Convert fluid ounces to cups

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Type the number of ounces from a recipe or from a label and read the answer in cups. Eight fluid ounces make exactly one cup and sixteen ounces make two. A soda can, that is 12 US fl oz, comes to 1.5 cups.

US fl oz
US cup
Cup type

US customary: 236.59 ml, the volume an American measuring cup holds and what one cup means in a recipe. US legal: 240 ml, the figure written into American food-labelling law. Metric: 250 ml, the cup used in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

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What is a fluid ounce and how does it differ from an ounce of weight?

The fluid ounce (fl oz) measures volume and holds 29.5735295625 millilitres[1]. The ounce on a scale measures mass and weighs 28.349523125 grams[2]. Both carry the same word, and the ingredient settles which one a recipe means: a liquid goes into a measuring jug, a solid goes on the scale.

Eight fluid ounces make one US cup, and that equality is exact because it is the definition of the cup[3].

The cup is a unit of volume used in American recipes and it is measured with a vessel of fixed capacity. The US customary cup holds 236.59 millilitres. The labelling cup holds exactly 240 millilitres. The metric cup used across Australia, New Zealand and Canada holds exactly 250 millilitres. You pick the measure with the Cup type switcher under the converter fields.

The ounces to grams converter turns a mass in ounces into grams, and the ml to cups converter handles a volume written in millilitres. The reverse calculation is handled by the cups to ounces converter.

A plastic measuring cup with two scales: millilitres for liquids and grams for rice
One jug, two scales: millilitres for liquids on the left, grams for rice on the right. Volume and mass sit on separate scales here, exactly as the fluid ounce and the ounce on the scale do. Photo: Fructibus, CC0.

How many cups is a given number of ounces? Formula and example

Divide the number of ounces by eight.

The formula is cups = fluid ounces ÷ 8 for the US customary cup. The labelling cup uses 8.1154 as the divisor and the metric cup 8.4535.

Four figures give a round answer. Four ounces make half a cup. Eight ounces make one cup. Twelve ounces make one and a half cups. Sixteen ounces make two cups.

An answer in millilitres comes from the ounces to ml converter.

A glass US quart measuring jug with a red scale in ounces and cups
An American quart jug prints ounces and cups on one wall. The 8 ounce mark falls at one cup. The 16 ounce mark falls at two cups and one pint. The 32 ounce mark closes the scale at four cups. Photo: Pyrex, public domain.

Which number formats does this converter accept?

The field reads every one of these formats and converts it, so there is nothing to tidy up before you paste. The table shows what the converter does with each entry, and the converter worked out every result itself.
What you typeWhat the converter showsHow we read it
81 US cupA number on its own is read as fluid ounces, because that is the unit on the field.
12 fl. oz.1.5 US cupThe fl oz symbol is skipped however it is written, including fl. oz. with full stops and US fl oz from an American label.
16.92.1125 US cupThe decimal point separates the fraction, exactly as you would expect.
16,92.1125 US cupA comma followed by one or two digits can only be a decimal comma, so the result is the same.
1/20.0625 US cupWe work out a fraction with a slash for you, so 1/2 needs no conversion to 0.5 first.
2 1/20.3125 US cupA mixed number is read as 2.5.
2½0.3125 US cupA ½ sign copied from a label or a recipe is added to the number in front of it.
1.5000.1875 US cupA single point is always read as a decimal point, so the field counts one and a half fluid ounces. A note under the field shows the other possible reading, 1500.
1,500187.5 US cupA comma before three digits groups thousands in English, so this is fifteen hundred fluid ounces. A note under the field shows the other possible reading, 1.5.
1 500187.5 US cupA space between the thousands, as written in much of Europe and in SI style, gives the same result as 1,500.
250 ml1.0567 US cupMillilitres are converted into fluid ounces, a line under the field says so, and the answer is 250 ml in US cups.

How many cups is a given number of fluid ounces?

