Why Cups to Grams Is Different for Every Ingredient
A cup is a measure of space. A gram is a measure of weight. A cup of feathers and a cup of rocks take up the same space but weigh wildly different amounts, and your pantry works the same way. Flour is light and airy at 120 grams per cup. Sugar crystals pack together tightly at 200 grams per cup. Honey is denser still at 340 grams per cup. Any converter that treats all ingredients the same is just guessing.
This converter uses ingredient-specific densities drawn from USDA FoodData Central and professional baking weight charts, so one cup of each ingredient converts to its true weight. Select your ingredient, enter the amount, pick your units, and convert in either direction: cups to grams, grams to cups, ounces to tablespoons, or any combination across 12 units.
How to Convert Cups to Grams (and Back)
The formula is simple once you have the density: grams = cups x grams-per-cup. Two and a half cups of all-purpose flour is 2.5 x 120 = 300 grams. Going backward, divide: 400 grams of granulated sugar is 400 / 200 = 2 cups. The calculator handles the arithmetic, including fractional cups and metric units, and shows the result in cups, grams, ounces, and tablespoons at once so you can use whichever your recipe calls for.
Two measuring details matter for accuracy. First, the spoon-and-level method: spoon flour into the cup and sweep the top flat, because scooping directly from the bag compacts it and can add 20 percent or more. Second, brown sugar should be packed firmly into the cup, and powdered sugar should be sifted before measuring, which is what the density values here assume. For pure volume conversions that do not involve weight, like liters to gallons, our unit converter covers those directly.
The Most Common Baking Conversions
These are the conversions bakers look up most often, and the ones worth memorizing:
| Ingredient | 1 cup | 1/2 cup | 1 tbsp |
| All-purpose flour | 120 g | 60 g | 7.5 g |
| Granulated sugar | 200 g | 100 g | 12.5 g |
| Brown sugar, packed | 220 g | 110 g | 13.8 g |
| Butter | 227 g | 113 g | 14.2 g |
| Cocoa powder | 100 g | 50 g | 6.3 g |
| Rolled oats | 90 g | 45 g | 5.6 g |
| Honey | 340 g | 170 g | 21.3 g |
| Milk | 244 g | 122 g | 15.3 g |
Butter deserves its own note: one US stick is exactly half a cup, 8 tablespoons, 4 ounces, or 113 grams. Whenever you convert butter in the tool above, it shows the stick equivalent automatically. The full density table tab lists all 55 ingredients with cup, half-cup, quarter-cup, and tablespoon weights for quick reference while you bake.
Scaling Recipes Up or Down Without Breaking Them
Doubling a recipe is easy in theory: multiply everything by two. In practice, people lose track halfway through the ingredient list or round badly on the small quantities. The recipe scaler tab does it cleanly: enter how many servings the recipe makes and how many you want, and it computes the exact scale factor, then applies it to any ingredient in any unit and shows the result in grams too.
The math is linear, so 2x servings means exactly 2x of every ingredient, and weight is the safest unit to scale in because it avoids compounding volume rounding errors. One judgment call: chemical leaveners like baking soda and baking powder do not always scale perfectly past triple batches, so many bakers scale them slightly conservatively at 3x and above. If you are scaling by an awkward percentage rather than a clean multiple, our percentage calculator can work out the exact increase or decrease.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many grams are in a cup of flour?
One US cup of all-purpose flour weighs 120 grams when spooned and leveled. Bread flour is 127 grams per cup, cake flour is 114 grams, and whole wheat flour is 128 grams. The exact weight depends on the flour type and how it is measured.
How many grams are in a cup of sugar?
One cup of granulated sugar weighs 200 grams, packed brown sugar weighs 220 grams per cup, and sifted powdered sugar weighs 120 grams per cup. Sugar crystals are denser than flour, which is why the same cup weighs more.
Why do cups to grams conversions vary by ingredient?
Cups measure volume (space) while grams measure weight. Different ingredients have different densities: a cup of flour weighs 120 grams but a cup of honey weighs 340 grams. Accurate conversion requires the density of each specific ingredient, not a single multiplier.
Is it better to bake by weight or volume?
Weight is better. A cup of flour can vary by 20 percent or more depending on how it is scooped, while 120 grams is always 120 grams. Professional bakers measure by weight with a digital scale for consistent results every time.
How many grams is a stick of butter?
One US stick of butter is 1/2 cup, which weighs 113 grams (4 ounces). Two sticks make one full cup at 227 grams. The converter above shows the stick math automatically whenever you convert butter.
Last updated: 2026 | Density data sourced from USDA FoodData Central and King Arthur Baking ingredient weight charts. Values are culinary averages; weigh once for your exact brand if precision matters.