Metric, US and UK volume units
Metric volumes are based on the liter, which is the volume of a cube 10 cm on each side. A milliliter is a thousandth of a liter and a cubic meter is 1,000 liters.
The US and the UK use measures with the same names but different sizes. The US gallon is 231 cubic inches (3.785 l), the UK gallon is 4.54609 l. Both split into 4 quarts and 8 pints, but a US pint has 16 fluid ounces and a UK pint has 20, and the fluid ounces differ slightly too.
- 1 US cup is 8 US fluid ounces, or about 236.6 ml. Australia, Canada and New Zealand often use a metric cup of 250 ml.
- 1 US tablespoon is half a fluid ounce, or about 14.8 ml, and holds 3 teaspoons.
- 1 US teaspoon is about 4.93 ml.
Recipes that list flour or sugar in cups measure by volume. To get grams for a specific ingredient, use the Cups to Grams converter.
Common volume conversions
| From | Equals |
|---|---|
| 1 US gallon | 3.785411784 liters |
| 1 liter | 0.2641720524 US gallons |
| 1 UK gallon | 4.54609 liters |
| 1 US quart | 0.946352946 liters |
| 1 US pint | 473.176473 milliliters |
| 1 UK pint | 568.26125 milliliters |
| 1 US cup | 236.5882365 milliliters |
| 1 US fluid ounce | 29.57352956 milliliters |
| 1 US tablespoon | 14.78676478 milliliters |
| 1 US teaspoon | 4.928921594 milliliters |
| 1 cubic foot | 28.31684659 liters |
US cups to milliliters chart
| US cups (cup) | Milliliters (ml) |
|---|---|
| 0.25 | 59.15 |
| 0.5 | 118.3 |
| 0.75 | 177.4 |
| 1 | 236.6 |
| 1.5 | 354.9 |
| 2 | 473.2 |
| 3 | 709.8 |
| 4 | 946.4 |
Liters to US gallons chart
| Liters (l) | US gallons (gal) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.2642 |
| 2 | 0.5283 |
| 5 | 1.321 |
| 10 | 2.642 |
| 20 | 5.283 |
| 40 | 10.57 |
| 50 | 13.21 |
| 60 | 15.85 |
| 100 | 26.42 |
How to use it
- 1Pick the unit you have on the left and the unit you want on the right.
- 2Type a value on either side. The other side updates as you type, and the swap button turns the conversion around.
- 3Read the result and the factor below it, or tap any unit in the list to convert into it. Copy the result or a link to share it.
Frequently asked questions
How many milliliters are in a cup?
A US cup is about 236.6 ml. A metric cup, used in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, is 250 ml. Nutrition labels in the US round a cup to 240 ml.
Why are US and UK gallons different?
The US kept the old English wine gallon of 231 cubic inches, while the UK redefined its gallon in 1824. A UK gallon is about 20 percent larger than a US gallon.
How many fluid ounces are in a liter?
About 33.81 US fluid ounces or 35.20 UK fluid ounces.
How do I convert cups of flour to grams?
Cups measure volume, grams measure weight, so the answer depends on the ingredient. Use the Cups to Grams converter, which knows the density of common baking ingredients.