Volume & Cooking Converter
Convert litres to gallons, millilitres to cups, tablespoons to teaspoons — the everyday volumes that stand between an American recipe and a metric kitchen.
Fill in the fields to see your result.
Quick reference table
The volumes that come up most in a kitchen, converted between the two units you've selected.
The cup problem
A cup is not a standard measurement, and this causes more kitchen failures than any other conversion. The three you'll meet:
| Cup | Millilitres | Where it's used |
|---|---|---|
| US customary cup | 236.6 ml | American recipes — the one on this page |
| US legal cup | 240 ml | US nutrition labels |
| Metric cup | 250 ml | Australia, New Zealand, much of Europe |
The gap between a US cup and a metric cup is about 5%. On a cup of stock that's irrelevant. On a cake where flour, sugar and liquid all shift by 5% in different directions, it's the difference between a sponge and a brick. This converter uses the US customary cup, because that's what American recipes mean.
Why baking should be weighed, not measured
Volume measures space; baking cares about mass. A cup of flour can weigh anywhere from about 120 to 150 grams depending on whether it was scooped, spooned or sifted, and whether it settled in the bag. That's a 25% swing in the most important ingredient in the recipe.
Liquids are fine by volume — a millilitre of water is a millilitre of water however you pour it. But for flour, sugar, butter and cocoa, a cheap set of scales will improve your baking more than any technique you could learn. Convert the liquids here and weigh the rest.
US and UK gallons are not the same
A US gallon is 3.785 litres. A UK (imperial) gallon is 4.546 litres — a full 20% larger. Both are in the dropdown above, because getting this wrong when comparing fuel economy or ordering liquid by the gallon is an expensive mistake.
The same split runs through pints and fluid ounces. A US pint is 473 ml; a UK pint is 568 ml. If you have ever wondered why a pint in London looks bigger than a pint in New York, that's why — it genuinely is.
The spoon measurements worth knowing
- 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon. True in the US, the UK and Europe.
- 1 US tablespoon ≈ 14.8 ml, usually rounded to 15 ml. Australia is the outlier at 20 ml — an Australian tablespoon is four teaspoons, not three.
- 1 US teaspoon ≈ 4.9 ml, rounded to 5 ml everywhere in practice.
- 16 tablespoons = 1 US cup. Handy when you don't own a measuring cup.
Frequently asked questions
How many millilitres are in a cup?
It depends whose cup. A US customary cup — what American recipes mean — is 236.6 ml. A metric cup, used in Australia and much of Europe, is 250 ml. US nutrition labels use a third value, 240 ml. This converter uses the US customary cup. The difference is about 5%, which matters in baking and doesn't in soup.
Is a US gallon the same as a UK gallon?
No, and it's a big gap. A US gallon is 3.785 litres and a UK imperial gallon is 4.546 litres — about 20% more. Both are in the dropdown. The same difference applies to pints and fluid ounces, which is why a UK pint is noticeably larger than a US one.
How many tablespoons are in a cup?
16 US tablespoons make one US cup, and 3 teaspoons make one tablespoon. Worth knowing when you don't have a measuring cup to hand. Australia is the exception — an Australian tablespoon is 20 ml, or four teaspoons.
Should I convert flour from cups to millilitres?
You can, but weighing it is far better. A cup of flour weighs anywhere from about 120 to 150 grams depending on how it was packed into the cup, which is a 25% swing in your main ingredient. Convert the liquids by volume and weigh the dry goods.
What's the difference between fluid ounces and ounces?
A fluid ounce measures volume; an ounce measures weight. They are not interchangeable — a fluid ounce of honey weighs much more than a fluid ounce of water. Use this page for fluid ounces and the weight converter for ounces.
Are my numbers sent anywhere?
No. Everything is worked out inside your own browser. Nothing you type is uploaded, stored or shared, and there's no sign-up.
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Please note: CalcuLane uses the internationally agreed definitions, which are exact for length, weight, temperature, volume, speed and data. Shoe sizing is a convention rather than a measurement and varies between brands, so treat those results as a starting point. Where precision genuinely matters, confirm against an authoritative source.