Cups to Grams & Grams to Cups
Convert cups to grams (and back) for common baking ingredients, with a US/metric cup toggle.
Results are provided as is, for general information. Check anything important before relying on it. See the Terms of Use.
About this tool
A cup measures volume, not weight, so converting cups to grams needs to know the ingredient: pick from 15 common baking ingredients — flours, sugars, butter, cocoa, oats, rice, honey, milk, oil, chocolate chips and water — each with its own grams-per-cup density, or enter a custom density for anything else. A toggle switches the cup itself between the US customary size (236.588 ml, the 8 fl oz measure most American recipes mean) and the metric cup used in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and elsewhere (a round 250 ml, about 5.6% bigger). The density table follows the most commonly cited figures (King Arthur Flour's ingredient weight chart, USDA FoodData Central, Joy of Baking), which themselves disagree by a few percent — every result is an approximation by nature, and the tool shows the density it used so you can see exactly what's behind the number. Runs entirely in your browser.
How it works
Grams = Cups × grams per cup (for that ingredient) Cups = Grams ÷ grams per cup (for that ingredient) 1 US cup = 236.6 ml, 1 metric cup = 250 ml
Cups measure volume and grams measure weight, so the conversion depends on how dense the ingredient is. Flour is light and airy; sugar and butter are much heavier per cup.
| Question | Working | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| How many grams is 2 cups of all-purpose flour? | 2 × 120 g | 240 g |
| How many grams is ½ cup of granulated sugar? | 0.5 × 200 g | 100 g |
| How many grams is ½ cup of butter? | 0.5 × 227 g | 113.5 g (one US stick) |
| How many US cups is 240 g of all-purpose flour? | 240 ÷ 120 | 2 cups |
| How many US cups is 100 g of granulated sugar? | 100 ÷ 200 | 0.5 cups |
When to use it
Questions
How do I convert grams to cups?
Select the ingredient and cup size, then enter grams. Divide grams by the weight of one cup of that ingredient. For all-purpose flour at approximately 120 g per US cup, 240 g is 2 cups; granulated sugar at 200 g per US cup makes the same 240 g equal 1.2 cups. Packing changes real weights, so use a scale for precision.
Why is a cup of flour so much lighter than a cup of sugar?
Density. Flour is full of air pockets and packs loosely (about 120 g per US cup), while granulated sugar's crystals pack much more tightly (about 200 g per US cup) — nearly double the weight in the same volume. A cup measures volume, not mass, so the conversion has to know which ingredient you mean, which is exactly why this tool asks for one (or a custom density) instead of using a single blanket number.
How accurate are the ingredient weights?
They're the most commonly cited figures across King Arthur Flour's chart, USDA FoodData Central and Joy of Baking, but those references disagree with each other by a few percent, and real results vary further with how tightly you pack the cup, humidity and brand. For baking where the weight really matters, weigh your own cup of the ingredient you're actually using once and enter it as a custom density.
What's the difference between a US cup and a metric cup?
A US cup is legally 236.588 ml — the customary 8 fl oz measure most American recipes assume. The metric cup used in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and some other countries is a round 250 ml, about 5.6% bigger. Using the wrong one throws off every conversion by that same margin, so check which convention the recipe was written in before you pick a toggle.
Can I convert an ingredient that isn't in the list?
Yes — switch to a custom density in grams per US cup. If you don't know it, weigh an empty measuring cup, fill it with the ingredient the way the recipe intends (packed, sifted, level), and weigh it again; the difference is your density.
Is this exact for liquids like milk or water?
Close to exact — liquids convert by a straight volume ratio, since a liquid's density doesn't change with how it's poured. The real uncertainty is in dry and solid ingredients, where packing changes how much actually fits in a "cup."