Cups to Milliliters Converter
Enter a number of cups and read it as milliliters or liters. Cups and milliliters both measure volume, so the ingredient you select does not change the answer.
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Created by the Reeliy Editorial Team. Last updated: Oct 19, 2026
Which cup are you measuring with?
There is no single worldwide cup, and the choice changes the answer by roughly 18%. This converter offers the two most common in recipes:
- US Legal Cups: exactly 240 ml. This is the cup defined for American nutrition labels and used by most modern US recipes.
- Imperial Cups: 284.130625 ml, which is half an imperial pint or 10 imperial fluid ounces. You will meet it in older British and Commonwealth cookbooks.
Two cups are missing from the list: the US customary cup (8 US fluid ounces, 236.59 ml) and the 250 ml metric cup used in Australia and New Zealand. If your recipe uses one of them, the US legal cup is a close approximation for the first and 4% short for the second.
How to convert cups to milliliters
- Type the number of cups into the Convert box and choose US Legal Cups or Imperial Cups.
- Choose MilliLiters or Liters in the To menu.
- Read the answer in the second box. It updates on every keystroke, so there is nothing to submit.
milliliters = US legal cups × 240
milliliters = imperial cups × 284.130625Divide by 1,000 for liters. Milliliters are rounded to whole numbers and liters to three decimals.
Worked examples
- Half a cup: 0.5 × 240 = 120 ml.
- 3.5 US cups of stock: 3.5 × 240 = 840 ml.
- 2.5 imperial cups: 2.5 × 284.130625 = 710.33, shown as 710 ml.
- 10 imperial cups in liters: 10 × 284.130625 = 2,841.3 ml, which is 2.841 l.
Cups to milliliters chart
| Cups | US legal cups (ml) | Imperial cups (ml) |
|---|---|---|
| 1/8 | 30 | 36 |
| 1/4 | 60 | 71 |
| 1/3 | 80 | 95 |
| 1/2 | 120 | 142 |
| 2/3 | 160 | 189 |
| 3/4 | 180 | 213 |
| 1 | 240 | 284 |
| 1 1/2 | 360 | 426 |
| 2 | 480 | 568 |
| 3 | 720 | 852 |
| 4 | 960 | 1,137 |
| 5 | 1,200 | 1,421 |
Quick landmarks for the legal cup: ¼ cup is 60 ml, ⅓ cup is 80 ml, ½ cup is 120 ml and ¾ cup is 180 ml. A liter holds 4.167 US legal cups, or 3.52 imperial cups.
Why the ingredient menu does not matter here
The ingredient list is shared by every recipe converter on this site, but it only comes into play when one of the units is a weight. A cup of flour and a cup of honey both fill 240 ml; it is their weights that differ. If you need grams, use the cups to grams converter.
For liquids, read a clear jug at eye level on a flat surface. For dry goods, level the cup with a straight edge. For spoon-sized amounts, see cups to tablespoons and cups to teaspoons.
Frequently asked questions
How many milliliters are in a cup?
A US legal cup is 240 ml, a US customary cup is about 236.6 ml, a metric cup is 250 ml and an imperial cup is about 284.1 ml. This converter uses 240 ml and 284.13 ml.
How many cups are in a liter?
A liter holds about 4.167 US legal cups or 3.52 imperial cups.
Is a cup of flour the same number of milliliters as a cup of water?
Yes. A cup is a measure of volume, so both fill 240 ml. They differ in weight, because flour is much lighter than water.
What is the difference between a US cup and an imperial cup?
The imperial cup is larger: 284.13 ml against 240 ml, about 18% more. Recipes that do not say which cup they use are usually American, so the US legal cup is the safer default.
References
- NIST Special Publication 811, Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI)
- U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 101.9, Nutrition labeling of food (household measures)
Cite this converter and page
If you use this page in your work, you can cite it as:
Reeliy Editorial Team. (2026). Cups to Milliliters Converter. Reeliy. https://reeliy.com/converters/convert-cups-to-ml“Cups to Milliliters Converter.” Reeliy, 2026, https://reeliy.com/converters/convert-cups-to-ml.