Grams to Cups Converter

Cups measure volume and grams measure mass, so density connects them. The formula is cups = grams / (density x mL per cup). Under the calculator's 1.0 g/mL water approximation, 240 g fills one 240 mL US legal cup. Honey, flour, and sugar use different estimated densities and therefore produce different cup counts.

A US customary cup is 236.5882365 mL, exactly 8 US fluid ounces. A US legal cup is 240 mL and is used for US nutrition labeling. A metric cup is 250 mL. Select the standard used by your recipe because the cup volume changes the result.

Because density depends on how air sits between the particles, and sifting versus packing changes that air. At the calculator's estimated densities, one 240 mL US legal cup holds about 127 g of sifted flour or 142 g of packed flour. Weighing in grams avoids that packing difference.

Because weight is the same on every scale, in every kitchen, on every day, and volume is not. A cup of flour can range from about 120 g (sifted then spooned) to about 150 g (packed) for the same product, a 25 percent spread driven entirely by technique. King Arthur, America's Test Kitchen, Serious Eats, and most modern recipe sites now publish gram weights alongside cup figures for exactly this reason. Beyond accuracy, weighing is also faster (one bowl on a scale with the tare button zeroes between additions, and you do not wash a stack of measuring cups), more sanitary (the scoop never touches the bag of flour), and easier to scale up or down for half batches and double batches. The reason home cooks still measure by cup is inertia, not accuracy.

No. A US customary cup is approximately 236.588 mL, a US legal cup is exactly 240 mL, a metric cup is exactly 250 mL, and a historical British imperial cup is approximately 284.13 mL. Modern UK recipes usually use grams or milliliters. Match the numeric cup volume to the recipe rather than relying on the word cup alone.