Cooking Unit Converter
Convert cooking measurements: cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, ml, grams, ounces. US, UK, and metric systems. Ingredient-aware conversions for flour, sugar, butter and more.
Cooking Unit Converter
Volume Converter (liquids)
Mass / Weight Converter
Ingredient Converter (volume ↔ weight)
How to use the Cooking Unit Converter
Pick the right converter for your unit pair
Three independent converters: Volume for liquid measurements (mL, cups, tbsp, tsp, fl oz, pints) — works for any liquid since 1 mL = 1 mL regardless of what's in it. Mass for weight (g, kg, oz, lb) — pure unit conversion, ingredient-independent. Ingredient converter for volume ↔ weight transitions (cup ↔ grams) — requires knowing what the ingredient is, since 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of honey weigh very different amounts.
Match the cup size to the source recipe's country
"1 cup" doesn't mean the same thing everywhere. US cup = 237 mL (the most common in cookbooks). Metric cup = 250 mL (AU, NZ, EU). UK imperial cup = 284 mL (older British recipes). Japanese cup = 200 mL (used in rice cookers, common in Asian recipes). Pick the right cup size for your source — using a US cup on a UK recipe undershoots by 20%; using a metric cup on a US recipe overshoots by 5%. Most blog recipes use US cups by default.
Use the ingredient converter for baking precision
Cup measurements of dry ingredients (flour, sugar, oats) vary by ±20% depending on how packed they are. Scooping flour with the measuring cup compacts it ~25% more than spooning it in lightly. For serious baking, convert your recipe to grams using this tool, then weigh ingredients on a scale. King Arthur Baking, Joy of Cooking, and most professional baking books publish recipes in grams for exactly this reason. The ingredient converter assumes the "spooned and leveled" measurement standard.
For salts and leavening, double-check the brand
Salt is the trickiest ingredient. Diamond Crystal kosher salt is 144 g/cup. Morton's kosher salt is 240 g/cup (much denser). Table salt is 288 g/cup. So "1 tsp salt" in a recipe could mean 2.4g, 4.4g, or 5g depending on brand — a 2× difference. The ingredient converter defaults to Diamond Crystal kosher (the US baking-school standard). If your recipe specifies a different brand, adjust the volume accordingly. Baking soda and baking powder also vary by brand; the densities given are common defaults.
Cooking math — why a "cup" isn't a cup everywhere
The volume of "one cup" depends entirely on which country wrote the recipe. The US cup (237 mL) is the most common in cookbooks worldwide because of American culinary publishing dominance — but step outside US recipes and you'll hit other standards. The Commonwealth metric cup (250 mL) governs Australia, New Zealand, and most of the EU. The UK imperial cup (284 mL) lingers in older British recipes from the pre-metric era. The Japanese cup (200 mL) is built into every Japanese rice cooker and dominates Asian recipes. Mixing them up matters: a 250 mL "cup" of flour in a US recipe (where 237 mL was intended) adds ~5% extra flour — enough to make a cake heavier and drier than the author tested. The same in reverse (US cup applied to an Australian recipe) undershoots by 5%, producing soup-thin batters.
Why weight beats volume for any precision baking
Cup measurements of dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cornmeal, oats) have ±15-25% variance depending on packing density. A sifted cup of flour weighs ~100g; a spooned-and-leveled cup is ~120g; a scooped cup is ~140g. Same "cup", three different actual amounts. This variance compounds in baking, where the flour-to-liquid ratio determines crumb structure, gluten development, and rise. Professional bakeries weigh everything in grams (or ounces in some US shops); serious home bakers buy a $20 kitchen scale and never go back to cups. The metric cooking-school standard worldwide is: weigh dry ingredients, measure liquids by volume. This tool's ingredient converter exists to help you make that switch one recipe at a time.
A cup of flour weighs anywhere from 100g to 140g depending on how you scoop it. A gram of flour weighs one gram. For baking, scales win every time.
The salt minefield
Salt is the single trickiest ingredient to convert because brands differ in crystal size + density by 2-3×. Diamond Crystal kosher salt (a US baking-school favorite) has loose, hollow flakes — 1 cup weighs ~144 g, 1 tsp ~2.4 g. Morton's kosher salt is denser — 1 cup ~240 g, 1 tsp ~4.4 g. Table salt is very dense, fine grains — 1 cup ~288 g, 1 tsp ~5 g. So a recipe specifying "1 tsp salt" could mean half of what you measure if you use the wrong brand. Modernist Cuisine, Salt Fat Acid Heat, and most pro cookbooks now specify by weight in grams to eliminate ambiguity. The ingredient converter defaults to Diamond Crystal — adjust if your recipe specifies otherwise.
The ASEAN kitchen-measurement angle
ASEAN home cooks navigate a complex measurement landscape. Singapore / Malaysia use a mix: traditional Chinese / Malay / Indian recipes specify by handful, pinch, or "to taste"; modern recipes use metric (g, mL, 250mL cup). British colonial influence means older cookbooks use UK imperial. Indonesia uses metric officially but traditional recipes often use household measures (sendok makan = tablespoon, gelas = glass which is ~200 mL ~~ Japanese cup). Vietnam / Thailand / Philippines: metric officially with US cup influence from American cookbooks and culinary schools. Japan / Korea: 200 mL cups standard; rice is always measured by the 180 mL rice-cup that came with your rice cooker. For ASEAN cooks following Western recipes, the ingredient converter is essential for translating "1 cup flour" into grams that match what you'd actually weigh. For ASEAN cooks publishing recipes for global audiences, posting both grams AND US cup equivalents is the norm.
10 Things to Know About Cooking Units
"1 cup" means different things in different countries: US 237 mL, metric 250 mL, UK 284 mL, Japanese 200 mL. Same word, 40%+ volume range.
1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons globally — the one universal cooking conversion that doesn't change by country.
A cup of flour weighs 100g (sifted), 120g (spooned), or 140g (scooped). ±20% range from the same "cup", same flour. Weight beats volume.
Diamond Crystal kosher salt is half the density of Morton's kosher. Same "1 tsp" gives 2.4g vs 4.4g salt — a huge difference in seasoning.
1 US fluid ounce = 29.6 mL; 1 UK fluid ounce = 28.4 mL. Close but not identical — UK fl oz is ~4% smaller.
Japanese rice cookers use a 180 mL "rice cup", not the kitchen 200 mL cup. The plastic measure that comes with the rice cooker is the right one.
1 stick of butter (US) = 113g = 1/2 cup = 8 tbsp. The wrappers are pre-marked at tablespoon intervals to make cutting easy.
"Pinch" of salt is roughly 1/8 tsp. "Dash" is 1/16 tsp. "Smidge" or "smidgen" is 1/32 tsp. Standardised in 1880s American cookbooks.
Honey is 40% denser than water — 1 cup honey = 336g vs 237g for water. This is why honey substitutions in baking change texture significantly.
Brown sugar is measured "packed" by convention — pressed firmly into the cup. White sugar is "loose". Packing brown sugar nearly doubles its density.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Historical accident. The US adopted the 237 mL cup (8 fl oz) when it standardised cooking measurements in the early 20th century. The UK imperial cup (284 mL) was already in use in Britain and the colonies. When most countries metricated, they rounded UP to 250 mL for simplicity (Australia, NZ, EU). Japan adopted 200 mL because it matched their go (合) traditional measure. The conversions diverge by 20%+ — always check what country your recipe came from before measuring.
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For baking: WEIGH everything. Cup measurements of dry ingredients have ±20% variance depending on packing — flour, sugar, oats, breadcrumbs, cocoa. That variance compounds in baking where ingredient ratios matter. For everyday cooking (sautés, stews, soups, stir-fries): volume measurement is fine because the dish tolerates ±20% in most ingredients. The line is roughly: any recipe with a "rise" (cake, bread, pancakes, cookies) → weigh. Anything you season to taste at the end → cups + spoons fine.
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Crystal size and shape. Diamond Crystal kosher salt has hollow, flaky crystals — lots of air space, low density (144 g/cup). Morton's kosher salt has dense, blocky crystals (240 g/cup). Table salt has tiny, fine grains tightly packed (288 g/cup). Same chemical, same NaCl — but volume measurements differ by 2×. This is why pro cookbooks (Salt Fat Acid Heat, Modernist Cuisine, recent Bon Appetit recipes) specify salt by weight in grams. For volume measurements, the recipe must specify the salt brand.
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How densely the flour is packed in the cup. Sifted: flour passed through a sieve, very airy — 100g/cup. Spooned and leveled: scooped into the cup with a spoon, then leveled off — 120g/cup (the standard for most recipes). Scooped: dipping the cup directly into the flour bin compacts the flour — 140g/cup. The ingredient converter assumes spooned-and-leveled (the standard). For sifted-flour recipes, multiply by 0.83; for scooped, multiply by 1.17. For perfectly consistent results: weigh.
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°C = (°F − 32) × 5/9. Common oven temps: 325°F = 165°C, 350°F = 175°C, 375°F = 190°C, 400°F = 205°C, 425°F = 220°C, 450°F = 230°C. This tool focuses on volume/mass conversions; for oven temperature conversion, see our dedicated Temperature Converter. For gas marks (UK): Gas 4 = 350°F = 180°C, Gas 5 = 375°F = 190°C, Gas 6 = 400°F = 200°C, Gas 7 = 425°F = 220°C.
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Brown sugar is measured "packed" by convention — pressed firmly into the cup until level. White sugar is "loose" — poured in without compression. So 1 cup of packed brown sugar (220g) actually contains nearly twice the sugar of 1 loose cup of brown sugar (~125g). When a recipe says "brown sugar", assume packed unless specified otherwise. White sugar (200g/cup) is always loose. This calculator uses the conventional values: brown sugar = packed, white sugar = loose.
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1 US tablespoon = 14.79 mL. 1 UK / imperial tablespoon = 17.76 mL. UK tablespoon is ~20% larger. In Australia and NZ, the tablespoon is 20 mL (4 teaspoons, not 3 like US/UK). So "1 tbsp" in an Australian recipe is 35% more than 1 US tbsp. For exact conversion, use the volume converter and pick the right country-specific tablespoon. For approximate work in everyday cooking, the difference rarely matters; for baking, use weight.
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No. All conversions run entirely in your browser via JavaScript. There's no server roundtrip — open DevTools → Network and confirm zero outbound requests. Your conversion data stays on your device. Safe for proprietary recipe scaling, restaurant menu math, or culinary IP that shouldn't leave your machine.
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It does — pick "Butter" in the ingredient converter. 1 US stick of butter = 113 g = 1/2 cup = 8 tablespoons. Outside the US, butter is sold in 200-250g blocks rather than 113g sticks — the standard European pack is 250g (~1.1 sticks). For US recipes calling for "2 sticks", that's 1 cup or 227g. For European recipes calling for "250g butter", that's ~9 tablespoons or 1 1/8 cups.
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Within ±5-10% of authoritative sources (King Arthur Baking, Joy of Cooking, Modernist Cuisine ingredient tables). The values assume "spooned and leveled" measurement of dry ingredients — the standard for baking instruction. Sifted flour is ~17% lighter than spooned (multiply by 0.83); scooped flour is ~17% heavier (multiply by 1.17). For absolute precision in production baking, weigh each ingredient on a calibrated scale. For home cooking and casual baking, the conversions here are plenty accurate.
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