mL to Cups Converter
Convert milliliters (mL) to cups using US customary, US legal, metric, or Imperial standards.
Conversion Result
📐 Conversion Formulas
mL to Cups:
Cup Standards (mL per cup):
- US Customary Cup = 236.5882365 mL
- US Legal Cup = 240 mL (exact)
- Metric Cup = 250 mL (exact)
- Imperial Cup = 284.130625 mL
📝 Step-by-Step Calculation
Enter a value and convert to see the step-by-step breakdown.
Understanding Milliliters and Cups
Converting milliliters to cups is essential for cooking, baking, and understanding recipe measurements from different countries. The challenge is that "cup" means different things depending on where you are, so it's important to know which cup standard applies to your situation.
What Is a Milliliter?
A milliliter (symbol: mL or ml) is a metric unit of volume equal to one-thousandth of a liter. It's widely used worldwide for measuring liquids, from beverages to cooking ingredients to medications. One milliliter equals exactly 1 cubic centimeter (cm³ or cc).
What Is a Cup?
A cup is a cooking unit of volume, but its size varies significantly by region:
- US Customary Cup: 236.5882365 mL – Used in most American recipes and measuring cups.
- US Legal Cup: 240 mL exactly – Used for nutrition labeling in the United States (FDA definition).
- Metric Cup: 250 mL exactly – Used in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and some international recipes.
- Imperial Cup: 284.130625 mL – Historically used in the UK (now largely replaced by metric).
Which Cup Should I Use?
For American recipes, use the US customary cup (236.588 mL). For Australian or Canadian recipes, use the metric cup (250 mL). When reading nutrition labels in the US, the legal cup of 240 mL applies. When in doubt, check the recipe source's country of origin.
Quick Reference Table
Common mL to cups conversions:
| mL | US Customary | US Legal | Metric | Imperial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 0.211 | 0.208 | 0.200 | 0.176 |
| 100 | 0.423 | 0.417 | 0.400 | 0.352 |
| 150 | 0.634 | 0.625 | 0.600 | 0.528 |
| 200 | 0.845 | 0.833 | 0.800 | 0.704 |
| 250 | 1.057 | 1.042 | 1.000 | 0.880 |
| 500 | 2.113 | 2.083 | 2.000 | 1.760 |
| 750 | 3.170 | 3.125 | 3.000 | 2.640 |
| 1000 | 4.227 | 4.167 | 4.000 | 3.520 |
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the cup standard: A US customary cup is 236.588 mL, a US legal cup is 240 mL, a metric cup is 250 mL, and an Imperial cup is 284.131 mL.
Divide the number of milliliters by the mL value of your cup standard. For US customary cups, divide by 236.588. For metric cups, divide by 250.
A US customary cup is 236.588 mL (about 8 US fluid ounces), while a metric cup is exactly 250 mL. The metric cup is about 5.7% larger than the US cup.
250 mL equals exactly 1 metric cup, approximately 1.057 US customary cups, or 1.042 US legal cups.
Use the cup standard from the recipe's country of origin. American recipes typically use US customary cups (236.588 mL), while Australian and Canadian recipes often use metric cups (250 mL).
A US legal cup is exactly 240 mL. This is the definition used by the FDA for nutrition labeling in the United States.
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