Volume Converter

How to use it

Volume conversions here run through the liter as the base unit. A milliliter is a thousandth of a liter, and a cubic meter is 1,000 liters. The US customary units used in cooking — teaspoon, tablespoon, cup, pint, quart, and gallon — are all defined as fixed fractions of the US gallon, which itself equals exactly 231 cubic inches, or about 3.785411784 liters. That last number matters because of a common mix-up: a US gallon and a UK (imperial) gallon are not the same. The UK gallon is about 4.546 liters — roughly 20% larger than the US gallon. This split happened in 1824, when Britain redefined its gallon based on the volume of 10 pounds of water, while the US kept the older wine-gallon definition. So a recipe or fuel-economy figure quoted in 'gallons' can mean two different volumes depending on which country it came from — always check. For cooking conversions: 1 US cup = 236.588 mL, 1 US tablespoon = 14.787 mL, and 1 US teaspoon = 4.929 mL (3 teaspoons make a tablespoon). Converting 2 cups to milliliters: 2 × 236.588 = 473.2 mL. Converting 1 liter to US gallons: 1 ÷ 3.785411784 ≈ 0.2642 gal. One more wrinkle worth knowing: a US 'fluid ounce' (used for cups and pints) is a measure of volume, while a regular ounce is a measure of weight — they're unrelated, and a fluid ounce of water happens to weigh close to (but not exactly) one ounce, which is a coincidence, not a rule that holds for other liquids like oil or honey.

Frequently asked questions

Is a US gallon the same as a UK gallon?

No. A US gallon is about 3.785 liters, while a UK (imperial) gallon is about 4.546 liters — around 20% larger. Fuel economy or recipe figures in 'gallons' mean different volumes depending on the country, so check the source before converting or comparing numbers.

How many milliliters are in a cup?

A US cup is 236.588 mL, commonly rounded to 240 mL on nutrition labels. That rounding is intentional for label consistency, not an error — for precise cooking or scientific measurement, use the unrounded 236.588 mL figure this converter gives you.

Is a fluid ounce the same as a regular ounce?

No. A fluid ounce measures volume (used for cups and pints), while a regular ounce measures weight. They coincide closely for water, where 1 fluid ounce weighs close to 1 ounce, but that breaks down for denser or lighter liquids like honey or oil.

Why do recipe conversions between metric and US cups never look exact?

Because a 'cup' isn't a round number in milliliters (236.588 mL), and many recipe sites additionally round it to 240 or 250 mL for convenience. For baking, where ratios matter more than exact volume, either rounding is normally fine; for precise lab or bar measurements, use the unrounded value.