The rows run from half an ounce to 128 ounces, which is a full gallon, and they include the figures printed on American packaging. The three columns match the three options of the Cup type switcher.
Fluid ouncesUS customary cupUS legal cupMetric cup
0.5 fl oz0.06250.06160.0591
1 fl oz0.1250.12320.1183
1.5 fl oz0.18750.18480.1774
2 fl oz0.250.24640.2366
2.5 fl oz0.31250.30810.2957
3 fl oz0.3750.36970.3549
3.5 fl oz0.43750.43130.414
4 fl oz0.50.49290.4732
4.5 fl oz0.56250.55450.5323
5 fl oz0.6250.61610.5915
5.3 fl oz0.66250.65310.627
6 fl oz0.750.73930.7098
6.5 fl oz0.81250.80090.7689
7 fl oz0.8750.86260.8281
7.5 fl oz0.93750.92420.8872
8 fl oz10.98580.9464
8.5 fl oz1.06251.04741.0055
9 fl oz1.1251.1091.0646
10 fl oz1.251.23221.1829
11 fl oz1.3751.35551.3012
11.2 fl oz1.41.38011.3249
12 fl oz1.51.47871.4195
13 fl oz1.6251.60191.5378
14 fl oz1.751.72511.6561
15 fl oz1.8751.84831.7744
16 fl oz21.97161.8927
16.9 fl oz2.11252.08251.9992
17 fl oz2.1252.09482.011
18 fl oz2.252.2182.1293
20 fl oz2.52.46452.3659
22 fl oz2.752.71092.6025
24 fl oz32.95742.8391
25.6 fl oz3.23.15453.0283
26 fl oz3.253.20383.0756
28 fl oz3.53.45023.3122
30 fl oz3.753.69673.5488
32 fl oz43.94313.7854
33.8 fl oz4.2254.16493.9983
36 fl oz4.54.4364.2586
40 fl oz54.92894.7318
44 fl oz5.55.42185.2049
48 fl oz65.91475.6781
50.7 fl oz6.33756.24745.9975
52 fl oz6.56.40766.1513
56 fl oz76.90056.6245
60 fl oz7.57.39347.0976
64 fl oz87.88637.5708
67.6 fl oz8.458.32997.9967
72 fl oz98.87218.5172
80 fl oz109.85789.4635
84.5 fl oz10.562510.41239.9959
96 fl oz1211.829411.3562
101.4 fl oz12.67512.494811.995
112 fl oz1413.80113.2489
128 fl oz1615.772515.1416
The US customary column lands on a whole number at every multiple of eight: 8 ounces make one cup, 16 ounces two cups, 32 ounces four cups and 64 ounces eight cups. The figures 16.9 and 33.8 come from metric packaging — they are half a litre and a litre converted into ounces.

How many cups do American capacities hold?

Capacities printed on American labels and quoted in American recipes, put into millilitres and into the US measuring cup.
CapacityFluid ouncesMillilitresUS cups
A glass in an American recipe8 fl oz236.59 ml1
Soda can12 fl oz354.88 ml1.5
US pint16 fl oz473.18 ml2
Half-litre water bottle16.9 fl oz499.79 ml2.1125
Single-serve drinks bottle20 fl oz591.47 ml2.5
US quart32 fl oz946.35 ml4
One-litre bottle33.8 fl oz999.59 ml4.225
Twelve-cup coffee carafe60 fl oz1,774.41 ml7.5
Half a US gallon64 fl oz1,892.71 ml8
Two-litre bottle67.6 fl oz1,999.17 ml8.45
US gallon128 fl oz3,785.41 ml16
The bottles labelled 16.9 and 33.8 ounces are metric packages: half a litre and a litre converted into ounces and rounded to one decimal place. A carafe sold as twelve-cup holds 60 ounces, because the manufacturer counts a cup of coffee as five ounces[4].

The fluid ounce, the ounce on the scale and the troy ounce

Five measures that share one word. The first column says which physical quantity each of them measures.
Kind of ounceWhat it measuresValueWhere you meet it
US fluid ouncevolume29.5735295625 mlUnited States: drinks, recipes and packaging
Labelling fluid ouncevolume30 mlUnited States: nutrition facts panels
Imperial fluid ouncevolume28.4130625 mlBritain and Canada before metrication
Avoirdupois ouncemass28.349523125 gKitchen scales, postage and food packaging
Troy ouncemass31.1034768 gGold, silver and the other precious metals
The imperial ounce is smaller than the American one even though the imperial gallon is larger than the American gallon. That follows from the division: the imperial gallon splits into 160 ounces and the American one into 128[1]. In British trade the fluid ounce kept a last permitted use for beer, cider, water, lemonade and fruit juice in returnable containers, and that use lapsed on 1 January 2000[5].

