How Many Ounces in a Cup?

The short answer: 1 US cup = 8 US fluid ounces. But the follow-up questions — dry vs liquid ounces, metric conversions, scaling recipes — are where cooks actually get burned. Here's the complete guide.

The core conversions

1 cup = 8 fluid ounces = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons = 236.6 milliliters. Memorize the 8/16/48 chain and you can derive everything else in the kitchen.

Fluid ounces vs dry ounces — the trap

Fluid ounces measure VOLUME; dry ounces measure WEIGHT. 8 fluid ounces of water = 1 cup, but 8 dry ounces of flour is about 1¾ cups — flour is lighter than water. Never swap them in baking.

Cups to milliliters

1 cup = 236.6 ml (US) vs 250 ml (metric cup). The 13 ml difference rarely matters in cooking, but it matters in baking ratios — check which cup your recipe means. Convert exactly with our cups to milliliters converter.

Scaling recipes up and down

Halving: divide everything by 2 (1 cup → ½ cup = 8 tbsp). Doubling: multiply (1 cup → 2 cups). For awkward thirds: ⅓ cup = 5 tbsp + 1 tsp — write it down before you start.

Quick reference chart

¼ cup = 2 fl oz = 4 tbsp; ⅓ cup = 2.7 fl oz = 5 tbsp + 1 tsp; ½ cup = 4 fl oz = 8 tbsp; ⅔ cup = 5.3 fl oz = 10 tbsp + 2 tsp; ¾ cup = 6 fl oz = 12 tbsp; 1 cup = 8 fl oz = 16 tbsp.

Convert anything instantly

Our free fluid ounces to milliliters converter handles the exact math — plus dozens more cooking conversions on the site.