How Many Milliliters Are in a Cup?
One US cup is 236.6 ml — usually rounded to 237 ml or even 240 ml. A metric cup (used in Australia and NZ) is exactly 250 ml.
US cups to milliliters
| 1/4 cup | 59 ml |
|---|---|
| 1/3 cup | 79 ml |
| 1/2 cup | 118 ml |
| 3/4 cup | 177 ml |
| 1 cup | 237 ml |
| 2 cups | 473 ml |
| 4 cups (1 quart) | 946 ml |
Good to know
For everyday cooking, treating a cup as 240 ml is fine — the 1.5% difference is far smaller than normal measuring error.
Reading an Australian or New Zealand recipe? Their cup is 250 ml, and their tablespoon is 20 ml. British recipes mostly use weights and ml directly.
US "nutrition label" cups are legally defined as exactly 240 ml, which is why supplement and cereal labels differ slightly from measuring-cup math.
Frequently asked questions
Is 250 ml one cup?
In Australia and New Zealand, yes (metric cup). A US cup is 236.6 ml.
How many ml is half a cup?
Half a US cup is 118 ml.
How many cups is 500 ml?
500 ml is about 2.1 US cups, or exactly 2 metric cups.
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