How to Use This Calculator
Select your ingredient from the dropdown, enter the amount in cups, and click Convert. The calculator accounts for each ingredient's density — 1 cup of flour weighs significantly less than 1 cup of sugar, for example.
For fractional amounts, use decimals: half a cup is 0.5, a quarter cup is 0.25, and a third cup is approximately 0.333.
Why Cup Measurements Vary
The weight of a cup depends entirely on how it's filled. A cup of all-purpose flour can weigh anywhere from 120g to 160g depending on whether it was scooped, spooned, or sifted. This calculator uses standard weights based on the spoon-and-level method — the most common approach in published recipes.
If you're baking seriously, a kitchen scale is the only way to guarantee consistent results. Once you switch to grams, you'll never go back.
The Measuring Mistake That Ruins the Most Baked Goods
Scooping the measuring cup directly into the flour bag is the single most common cause of dense, dry, or tough baked goods. It packs the flour down and can add 20-40g extra per cup compared to the spoon-and-level method this calculator is based on — over a recipe calling for 3-4 cups, that's easily an extra half-cup of flour you didn't mean to add. If a "reliable" recipe keeps coming out too dense, this is the first thing to check before blaming the recipe itself.
The fix: spoon the flour into the measuring cup until it's overflowing, then level it off with the flat edge of a knife — never pack it down or tap the cup on the counter first.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many grams is 1 cup of flour?
1 cup of all-purpose flour is 120g using the spoon-and-level method. If you scoop directly from the bag, you may end up with 140–160g due to compaction.
How many grams is 1 cup of sugar?
1 cup of granulated white sugar is 200g. Brown sugar packed is 220g per cup. Powdered sugar is lighter at around 120g per cup.
How many grams is 1 cup of butter?
1 cup of butter is 227g, which is 2 standard US sticks (each stick is 113g or ½ cup).
Does this work for liquids?
Yes. For water and most liquids, 1 cup is approximately 240ml or 240g. Heavier liquids like honey (340g per cup) and lighter ones like oil (218g per cup) differ significantly — this calculator accounts for those differences.
Why do different ingredients have different gram weights per cup?
Because different ingredients have different densities. A cup is a fixed volume, but the weight of that volume depends on how dense the ingredient is. Water weighs 237g per cup; flour weighs 120g; honey weighs 340g. Every ingredient needs its own conversion — you can't use a single cups-to-grams conversion factor.
How many grams in a half cup?
It depends on the ingredient. Half a cup of all-purpose flour is 60g. Half a cup of granulated sugar is 100g. Half a cup of butter is 113g. Half a cup of water or milk is approximately 120g. Use this calculator to find the gram weight for any specific ingredient and fraction.
Are these weights the same in all countries?
Yes — a gram is a gram everywhere. However, cup sizes vary slightly by country. This calculator uses the US cup (236.6ml). The metric cup used in Australia and Canada is 250ml, so weights per cup would be slightly higher. For most home cooking, the difference is negligible.
What's the most accurate way to measure a cup of an ingredient?
For dry ingredients, spoon the ingredient into the measuring cup and level it off with a flat edge — don't scoop directly from the bag or container, which compacts the ingredient and adds extra weight. For sticky ingredients like honey or peanut butter, lightly grease the cup first so the full amount releases cleanly.
Why This Calculator Covers So Many Ingredients Separately
A cup measures volume, not weight, and every ingredient packs into that volume differently based on its density, particle size, and moisture content. Flour is light and airy with lots of trapped air between particles, so a cup holds relatively few grams. Honey is dense and viscous with no air pockets, so a cup holds far more grams of the same volume. This is exactly why a single "cups to grams" conversion factor doesn't exist — each ingredient needs its own figure, which is what the dropdown above provides instead of a generic formula.
Nuts and seeds sit in the middle of this range: whole almonds have air gaps between pieces, while finely ground almond flour packs more densely per cup despite being the same ingredient. This is why almond flour (112g/cup) and whole almonds (140g/cup) have different weights even though they come from the same food.
Scaling Recipes Using Gram Weights
Once you know an ingredient's weight per cup, scaling a recipe by weight is often more reliable than scaling by volume, especially for oddly-fractioned amounts. Rather than trying to measure ⅜ cup of flour (an awkward, uncommon fraction), calculate 1.5 × 120g = 180g and weigh that directly. This sidesteps the rounding and guesswork that comes with unusual cup fractions entirely.
Why does my baking come out different even when I measure carefully?
Even careful cup measuring has some built-in variance — studies on home bakers show flour measured by cup can vary by up to 20g between people using identical technique. If your results are inconsistent despite careful measuring, switching to a kitchen scale removes this variable entirely, since a gram is always the same regardless of who's measuring.