world reaches for a measuring jug marked in milliliters, or a kitchen scale. This converter bridges the two: type an amount, pick the unit you’re starting from and the one you want, and read the answer instantly.
It handles the five measures you meet most in a kitchen: cups, milliliters, tablespoons, teaspoons and fluid ounces. Everything runs in your browser, with no connection and no sign-up.
How to use it
- Type the amount from the recipe (decimals are fine, e.g.
0.5for half a cup). - Pick the starting unit under From (say, “Cups”).
- Pick the unit you want under To (say, “Milliliters”).
- Read the large result. Below it you’ll see the same amount in every other unit, plus a table of common cup fractions.
The ⇄ button flips the from/to units in one tap, handy when you switch from “ml to cups” to “cups to ml”.
The method and the factors
Every conversion goes through milliliters first, then out to the target unit. These are the standard US equivalents baked into the app:
| Unit | Milliliters |
|---|---|
| 1 cup (US) | 236.59 ml |
| 1 fluid ounce (fl oz) | 29.57 ml |
| 1 tablespoon (tbsp) | 14.79 ml |
| 1 teaspoon (tsp) | 4.93 ml |
The math is short: ml = amount × source_factor, then target = ml ÷ target_factor.
Worked example
A recipe calls for 2 cups of milk and you want milliliters:
- 2 × 236.588 = 473.18 ml (a little under half a liter).
The other way round: you bought a 250 ml carton of cream and the recipe speaks in cups:
- 250 ÷ 236.588 = 1.057 cups, so just a touch more than one cup.
One tablespoon of oil is 1 × 14.7868 = 14.79 ml, and a teaspoon is 4.93 ml.
US cup vs. metric cup
Here’s the classic trap. The US cup is 236.59 ml and is what almost every English-language cookbook and food blog assumes. But there’s also the metric cup (used in Australia, New Zealand and some European recipes) that rounds to a neat 250 ml. The 13 ml gap rarely spoils a stew, but it matters in baking, where ratios are stricter. This converter always uses the US cup; if your recipe is Australian, multiply cups by 250 rather than trusting the output.
Equivalents worth memorizing
- 1 cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons = 8 fluid ounces.
- 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons.
- 1/2 cup = 118.29 ml; 1/4 cup = 59.15 ml.
Frequently asked questions
How many milliliters are in a cup?
It depends on the cup. The US cup, the most common in English recipes, holds 236.59 ml. The metric cup holds a round 250 ml. If the recipe doesn’t say, assume the US cup.
How many tablespoons are in a cup?
Exactly 16 tablespoons in a US cup. Since each tablespoon is 3 teaspoons, a cup also equals 48 teaspoons. That’s a lifesaver when you have measuring spoons but no measuring cup.
How do I convert a whole American recipe?
Run each liquid ingredient through this converter and jot the milliliters in the margin. For dry ingredients measured in cups (flour, sugar) volume doesn’t map to a fixed weight, so it’s best to look up the grams-per-cup for that specific ingredient; the ml value is only reliable for liquids.
Is the ounce in recipes weight or volume?
For liquids it’s the fluid ounce (fl oz), a volume measure of 29.57 ml. Don’t confuse it with the weight ounce (28.35 g) you see on meat or cheese. This converter always works with the fluid ounce.