Cups to Grams Converter
Convert cups to grams for flour, sugar, butter and more, using each ingredient's real density. Free, no signup, works on your phone.
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A cup measures volume and a gram measures mass, so one cup of flour weighs about 120 g while one cup of sugar weighs about 200 g. This converter multiplies your cups by each ingredient's real density, so the number you get matches what your kitchen scale would show.
Why one cup is not the same weight for every ingredient
A measuring cup tells you how much space an ingredient takes up. A kitchen scale tells you how much it weighs. Those are different things, and the gap between them is the ingredient's density — how much mass is packed into a given volume.
Flour is light and full of air, so a cup of it is only about 120 g. Sugar is denser and settles tighter, so a cup is about 200 g. Butter is denser still at about 227 g per cup. A cup of honey, at about 340 g, is nearly three times the weight of a cup of flour.
That is why a recipe written only in cups is a guess the moment your flour is packed tighter than the author's, or your "cup" is a different size. Weighing in grams removes the guess, and this converter is the bridge from the cup measures most recipes still use to the grams a scale actually reads.
How the conversion uses density
The math is one line: grams = cups × (grams per cup for that ingredient). Each ingredient carries its own factor because each has its own density, and the converter applies the right one the moment you pick the ingredient from the list.
Going the other way, cups = grams ÷ (grams per cup). So 250 g of flour is 250 ÷ 120, or about 2.08 cups. The tool also reports tablespoons and millilitres so the result lands in whatever measure you happen to have.
The cup used here is the US legal cup of 236.6 ml, which is what almost every English-language recipe and measuring set assumes. If your cups are metric (250 ml), your results will run a little high — see the mistakes section.
How to convert cups to grams
- Pick the ingredientChoose flour, sugar, butter, cocoa, honey or any of the fifteen in the list. The density is applied automatically.
- Choose the directionCups → Grams to weigh out a recipe, or Grams → Cups if you only have a cup measure.
- Enter the amountType how many cups (or grams). Fractions like 0.5 and 0.25 are fine, and the result updates as you type.
- Read the grams (and ounces)The main number is the weight your scale should show. The rows below add ounces and kilograms for larger batches.
Cups to grams for common ingredients
| Ingredient | 1 cup | ½ cup | 1 tbsp |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 120 g | 60 g | 7.5 g |
| Bread flour | 127 g | 63.5 g | 7.9 g |
| Cake flour | 114 g | 57 g | 7.1 g |
| Granulated sugar | 200 g | 100 g | 12.5 g |
| Brown sugar (packed) | 220 g | 110 g | 13.8 g |
| Powdered sugar | 120 g | 60 g | 7.5 g |
| Butter | 227 g | 113.5 g | 14.2 g |
| Cocoa powder | 85 g | 42.5 g | 5.3 g |
| Honey | 340 g | 170 g | 21.2 g |
| Milk | 240 g | 120 g | 15.0 g |
| Water | 237 g | 118.5 g | 14.8 g |
| Rolled oats | 90 g | 45 g | 5.6 g |
| White rice | 185 g | 92.5 g | 11.6 g |
| Chocolate chips | 170 g | 85 g | 10.6 g |
| Almond flour | 95 g | 47.5 g | 5.9 g |
Worked examples
- 1 cup all-purpose flour → grams
- 120 gThe figure behind "1 cup flour in grams". Also 4.2 oz and 0.120 kg.
- 1 cup granulated sugar → grams
- 200 gDenser than flour; a cup of sugar weighs well over 1.5× a cup of flour.
- 1 cup butter → grams
- 227 gTwo sticks of US butter are 226–227 g, so one cup and two sticks are the same.
- 0.5 cup all-purpose flour → grams
- 60 gExactly half of the one-cup figure, since the factor is linear.
- 250 g all-purpose flour → cups
- 2.08 cups250 ÷ 120 = 2.0833 cups, or about 33.3 tablespoons / 493 ml.
The mistakes that change your bake
Scooping flour straight from the bag. A cup scooped and levelled can hold 30–40 g more than a cup spooned lightly into the measure and levelled — enough to turn a soft cookie cakey. The 120 g figure assumes the lightly-spooned method, so weigh it if the recipe matters.
Not packing brown sugar. "Packed" is in the name for a reason: loosely filled brown sugar is nearer 180 g per cup, not 220 g. Press it firmly into the cup.
Mixing up cup sizes. The US cup is 236.6 ml; the metric cup used in many other countries is 250 ml. Using metric cups with these US-based figures adds about 5–6% to every ingredient, which drifts a cake noticeably over a full recipe.
Trusting volume for precision baking. Pastry, macarons and bread formulas where ratio is everything want weight, not cups. Use this converter to get into grams, then measure in grams from then on.
What this converter does not do
It does not substitute volume for weight. It translates between them using standard densities; it cannot know whether your flour was packed or settled, so for finicky bakes, weigh directly.
It does not cover every ingredient. Fifteen common baking items are built in. Unusual flours, syrups or fillings should be looked up or weighed on a scale rather than estimated.
It does not round to "nice" numbers. The output is the honest arithmetic (2.08 cups, 113.5 g), because rounding a conversion can compound across a recipe with many ingredients.
It is not a substitute for a scale in serious baking. The converter gets you from cups to the grams a scale shows; the scale is still the instrument that makes the number real.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many grams is 1 cup of flour?
- 1 cup of all-purpose flour is about 120 g. Bread flour is about 127 g and cake flour about 114 g.
- How many grams is 1 cup of sugar?
- 1 cup of granulated sugar is about 200 g, while 1 cup of packed brown sugar is about 220 g.
- Why is 1 cup not always the same weight?
- Because cups measure volume and grams measure weight. A cup of flour is far lighter than a cup of sugar or butter, so each ingredient needs its own density.