How do you read ounces off an American label and measure them out?

Four steps from the figure on the label to a value you can pour with the jug you already own.

  1. Check whether the number carries fl oz

    The abbreviation fl oz marks a fluid ounce, which is volume, and that is how drinks and liquid products are labelled. A plain oz on a solid product marks mass, and that is how cheese, nuts and pasta are labelled.

  2. Divide the ounces by eight

    The answer is the number of US cups. A soda can of 12 ounces makes one and a half cups. A bottle of 20 ounces makes two and a half cups.

  3. Pour with a jug marked in millilitres

    Multiply the ounces by 29.57. Twelve ounces come to 354.88 millilitres. Twenty ounces come to 591.47 millilitres. Read the level at eye height, along the bottom of the meniscus.

  4. Set the switcher to Metric (250 ml) for a recipe from outside the US

    Australian, New Zealand and Canadian recipes count the cup as 250 millilitres[6]. With the Cup type switcher on Metric (250 ml), the figure on screen already tells you how many of those cups to measure.

Where do the 128 ounces in a gallon come from?

The US gallon holds exactly 231 cubic inches, which works out at 3.785411784 litres and exactly 128 fluid ounces[3].

The series divides one step at a time. A gallon is four quarts. A quart is two pints. A pint is two cups. A cup is eight ounces. Multiply those four divisions — 4 by 2 by 2 by 8 — and you land on 128.

The British series is built the same way but carries different figures. The imperial gallon holds 4.54609 litres and splits into 160 ounces, and the imperial pint counts 20 ounces against sixteen in the American one[1].

That is where a relationship appears which only shows up once you set the two series side by side: the imperial gallon is a fifth larger than the American one, while the imperial ounce is four per cent smaller than the American one. The gallons to liters converter handles volumes given in gallons.

Two glass measuring jugs of the same brand side by side, one with a metric scale, the other with ounces and cups
Two jugs from the same maker. The left one is graduated in millilitres alone, the right one combines litres with ounces and cups — its 32 oz marking sits at four cups. Photo: Picofluidicist, CC0.

Convert other units to Cups

ml to cupspints to cupsgallons to cupsliters to cups

Convert Fluid ounces to other units

oz to mloz to cl

Sources

  1. Fluid ounce — Wikipedia
  2. Ounce — Wikipedia
  3. Handbook 44 – 2026, Appendix C. General Tables of Units of Measurement — National Institute of Standards and Technology
  4. How many fluid ounces does my drip-coffee maker carafe yield? — De'Longhi
  5. The Units of Measurement Regulations 1995 — legislation.gov.uk
  6. Cup (unit) — Wikipedia
  7. 21 CFR 101.9 — Nutrition labeling of food — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School

Every figure in the tables was computed from the unit definitions and checked arithmetically before publication. Historical values and the names of local units come from the sources listed above.

Content last reviewed: · written and checked by the Arteon team

Common questions about converting ounces to cups

How does an ounce in a British recipe differ from an American one?

The imperial ounce holds 28.4131 millilitres, which is 1.16 millilitres less than the American one[1]. Over one ounce that gap is small; over twenty it grows to 23 millilitres.

How many ounces is a metric cup?

A metric cup holds 250 millilitres, which is 8.45 US fluid ounces.

Why does an American label make eight ounces exactly 240 millilitres?

American food labelling law fixes the fluid ounce at exactly 30 millilitres and the cup at exactly 240[7]. Under that wording eight ounces come to exactly 240 millilitres. This converter uses the real ounce of 29.5735 millilitres, so the same 240 millilitres work out at 8.12 ounces.

Arteon free tool screenshot: Convert fluid ounces to cups

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