Volume Converter: Cups, Tablespoons, ml, Pints

A recipe can list volume in cups, tablespoons, millilitres, or any number of other units depending on where it was written. Paste the amount into the converter, pick your units, and read the equivalent instantly. The common values table below shows cup amounts in all six everyday units at a glance. Useful when:

  • Converting a US recipe to metric: enter cups and read millilitres or litres directly.
  • Scaling tablespoons to cups: count the tablespoons once instead of scooping them out one by one.
  • Following a Scandinavian recipe: dl, msk, tsk, krm, kaffekopp, and glas are all supported.
  • Checking pint and quart sizes: US and UK/Imperial pints and quarts are both available and clearly labelled.
  • Comparing metric and US cups: a metric cup is 250 ml and a US cup is 240 ml, and the converter shows both.

Convert Volume

0.25 Cup (metric, 250 ml) = 4.167 Tablespoon (15 ml)

Cup (metric)mlCupTeaspoonTablespoonCup (US)Fl oz
0.2562.50.2512.54.1670.262.113
0.51250.5258.3330.5214.227
0.75187.50.7537.512.50.7816.34
125015016.6671.0428.454
1.53751.575251.56312.68
2500210033.3332.08316.907

For more on how tablespoons and teaspoons differ around the world, see the tablespoon and teaspoon sizes guide. For a breakdown of US cups versus metric cups, see what is a cup measurement.

Volume Units and Where They Come From

Most cooking volume units fall into three families. The metric system anchors everything to millilitres and litres and is used throughout Europe, Australia, and most of the world. The US customary system keeps teaspoons, tablespoons, fluid ounces, pints, quarts, and gallons, all defined by their own fixed sizes. The UK/Imperial system shares the teaspoon and tablespoon with the metric world but defines the pint, quart, and gallon differently from the US. A UK pint is 568 ml while a US pint is 473 ml, so a recipe calling for a pint can mean two quite different things depending on its origin. The converter above labels each unit clearly so you always know which one you are working with. For a closer look at how cups specifically differ by country, see the cup measurement guide.

Tablespoons, Teaspoons, and the 15 ml Standard

This converter uses the 15 ml metric standard for a tablespoon and 5 ml for a teaspoon. That matches the UK tablespoon and sits close to the US definition of 14.79 ml. One metric cup (250 ml) therefore divides into 16.667 tablespoons rather than a round 16. If your recipe comes from Australia, note that an Australian tablespoon is 20 ml, which means a quarter cup is only about three Australian tablespoons. Older British and Australian recipes also call for a dessertspoon (dssp), which is 10 ml, sitting midway between a teaspoon and a tablespoon. For a full breakdown of how tablespoon size varies by country and when it matters most in baking, see the tablespoon and teaspoon sizes guide.

Scandinavian Cooking Measures

Nordic recipes use a tidy set of metric volume units that are easy to convert once you know the sizes. A decilitre (dl) is 100 ml, a matsked (msk) is 15 ml, a tesked (tsk) is 5 ml, a kryddmatt (krm) is 1 ml, a kaffekopp is 150 ml, and a glas is 200 ml. All six are included in the unit list above. See the Scandinavian cooking units guide for more detail on each.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you convert 0.25 cups to tablespoons?
A quarter of a metric cup equals 62.5 ml, which is a little over 4 tablespoons (4.167 to be exact) at 15 ml per tablespoon. A US cup is slightly smaller, so a quarter of one is 60 ml, or 4 tablespoons exactly. Volume conversion is a matter of dividing millilitres by the tablespoon size, so the type of cup you use shifts the result by a small but measurable margin. See tablespoon and teaspoon sizes
Does the ingredient affect how many tablespoons are in 0.25 cups?
No. Volume conversion is ingredient-independent: 0.25 metric cup is always 4.167 tablespoons, whether you are measuring sugar, flour, or brown sugar. Only the gram weight changes between ingredients because different substances pack differently into the same space. Use the ingredient converter if you need grams. Open the sugar cup to tablespoons converter
How many tablespoons are in a cup?
One metric cup (250 ml) holds 16.667 tablespoons at 15 ml each, since 250 divided by 15 is 16.667. A US cup (240 ml) contains exactly 16 tablespoons at the same 15 ml standard, since 240 divided by 15 is 16. When following a recipe, check which cup standard it uses, as the difference adds up over several spoonfuls. Read the cup measurement guide
What is the difference between a US cup and a metric cup?
A US cup holds 240 ml and a metric cup (used in Australia, New Zealand, and modern Canada) holds 250 ml. That is a 4% difference per cup. For a single cup it rarely matters, but across several cups in a bake the gap becomes noticeable, particularly with flour where the ratio of dry to liquid ingredients is precise. Read the cup measurement guide
How do I convert millilitres to cups?
Divide the number of millilitres by 250 to get metric cups, or by 240 to get US cups. For example, 500 ml is 2 metric cups or about 2.083 US cups. The converter above handles any amount and any unit pair, so you can type the ml value, select millilitres as the from unit, and choose your cup type as the to unit.
How big is a dessertspoon?
A dessertspoon is 10 millilitres, sitting between a 5 ml teaspoon and a 15 ml tablespoon. It turns up in older British and Australian recipes, usually abbreviated 'dssp', and is not the soup spoon in your cutlery drawer despite the resemblance. Select dessertspoon in the converter above to translate it into millilitres, teaspoons, tablespoons, or cups. See the dessertspoon in the spoon sizes guide
What are Scandinavian units like dl and msk?
Scandinavian recipes use a set of metric volume units: dl (decilitre) equals 100 ml, msk (matsked, tablespoon) equals 15 ml, tsk (tesked, teaspoon) equals 5 ml, krm (kryddmatt, spice measure) equals 1 ml, kaffekopp (coffee cup) equals 150 ml, and glas (glass) equals 200 ml. All six are supported by the converter above. See the Scandinavian cooking units guide

Other Ingredients

If you need help with any other ingredients click below: