How many ounces in a cup?
1 cup = 8 fl oz
16 Tbsp · 48 tsp · 237 mL
Measure with: 1 cup · or spoons only: 16 Tbsp
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Other cup standards
US cups: 1 · nutrition-label cups (240 mL): 0.986 · metric cups (250 mL): 0.946 · UK fluid ounces: 8.33
A US measuring cup holds 8 fl oz, and that figure is about volume only. Fill the same cup with all-purpose flour, spooned in and leveled, and it weighs about 4.25 oz (120 g) on a scale. Granulated sugar comes in near 7 oz by weight and honey close to 12 oz. When a recipe or package gives ounces for something dry, it almost always means weight, so read the dry vs. liquid ounces guide or reach for a scale.
The cup also changes with the country. American recipes use the customary cup of 236.6 mL. US nutrition labels round it to 240 mL. Recipes from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK use a 250 mL metric cup, roughly a tablespoon more. In a pot of soup nobody notices; in a cake it adds up, so check where a recipe came from before you convert it with cups to mL.
| Cups | Fluid ounces | Tablespoons | Teaspoons | mL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/8 cup | 1 fl oz | 2 | 6 | 30 |
| 1/6 cup | 1.33 fl oz | 2.67 | 8 | 39 |
| 1/4 cup | 2 fl oz | 4 | 12 | 59 |
| 1/3 cup | 2.67 fl oz | 5.33 | 16 | 79 |
| 3/8 cup | 3 fl oz | 6 | 18 | 89 |
| 1/2 cup | 4 fl oz | 8 | 24 | 118 |
| 2/3 cup | 5.33 fl oz | 10.67 | 32 | 158 |
| 3/4 cup | 6 fl oz | 12 | 36 | 177 |
| 7/8 cup | 7 fl oz | 14 | 42 | 207 |
| 1 cup | 8 fl oz | 16 | 48 | 237 |
| 1 1/4 cups | 10 fl oz | 20 | 60 | 296 |
| 1 1/3 cups | 10.67 fl oz | 21.33 | 64 | 315 |
| 1 1/2 cups | 12 fl oz | 24 | 72 | 355 |
| 2 cups | 16 fl oz | 32 | 96 | 473 |
| 2 1/2 cups | 20 fl oz | 40 | 120 | 591 |
| 3 cups | 24 fl oz | 48 | 144 | 710 |
| 4 cups | 32 fl oz | 64 | 192 | 946 |
| 5 cups | 40 fl oz | 80 | 240 | 1,183 |
| 6 cups | 48 fl oz | 96 | 288 | 1,420 |
| 8 cups | 64 fl oz | 128 | 384 | 1,893 |
| 16 cups | 128 fl oz | 256 | 768 | 3,785 |
Dry ingredients: weight of 1 cup
| Ingredient | 1 cup | 1/2 cup | How measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 120 g · 4.23 oz | 60 g · 2.12 oz | spooned into the cup and leveled |
| Granulated sugar | 198 g · 6.98 oz | 99 g · 3.49 oz | scooped and leveled |
| Brown sugar (packed) | 213 g · 7.51 oz | 107 g · 3.76 oz | packed firmly |
| Powdered (confectioners') sugar | 113 g · 3.99 oz | 57 g · 1.99 oz | spooned and leveled |
| Butter | 227 g · 8 oz | 113 g · 4 oz | cut at the Tbsp marks on the wrapper (1 stick = 1/2 cup) |
| Rolled oats | 89 g · 3.14 oz | 45 g · 1.57 oz | scooped and leveled |
| Long-grain rice (dry) | 198 g · 6.98 oz | 99 g · 3.49 oz | scooped and leveled |
| Honey | 336 g · 11.85 oz | 168 g · 5.93 oz | greased cup |
| Chocolate chips | 170 g · 6 oz | 85 g · 3 oz | scooped and leveled |
| Water | 236 g · 8.32 oz | 118 g · 4.16 oz | liquid measuring cup |
Weights: King Arthur Baking — Ingredient Weight Chart (consulted 2026-10-28).
Liquid and dry measuring cups hold the same 8 fl oz
The glass cup with a spout and printed lines and the nested set of metal or plastic cups measure the same volume. What differs is how you fill them. Liquids go in the spouted cup, set on the counter and read at eye level. Flour, sugar and oats go in the nested cups, filled to the rim and leveled with a straight edge. Flour measured in a spouted cup is hard to level, so the amount drifts. The measuring cups guide covers sizes and technique.
What about a UK cup or a coffee-maker cup?
British recipes that still use cups mean the 250 mL metric cup, about 8.45 US fl oz. You may see a UK cup listed as 10 fl oz; that number comes from the old imperial half pint (about 284 mL) and does not match how British recipes measure today. Most of them give grams and milliliters anyway.
The "cup" on a coffee maker is a different unit again. Most machines count a cup as 5 to 6 fl oz of water, and it varies by brand, so check your carafe markings. The coffee cup ounces page has water amounts for common batch sizes.
Questions
Is 8 oz a cup?
Yes for liquids: 8 fl oz is exactly 1 US cup. For dry ingredients, 8 oz by weight is usually a different volume; 8 oz of all-purpose flour is a little under 2 cups.
How many ounces in a cup of water?
1 cup of water is 8 fl oz by volume and weighs about 8.3 oz (236 g). Water is the one common ingredient where fluid ounces and weight ounces nearly match.
How many dry (or solid) ounces are in a cup?
It depends on the ingredient, because dry or solid ounces are weight. A cup of all-purpose flour weighs about 4.25 oz, granulated sugar about 7 oz and rolled oats about 3.1 oz. Only a scale measures them exactly; see dry vs. liquid ounces.
How many ounces in a cup in the UK or in metric recipes?
A metric cup is 250 mL, which is about 8.45 US fl oz or 8.8 imperial fl oz. A US cup is 236.6 mL, exactly 8 US fl oz.
By Alton Vieira · Updated . Sources: US customary units: NIST Handbook 44 · nutrition-label cup: FDA 21 CFR 101.9 · ingredient weights: King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart. How we calculate.