How many milliliters are in 1 US cup?

One US customary cup equals exactly 236.588 mL. This is the standard cup used in American recipes. Note that the US legal cup (used on nutrition labels) is a rounded 240 mL.

What is the difference between a US cup and a metric cup?

The US customary cup is 236.588 mL, the US legal cup is 240 mL, and the metric cup (used in Australia and Canada) is 250 mL. For most cooking purposes the difference is small, but it matters in baking.

How many cups is 250 mL?

In US customary cups: 250 ÷ 236.588 ≈ 1.057 cups. In metric cups (250 mL each): exactly 1 cup. In US legal cups (240 mL each): 250 ÷ 240 ≈ 1.042 cups.

How many cups is 500 mL?

About 2.11 US customary cups, or 2.08 US legal cups, or exactly 2 metric cups (since 1 metric cup = 250 mL).

Which cup standard should I use for baking?

Use the standard specified in your recipe. US recipes generally mean US customary cups (236.588 mL). Australian and Canadian recipes use metric cups (250 mL). Nutrition facts panels in the US use the legal cup (240 mL).

Is 100 mL equal to half a cup?

No. Half a US customary cup is about 118.3 mL. 100 mL is roughly 0.42 US cups or 0.40 metric cups — closer to just under half a cup.

Milliliters to Cups Converter

Convert milliliters to US customary, US legal, and metric cups — and back — with a quick-reference kitchen table.

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Milliliters (mL)

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Common Milliliter-to-Cup Reference

mL	US Cup	US Legal	Metric

Summary

A fast, client-side converter that handles three cup standards in one place: the US customary cup (236.588 mL), the US legal cup used in nutrition labeling (240 mL), and the metric cup used in Australia and Canada (250 mL). Enter a milliliter value to see all three results simultaneously, or enter a cup value to convert back to mL.

How it works

Enter a milliliter value to convert to all three cup types at once.
Or switch to Cup mode, choose a cup standard, and enter cups to convert back to mL.
Results update instantly as you type.
Use the reference table for common cooking measurements.
Click Reset to clear all fields.

Use cases

Scale a recipe that lists liquid ingredients in mL when you only have US cup measures.
Understand nutrition label serving sizes (US legal cups = 240 mL).
Convert an Australian or Canadian recipe that uses metric cups (250 mL).
Quickly check how many cups are in 500 mL, 750 mL, or 1000 mL.
Compare different cup standards when following international recipes.
Verify a barista recipe that mixes metric mL with US cup measurements.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-06-04 · Reviewed by Nham Vu