What this calculator does
Kitchen volume measures are a mess because several countries independently defined a cup and a tablespoon and did not agree. A US cup is 236.59 ml, a metric cup is 250 ml, and the difference of about 5% is enough to matter in baking even though it rarely does in cooking.
The tablespoon is worse. Almost everywhere it is about 15 ml, but the Australian tablespoon is 20 ml, a full third larger. A recipe calling for three Australian tablespoons of something potent is not the same as three of anyone else, and this is the single most common source of a recipe going wrong across regions.
The formula
Every measure has a fixed factor in millilitres and the conversion goes through that base. The US customary chain is exact by definition: a fluid ounce is 29.5735295625 ml, a cup is eight of those, a tablespoon is half an ounce and a teaspoon a third of a tablespoon. That is why a US cup comes out at exactly 16 tablespoons and exactly 48 teaspoons rather than at something slightly off.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| US cup | 236.5882365 ml, eight US fluid ounces. The cup in most American recipes. |
| Metric cup | 250 ml exactly, used in Australia, New Zealand and parts of Europe. |
| Tablespoon | About 14.79 ml in the US and 20 ml in Australia. Check which a recipe means. |
| Teaspoon | A third of a tablespoon, about 4.93 ml in the US. The same in Australia as elsewhere, unlike the tablespoon. |
The inputs explained
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Value | The quantity to convert. |
| From | The measure it is currently in. Choose the Australian tablespoon if the recipe is Australian. |
| To | The measure you want the answer in. |
When to use it
Cooking from a recipe written elsewhere
A US recipe read with metric cups overstates every volume by about 6%, and an Australian recipe read with a 15 ml tablespoon understates it by a quarter. Both are enough to spoil a bake.
Scaling a recipe into weights
Volume measures are inconsistent between cooks even within one system, since a packed cup and a loose cup differ considerably. Converting to millilitres is the first step towards measuring by weight instead.
Working out a substitution
Needing three tablespoons with no tablespoon to hand is a teaspoon problem: the answer is nine, because a tablespoon is exactly three teaspoons in the US system.
Worked examples
Every figure in the tables below is produced by this page’s own calculator at build time, so the numbers and the tool always agree. Select any row to load that scenario.
What is each kitchen measure in millilitres?
A single unit of each kitchen measure, converted to millilitres.
| From | In millilitres |
|---|---|
| Teaspoon (US) | 4.92892159 ml |
| Tablespoon (US) | 14.78676478 ml |
| Tablespoon (Australian) | 20 ml |
| Cup (US) | 236.5882365 ml |
| Cup (metric) | 250 ml |
| Fluid ounce (US) | 29.57352956 ml |
| Pint (US) | 473.176473 ml |
Converting 1 US cup to the other measures
A single US cup expressed in each of the other kitchen measures.
| To | Result |
|---|---|
| Millilitres | 236.5882365 ml |
| Teaspoons (US) | 48 tsp |
| Tablespoons (US) | 16 tbsp |
| Tablespoons (Australian) | 11.82941182 tbsp_au |
| Fluid ounces (US) | 8 floz |
| Litres | 0.23658824 L |
Questions
How many tablespoons in a cup?
Exactly 16 in the US system, since a tablespoon is half a fluid ounce and a cup is eight ounces. With Australian tablespoons a US cup is about 11.8, and a 250 ml metric cup is 12.5, so the answer depends entirely on whose spoon and whose cup.
Is an Australian tablespoon really different?
Yes, 20 ml against about 15 ml elsewhere, a full third larger. It is the standard defined for Australia and it applies to tablespoons sold there. Australian teaspoons are 5 ml and match everyone else, so only the tablespoon is affected.
How many teaspoons in a tablespoon?
Three, in the US, UK and Australian systems alike. It is one of the few kitchen relationships that holds everywhere, because each country scaled its teaspoon to its own tablespoon.
Should I measure by volume or by weight?
Weight, where accuracy matters. A cup of flour can vary by 20% or more depending on whether it was scooped, spooned or sifted, and that variation dwarfs every conversion difference discussed here. Baking recipes that give weights are giving you the more reliable measurement.
For converting a cup measurement to millilitres directly, see the cup to ml converter. For tablespoons in grams for a specific ingredient, see the tablespoon to grams converter.