The Kitchen Measurement Conversion Chart We Actually Use

Kitchen conversions are easy until two units with similar names measure different things. A useful chart should give you the fast answer, then tell you when the ingredient changes the math.

This is the compact reference we use for cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, fluid ounces, weight ounces, grams, and milliliters. Keep it nearby, or use the linked calculators when you want Honeydew to do the arithmetic.

The chart

I keep a small conversion card near the flour bin. The first half is exact volume math. The second half is a reminder to stop and name the ingredient.

The kitchen conversion calculator handles all of these in either direction. The focused tablespoons and cups calculator is quickest when a recipe calls for part of a cup.

The line between weight and volume

Fluid ounces belong with cups. Weight ounces belong with grams. The names sound close, but they answer different questions.

Eight fluid ounces of water is one US cup because both numbers describe volume. Eight ounces of flour by weight is about 1.81 cups when flour is measured at 125 grams per cup. That second answer changes if the ingredient changes.

Here are practical starting points used by our grams and cups calculator:

Scooping flour straight from the bag can pack more into the cup. Humidity and ingredient texture matter too. A scale is the better choice when the recipe gives grams.

Cup fractions that are useful at the counter

If a recipe asks for 3/4 cup and that measure is dirty, 12 tablespoons gets you to the same place.

US, legal, metric, and Imperial cups

A US customary cup is about 236.59 mL. US nutrition labels round a cup to 240 mL. A metric cup is 250 mL, while an Imperial cup is about 284.13 mL.

Most American recipes mean the US customary cup. Recipes from Australia and New Zealand often use the 250 mL metric cup. When accuracy matters, check where the recipe was published or follow its gram measurements.

Sources and method

Volume and ounce constants come from the National Institute of Standards and Technology conversion tables. The FDA uses rounded label values of 240 mL per cup, 15 mL per tablespoon, 30 mL per fluid ounce, and 28 grams per weight ounce in its household measure guidance.

The flour and rolled oat values come from the USDA Food Buying Guide. Other ingredient weights are practical kitchen averages and are labeled that way in the calculator. Last checked August 25, 2026.